Month: March 2025

The world is the way it is because we allow it. It’s beyond time to speak out and no longer allow it.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

On his TV show this week, the comedian Bill Maher made fun of the Republicans and the Democrats and their unwillingness to cut the defense budget. He noted that there were only two things that they could agree on. Defense spending was one. The other, he joked, was to “Keep your eye on the Jews. You never know what they are up to.” He was kidding, sort of.

We live in a world I never imagined. A world which I read about growing up. Pogroms in Poland. Jews rounded up in Germany. Antisemitic propoganda believed as truth. Media spewing Jew hatred as facts. Growing up in a Jewish home where we went to synagogue every week, where I went to Hebrew school 3 times a week, we were taught about our history of being oppressed, of being outsiders, of being beaten and abused. We learned about the destruction of the first and second temple. We learned about the pogroms and the Shoah. We thought it was history and would never reoccur. We believed in the saying, “Never Again” and that the world believed it too. We were naive. Our parents were naive. Even our grandparents, who lived through the Shoah, were naive.

This week, Eli Sharabi, one of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th and held for 491 days before his release, spoke at the United Nations. He has previously spoken with President Trump and with Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of England. His stories of torture and captivity are horrifying. They prove that Never Again was a lie. They prove that Jew hatred is alive and flourishing and what will happen to all of us if we allow it. If we stay silent. If we don’t fight back.

Eli Sharabi addressed the UN. It’s a must listen and watch.

I was talking with a friend today who, out of the blue, thanked me for my public advocacy and outspokenness since October 7th. I told him that we could not afford to be silent. We were no longer those Jews who were silent and went quietly. There are still plenty of Jews who think we can assimiliate and be accepted. They think that if we just go along, if we just put others before ourselves, if we just don’t make big fuss, they will leave us alone. They fail to learn the lessons of the Jewish people throughout our history. Those who hate us will never leave us alone. There is nothing we can do to just fit in and be ignored. As my friend Fleur Hassan Nahoum has so powerfully and eloquently stated, “The problem is not that there is no Palestinian State. The problem is that there is a Jewish State.” The problem is that we exist. When I listen to people like Bernie Sanders and Peter Beinart, I get sick to my stomach. They think we can survive by hiding, by helping those who want us dead.

Life is short. I was lucky to know all four of my grandparents until I was in my early 20s. My wife knew both my grandfathers. I knew all four of her grandparents. My kids knew all four of her grandparents. It makes life seem long. It’s a fallacy. My father died a few months before I turned 55. It wasn’t long enough and I wasn’t old enough. Life is short. We have to treasure every moment and we have to fight for it. Judaism teaches that those who save a life, save a world. That’s how precious it is to us. It is why we make these terrible deals with Hamas to get our hostages home, dead or alive.

My four grandparents with my brother and me

It is why we need to maximize what we do with our time. Just trying to wait things out doesn’t work. It’s why we need to treasure the relationships we have and not waste a minute of them. It’s why we have to speak out and speak up against evil and injustice. No perceived injustice but real injustice. Our world today loves to make up injustice. Lie on your green card application? Incite violence? Spew hatred? Violate the agreements you made to get your green card? As soon as there are consequences for your actions, you are the victim of injustice. Not those that you harmed. Not the system that you abused.

Our time is not guaranteed and we never know when our time is up. Today in Israel, an 85-year-old man, Moshe Horn from Kibbutz HaZore’a, was killed in a terror attack in northern Israel. The terrorist, 25-year-old Kerem Jabarin from Ma’ale Iron, carried out a car-ramming and shooting spree before being neutralized by Border Guard soldiers. Horn’s son, who was driving the vehicle with his father as the passenger, witnessed the attack and stopped the car. As he did so, his father was struck by the terrorist’s gunfire. A 20-year-old soldier suffered injuries caused by the vehicular attack and was evacuated to the Ramabam Hospital in Haifa.

Hate and terrorists ended an innocent man’s life. A man who wasn’t done living but who’s life was stolen from him. And, I found out a few hours after his murder, a man who is who related to a friend of mine. Jewish life is like that. There is no 7 degrees of separation (or Kevin Bacon) in the Jewish world. It’s one or two. I didn’t know Moshe, yet I know his family and now I grieve a little more with them. I will continue to stand up and speak out in Moshe’s (z’l) memory.

This past week, my friend Dave also died. It was unexpected. We spoke that morning and things were good. He died unexpectedly that night and was found the day after. I miss our daily conversations. I miss his jokes and how we laughted together. It is a reminder that we never know when our time is up. There are no guarantees in life.

Me with my friends Ron (left) and Dave (z’l) in the center.

