Colorado Springs Jewish community reacts to escalating conflict in the Middle East

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - KRDO13 reached out to members of the local Jewish Community Tuesday for reaction to the escalating violence in the Middle East.

The attacks in Israel come right on the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. They also come just a year shy of Hamas' October 7th attack that killed more than 1,000 Jewish people.

Rabbi Jay Sherwood at the Shalom Temple in Colorado Springs said he is praying for peace ahead of the holiday season. He said the new year is a time for reflection, both personally and amongst the community. He also said that his temple will take extra security measures and remain a safe community space for all services and celebrations.

"Unfortunately, here we are a year later after the October 7th attack, coming up on the high holy days again.  And clearly, a year ago, none of us thought that we'd still be looking at war, that we'd still be looking at hostages being held captive," Sherwood said.