Hundreds of attendees gathered at the Centre on Sunday to celebrate Israel with the Santa Clarita Valley Jewish Community and Friends committee.
Cheryl Thatt-Burbank, one of the event organizers, the celebration was the first time that the three local congregations – Chabad of SCV, Congregation Beth Shalom, and Temple Beth Ami – have been together for an event of this scope.
Rabbi Jay Siegel of Congregation of Beth Shalom said that the idea for the event came from community members.
“Many of our community members came together and wanted a day where we could celebrate Israel but also celebrate the Jewish community as one Jewish community, not separate in any way, but that we are one,” said Siegel.
He added that the community members wanted to organize a celebration in response to the Jewish community facing a difficult time.
Siegel said the members wanted unity and wanted to be heard.
“It’s really wonderful to see how many people in our community will come out to support us and what’s been great is seeing all the connections,” said Siegel.
Paige and Michael Fruchtman, members of Congregation of Beth Shalom, heard about the event through their synagogue and decided to come to show their support of their community.

“This shows the pride of the community, of the Jewish community in Santa Clarita and the support of Israel,” said Paige Fruchtman.
She added that it was nice to be able to come together at a larger event and become united with other congregations’ members.
Both Paige and her husband Michael said their favorite part of the event was watching their children have fun playing in the bounce houses and face painting while getting to see friends they hadn’t seen in some time.
“I’ve seen friends that we have from another synagogue on the other side of town,” said Michael Fruchtman. “(Our community) It’s building.”
Michael Fruchtman said that he noticed over the past couple of years that their community has growing and bringing more large-scale events such as the menorah lighting at the Valencia Town Center and other Israel-themed festivals.
Besides the children’s activities offered at the event, many attendees were inside the venue walking through the vendor booths and glancing at the raffle ticket prizes.
A panel of three speakers captivated the attention of many people as they recounted their experiences living in Jerusalem during the Israel-Hamas War.
Panelist Nick Matau spoke about how he was visiting Israel just days before the war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.
He said he was calling people he was just visiting, and they reassured him that everything would be fine, and he didn’t need to worry, but he later got the news that people were being killed.


Hila Oz, a musician and emcee for the celebration, talked about her experience in Jerusalem at the start of the war.
Oz said it was important to share her experiences with people so that it humanizes the events and shows people it is a real thing that happened to real people.
“History can sometimes be very impersonal, and I think that making it real for a lot of people really shows the gravity of the situation,” said Oz.
Rabbi Choni Marozov from Chabad of SCV said it was important for people to come together and be educated and be proud of their heritage.
“It’s nice to see everybody talking to each other, enjoying each other’s company, listening to the speeches and learning more about the Israeli organizations and kids having a good time,” said Marozov.
He said when the opportunity presents itself the community appreciates getting together to celebrate their shared love of Israel and their heritage.