A community of volunteers at the Kauai Jewish Center have sent their support to Israeli refugees of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in a tangible form: handmade Hawaiian-­themed jewelry intertwined with heartfelt aloha.

Zissel Goldman, co-­director of the center and Chabad of Kauai, dubbed the project “a jewelry hug — ’cause what’s a hug? It’s to give some sense of comfort, that sense of connection.”

“It’s something that somebody can wear and look at and say, ‘Hey, somebody around the world is thinking about me and showing their support.’ It’s just a tangible sign for them,” she said.

She and husband Rabbi Michoel Goldman, who leads the Chabad and community center, took about 175 bracelets and necklaces to New York in November in the first step of a providential journey to deliver the items to Israel.

The jewelry, made mostly from beach glass, beads and shells, was received Nov. 21 by evacuees of the Sderot community who had relocated to Jerusalem’s Olive Tree Hotel and the surrounding area along with thousands of others, said Michoel Goldman in a Nov. 29 Chabad newsletter. Sderot, about 1 mile from Gaza, was one of the cities hardest-hit by Hamas rockets, and residents suffered many losses and injuries.

“They were overjoyed and deeply touched to receive this ‘hug’ from our Kauai Jewish community,” he wrote.

His wife organized the Nov. 5 gathering of some 25 to 30 volunteers to make the jewelry at the center in Kapaa, inspired by the suggestion of member Adam Sugarman, who suggested the community come together to show its support for Israeli residents who suffered incredible losses.

“Many of us have felt frustrated, wanting to make a difference in the lives of those affected, but feeling limited in our resources and ability to make an impact from 8,800 miles away,” the rabbi wrote.

Zissel Goldman said member Sandi O’Shaughnessy, a jewelry designer, provided most of the materials and taught the volunteers the simplest techniques that even the inexperienced could master to make beautiful pieces. Others contributed their own shell collections and supplies. The jewelry was assembled in under two hours.

Rabbi Goldman said most of the volunteers were Jewish members, but many weren’t, including a few they had never seen before but who had learned of the workshop on social media.

He said, “There’s a sense of unity in the Jewish community globally and locally. People are standing together arm in arm with all labels and denominations aside.”

Zissel Goldman arranged with different people along the way to get the jewelry to Israeli evacuees. Rather than relying on the postal system, she thought delivering the pieces by hand would make it easier to track them over such a long distance.

“We call it divine providence when you see God’s hand orchestrating the steps. I made one plan for distribution, but God clearly had a different window he wanted us to come through,” she said.

In the end, former Kauai residents Yosi and Rina Gordon­-Solove and their son Zachary, who moved to Israel, made the final connection Nov. 21 at the hotel in Jerusalem, and “it warmed our hearts,” they said in a video sent to Chabad.

The couple said secular and religious Jews of both genders and all ages admired the jewelry, put the pieces on immediately and repeatedly thanked them. They spoke to the refugees in Hebrew because they didn’t speak English and, using a few gestures, explained that the jewelry came from the people on Kauai.

Rina Gordon-Solove said, “It was a little bit of joy they can wear. … You can feel the effort and love that you put into the jewelry has been received in a very personal way.”