PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After Hamas’ attack on Israel, Jenn Reiss Sillman of Philadelphia wanted to find a simple and silent way for people to show support for Israelis and Jewish people.
“Whether you fully support Israel or you just want to support Jews, we know that this is a complicated issue,” Reiss said, “but as Jews living in America, we are afraid. And we're afraid to ask if you support.”
She is encouraging people to show that support and to denounce terrorism by tying a blue string on their wrists. She calls it Silent Strings for Solidarity, and she’s hoping it picks up traction as a movement worldwide of allyship.
Reiss says she got the idea from her travels to Israel.
“Instantly I thought of the red Kabbalah bracelets,” she said. “Anyone who's been to Israel, … you put a red bracelet on. That's just part of your trip. And so I thought: How simple would it be if we just put on a blue string?”
She says the string can be anything — a piece of blue embroidery thread, a blue ribbon, even a blue rubber band. She says the goal is to reassure Jews and Israelis that they’re safe with you — whether at the grocery store, at work, or any public space.
“I live in Philadelphia. This is a very densely Jewish population. And yet I'm still afraid. I can't imagine if you live in parts of the country where you are an isolated Jew.”
Reiss says she understands the responsibility that the survivors of the Hamas terror attack now carry.
“Your loved one did not die in vain. Their name will live on. And it is now your obligation to make sure that their memory is never forgotten, that they are not just a number in a terrorist casualty.”
It’s a responsibility she and her family know all too well.
“I had a brother, Joshua Reiss, who died on 9/11,” she said.
She was 11 years old at the time.
“I did not have a voice,” she said. “And I'm an adult. Now I'm a mother myself. And I have a voice, and I'm recognizing that not everybody has that voice.”