On February 23, members of a Burlington synagogue and a Quaker meeting house will join forces to bake bread for a good cause. Proceeds from sales of challah, pita bread and gluten-free oat bread will benefit a pair of humanitarian aid organizations serving Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
Ohavi Zedek synagogue and Burlington Friends Meeting collaborated on a previous Bread for Peace event in January. About 20 volunteers raised roughly $1,800, according to project founder Scott Silverstein, an Ohavi Zedek member. The money was split between the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical care for children in Gaza and the West Bank, and United Hatzalah of Israel, which delivers volunteer emergency medical services to all, regardless of race, religion or nationality. Both orgs will get the proceeds from the latest fundraiser, too.
Silverstein started Bread for Peace in November 2023. That was shortly after the Israel-Hamas war broke out, and Silverstein, 38, said he sought a way “to provide aid to the folks who were bearing the brunt of it.”
In his Jericho kitchen, Silverstein baked batches of challah — traditional Jewish braided breads. They sold out quickly, and Silverstein realized the effort could grow with more hands and a bigger facility. Synagogue staff suggested involving other faith organizations, starting with the Quakers, whose meeting house is across the street from Ohavi Zedek.
Silverstein described himself as pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. Often, he said, people “jump to these extreme conclusions that all demonstrators want Israel wiped out or that all Zionists want Palestine to erode away.” Bread for Peace aims to support those harmed by the conflict and help Vermonters with different views “see what we have in common: a care and concern for all humanity,” Silverstein said.
Catherine Bock, 76, a member of the Friends Meeting, agreed with Silverstein that there is misunderstanding on both sides.
“They think because you’re wanting the Palestinians to stay alive, that means you’re against Israel,” Bock said. “It’s not necessarily that. It’s just that you want peace and justice and human rights for everybody, which is the Quaker stance.”
Volunteer to bake or order bread at ohavizedek.org.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Bread Winners”
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2025.
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