Braden Hamelin | Staff Writer
Lower Merion Synagogue was the site of an Israeli-style market featuring nearly 40 traveling vendors from Israel on Dec. 8. Part of a series called Shuk to the Core, this special event has made its way to the Philadelphia area for the first time.
Shuk to the Core was first held in 2014, and was resumed by its co-founders, Stuart Katz and Daniel Rothner and their organization Areyvut, after Oct. 7. This latest iteration is the third Shuk to the Core since the attacks and consists of a three-week trip with 15 events around the U.S. for Israeli vendors. Along with Philadelphia, stops included Baltimore and Potomac, Maryland.
The event is intended to serve as a boost for Israelis who are struggling both in business and emotionally after the attacks and devastating war that has followed.
“Everyone in Israel is being affected since Oct. 7, meaning tons of people are serving in the army. People are injured. Everyone in Israel knows someone that knows a hostage, or is a hostage, or was a hostage family or someone who was killed or injured on the front lines,” Rothner said. “And this is one effort amongst many other efforts, globally, nationally, to really help the Israeli economy in a meaningful, powerful way.”
Rothner said that the previous Shuk to the Core programs that took place in New York and New Jersey in November 2023 and March generated over $1 million of income collectively for the vendors.
He added that it gave American Jews the opportunity to show their support and love for their brethren in Israel during a time of need.
Rothner said that this event features a blend of new vendors and ones who have participated in the past, as Katz is based in Israel and has a wide network of connections that allow them to find Israelis who fit their criteria for participation.
“Our criteria are people coming from Israel. It’s not [people who say] ‘I have an Israeli business, or I have an Israeli product, and I’m from the States.’ … The idea is that people are coming the whole time. It’s not, ‘I want to participate in one specific venue.’ The idea is that people are coming from December 4 to 22 and participating in all 15 shows,” Rothner said.
He added that the long time spent traveling creates lasting relationships for the vendors, organizers and hosts that makes a strong network for years down the line.
“All these people have had a very rough 417 days, to say the least. They all know someone who has been injured or killed or so on and so forth. And this is a way to kind of band together and to come together as a community,” Rothner said.
Katz spoke highly of the Jewish communal organization at the Shuk to the Core event and said that when everyone comes together it doesn’t matter what specific denomination people are or any other small differences; they’re all Jews supporting Israelis in need.
“I love when I see a flyer and [it lists] all these organizations that participated, because to me, it means that it came together as a community, which is what we really try to promote,” Katz said.
The event at Lower Merion Synagogue had people from all corners of the Philadelphia Jewish community in attendance and a steady flow of people excited to come out and show their support and maybe purchase some unique goods, according to Amanda Israel, the president of the sisterhood at LMS who helped organize the event.
Israel added that having the opportunity to connect with the artists on a more personal level after meeting them and purchase Israeli goods directly from the source was a great motivator for people.
“When you get such a positive, warm welcome at a table from a vendor, it’s real. It makes you want to stay in touch with the person that you bought a piece of ceramic from. It makes you want to connect with them on social media and visit their store when you’re in Israel,” Israel said.
She added that it was important for members of the community to have an avenue to support people from Israel whether that meant providing hospitality to vendors or supporting their business.
“Even on the most surface level, we know what they’ve gone through. The whole Jewish world feels connected and I feel like we’re one with these people that we’ve never even met before. You want to hug them. It’s a very magical feeling to connect with people that way,” Israel said.