Beth Sholom Congregation in Potomac was the site of an Israeli-style market featuring nearly 40 traveling vendors from Israel on Dec. 5. Part of a series called Shuk to the Core, this special event has made its way to the DMV area for the first time.
The Shuk to the Core event was first held in 2014 and was resumed by its co-founders, Stuart Katz and Daniel Rothner and their organization Areyvut, after Oct. 7, 2023. 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 United States for Israeli vendors. Along with Potomac, stops included Baltimore and Philadelphia.
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 that fit their criteria for participation.
“Our criteria are people coming from Israel. It’s not [people that 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 Dec. 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 Beth Sholom was packed all night, according to Stevie Friedman, the director of events and building services at Beth Sholom. The synagogue didn’t have an official head count, but Friedman said that their 100-space parking lot was filled for the entire four-hour duration of the event and she saw people she knew from all over the community.
She added that the synagogue was able to provide meals for the vendors through a partnership that they have with Tovavi Falafel, a local Jewish business.
Friedman said that the community came out in a great show of support for the vendors during the event and that she saw people from all the different Jewish organizations of which she’s been a part for roughly three decades.
She said that the event was beneficial both for the vendors and community members who are always looking for ways to help Israelis. It served as a way to give both parties unique opportunities for connection.
“There’s just a tremendous benefit to the vendors spiritually and emotionally, just seeing people, [from those] who want to come out. Even if they don’t buy anything, just getting that interaction with people and seeing that people really care after such a long time since Oct. 7, [is beneficial],” Friedman said.
