Just before going to sleep last night, I got the news. It was confirmed that Hersch Goldberg-Polin had been murdered, along with 5 other hostages, by Hamas. I had heard that there were 6 bodies recovered and they thought they were hostages. I had heard that they thought one of them was Hersch. Yet it was not confirmed and I hoped and prayed that it was not true. Yet it was.

These six beautiful souls were taken from us by true evil. More than the evil of Hamas, the evil of those who have been silent. Of those who have limited Israel’s ability to free them. Reports are that the IDF was minutes from rescuing them when the terrorists decided to murder them all instead. The IDF soldiers heard the shots that killed each one these people as they fought to get there in time. Imagine if Israel hadn’t been pushed to delay or not go into Rafah. Imagine if they had been able to get there a week or two earlier. Perhaps these six people would still be alive today.

If you can’t tell from the title of this post and how I have begun, I am angry. I am sad. I am furious. I am devastated. I am filled with rage. I am filled with tears.

Presiden Biden said that Rafah was a red line. While he said that he would never leave Israel’s back, words mean nothing, it’s actions that matter. The delay over going into Rafah cost lives. Once Israel went into Rafah, they found the tunnels that went into Egypt, they discovered the tunnels in the Philadelphi corridor that enabled Hamas to get the weapons from Egypt that they used to attack Israel. Israel, once again held to a different standard than the rest of the world, is the one that suffers.

This red line and threat of weapons restrictions along with actual delays in sending weapons delayed Israel’s ability to enter Rafah. Vice President Harris said that, “Any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake.” Once again, she was wrong. There were multiple options for places for them to go. The US wouldn’t pressure Egypt to open Sinai so Israel found a different way. The delay only ensured more hostages were murdered. More damage done.

It’s not just the American administration. The head of the United Nations ignores the hostages. The entire UN ignores the hostages. The International Red Cross has yet to visit a single hostage. Their participation the past almost 11 months has been as a taxi service during the release of the hostages in November 2023. UNICEF doesn’t care about the children who were kidnapped by Hamas and remain as hostages. Where are the Bibas children? The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a joke. While the UN data shows an increase in the population of Gaza since October 7th, the ICJ brings war crimes charges against Israel. As Israel puts the lives of their soldiers on the line to protect civilians, the UN, ICJ, and many other countries feed into the antisemitic genocide libel the same way they feed into the apartheid libel and the colonizer libel.

The announcement of the murder of these 6 hostages comes as much of the United States is prepared to start school again. Some places have already been in school for weeks or a month. The Jew hatred on campus has only grown. Friday, two Jewish students were assaulted on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh for being Jewish. The former President of the University of Pennsylvania who had to resign because she failed to protect Jewish students is hired at Harvard, who’s former President was forced to resign because she failed to protect Jewish students. Universities are the beneficiary of huge federal funding. More than the research grants, student loans and Pell grants are federal programs. Why does Congress refuse to sanction those Universities who don’t protect Jewish students. We know what it would look like if it were any other group facing the same prejudice.

Congress’s failure is apparent. They are more worried about elections and power than they are about the American’s taken hostage and the now 33 Americans murdered by Hamas. They are more worried about winning in the short term than standing strongly with one of our most important allies. There are some exceptions in Congress. Elise Stefanik, Ritchie Torres, Rick Scott, John Fetterman, and Brian Mast are exceptionally vocal. There are others who publicly support Israel and understand who Hamas is and what they stand for. Yet there are far too many who know nothing and work to continue the failed policies of the past 30+ years. As my friend Fleur Hassan Nahoum says so eloquently, “the Palestinian leadership have never wanted a state. It is not their dream, It was our dream….. The problem of the conflict is not that there isn’t a Palestinian state. The problem of the conflict is that there’s a Jewish state.”

Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel and Jon spoke at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday August 18th. They received a standing ovation. Chants of ‘Bring them home’ from the crowd. It was an inspiring moment. It gave hope that the hostages would be a bipartisan effort to get them home. Perhaps we could finally have something that everybody agreed upon – the hostages must be released.

Now that we know that Hamas murdered Hersh and 5 other hostages just before they were going to be rescued, what will the response of Congress and the Biden administration be? We have seen the statements from both President Biden and Vice President Harris.

As my father (z’l) used to say all the time, “Talk is cheap.” Anybody can say anything. I want to see what they actually will do. More wisdom from my father that I hated growing up and appreciate more every day is, “show me, don’t tell me.” I want to see what they will actually do. If anybody had questions about Hamas, about their evilness, these murders should answer them. There cannot be any end to the war that doesn’t result in the release of the hostages and the complete surrender of Hamas. Israel cannot abandon the Philadelphi corridor. We have seen the tunnels there between Gaza and Hamas. While 80% of them have been destroyed, we cannot give the opportunity for Hamas and Egypt to rebuild them.

I hope our leaders look to history to learn. In his first speech as Prime Minister, Winston Churchill was asked what Britain’s aim was against the Nazis.

Churchill knew that they had to win or be eliminated. Israel knows they have to win or they will be murdered. Churchill knew he was facing true evil in the Nazis. Israel knows they are facing true evil with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian regime. I hope that the US government realizes that they are not dealing with rational human beings. They are not negotiating with people who want to make a deal. They are dealing with evil. They are facing those who will sacrifice everything to make sure that Israel and the West lose. We like to forget that to them, Israel is the Little Satan. America is the Great Satan. America has a choice – fight and eliminate them where they are, in Gaza, the West Bank/Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran or fight them when they come to America. We don’t have to like the choice. We don’t have to want the choice. We have to understand that is the choice. End the evil now or fight in in our own neighborhoods.

My friend Joanne Fink is an artist. Her work is inspiring. She created this piece after October 7th. She added to it after the murder of Hersh Goldberg Polin, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Alex Lubnov, Almog Sarusi, and Edan Yerushalmi. It speaks to how I feel. I think it speaks to how many of us feel.

I’m angry. I’m devastated. I’m furious. My heart is broken. I want to scream. I want to cry. Hersh and the others could have been my children. It could have been me. Innocent people, enjoying a music festival. Some brave heroes who escaped and went back to rescue others, resulting in their capture, torture, and ultimate murder. We are facing real evil. In the 1930s and early 40s we didn’t realize what we were facing until far too late. There is no excuse today. We know the evil we are facing. They have showed us with their own videos and with their own actions. The question is are we going to allow evil to win or are we going to do whatever is necessary to defeat evil. Are we going to be like Churchill or are we going to allow the evil to grow and come to our country. The choice is ours. The choice is our leaders. I want to see what they do, not what they say. As my dad (z’l) said, Talk is cheap. Show me don’t tell me.