Both Moshe and Dave woke up on the day they died with plans for that day and the future. Neither of them got another day to live. If we don’t know when it is our time, why would we waste a single day? Why would we tolerate the intolerable? Why would we enable hate? Why would we accept evil? Eli Sharabi experienced true evil for 491 days. Despite the horrific things he endured, he is choosing to speak out. He is choosing to share his pain with the world so that people understand what is really happening. If a man who endured 491 day of hell, who lost his wife and children to murderous terrorists, who came out of captivity looking like a Holocaust survivor, can have the courage to stand up and speak out, why can’t we? If you don’t have the courage to do it on your own, watch Eli do it and draw your courage from him. Draw it from Mia Schem and Emily Damari, two hostages who refuse to be silent about what they endured. Mia, who recently shared what happened to her and her fears of being pregnant. If they can do it, we have no excuse for not speaking out.

Mia Schem sharing what she experienced and her great fear

In memory of my friend Dave and Moshe Horn as well as all of those murdered by Hamas terorrists, in honor of Eli Sharabi and all those who are fighting through their own pain to speak out and share the horror with the world, I vow to never be silent. To stand up and speak out. To fight evil no matter the cost.

The world is the way it is today because we have allowed it. It is past the time to stop allowing it. If you want to live in a different and better world, it is up to you to take action. It is up to each of us to fight evil. We have our heroes to inspire us. I choose a better world. I choose to take action. What about you?

Eli Sharabi, a former Israeli hostage released by Hamas in Gaza last month, holds of a photograph of his wife and two daughters killed by Hamas, as he addresses a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S, March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Queen Esther and Sacrifice – a Purim leadership lesson

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Purim is one of my favorite holidays. It’s got a great story, an evil villian, a heroine that is tough to beat, and delicious triangle cookies. What’s not to love?

This year before Purim, I took the opportunity to learn a bit more about the story from a variety of teachers. It took me down a much deeper road with lots of lessons that apply to to our world today. I always enjoy when I find something in ancient texts that somehow team me a lesson for today’s world.

Purim is highlighted by a few major characters. Queen Esther, the heroine. A much deeper character to explore that the basic story presents. Her ‘uncle’ Mordechai, the hero. He pushes back against the evil villian and wins. Haman, the evil villian, who’s triangle hat becomes the Hamentaschen, the cookies we eat, at Purim. Haman, who’s name we drown out during the reading of the Megillah. King Achashvarosh, who divorces/murders his wife and marries Esther. And Queen Vashti, who refuses the King’s order/request, resulting in her divorce/death. I want to focus on Queen Esther here.

She was always one of my favorite charcters because of my Grandma Esther. Subconciously, there was always a connection to my Grandma Esther and Queen Esther. Plus dressing up, Purim carnivals, hamentaschen, and the fun makes Purim a special holiday for children. For much of my life, I thought of her as Morchechai’s niece who married the King to save the Jewish people. A wonderful and simple heroine. I never bothered to ask what happened to her when the story ends. I never bothered to ask if her ‘Uncle’ was really an uncle. I took it at face value and enjoyed the story.

Queen Esther as painted by the great Rembrandt. He painted many images from the Purim story.

It is much deeper than that. Jewish tradition and the talmud teaches us that Esther and Mordechai were actually husband and wife. The Talmud interprets the phrase “Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter” (Esther 2:7) as “Mordecai took her as his wife”. Think about what it must be like to be settled, married, and planning what your life will look like when all of a sudden your husband asks you to leave him and try to marry the King. Your husband who pushes you out of his bed and into the King’s bed. It is hard to believe that this is something that Esther wants to do or is looking forward to doing. I find myself wondering why shouldn’t just tank the interview to be Queen, find some way to ensure that the King will not pick her so she can return to her husband and her life. That’s the easy thing to do. Finish second, don’t strive to win, just be a part of the pack and be forgettable. Yet that isn’t what she does. Instead, she charms the King and he picks her to be his wife, forever ending any chance she has of returning to her life with Mordechai. She makes a huge sacrifice based entirely on trust and faith.

How often do we face challenges that require a sacrifice and we fail to do so? These aren’t always life changing challenges and yet we still are not willing to make the sacrifice for the greater good. History has shown us what happens when you fail to make the sacrifice for the greater good. When you put yourself first and the world or your community second. True leaders are willing to make that sacrifice. It doesn’t mean they aren’t afraid of the cost. Instead, they are very afraid of the cost yet go ahead and do it anyway. That’s leadership. Queen Esther did what was needed at great cost to herself and her life. She gave up the life she knew for the greater good.

Queen Esther took a risk when she told King Achashveros that she was Jewish. There was no guarantee that the King would choose her over Haman. She couldn’t be sure that the King wouldn’t be disgusted with her and get rid of her like he did with Queen Vashti. She didn’t have to take the risk to tell him. She was safe. Like many people in today’s world, she was a hidden Jew. She could have stayed quiet, stayed hidden, and lived a full life. But she didn’t. She is the example to us today that no matter how good we have it in our country, at the end of the day, we will always be seend as Jews first. Jews in Germany who had prominent roles in the military, the government, and business got no special dispensation from the Nazis. They were Jews first. Our Jewish legislators who think they are safe because they defend the rights of others at the cost of the Jews are merely fooling themselves. Queen Esther showed us the way.

I look at many of our leaders today, both in and out of the Jewish community, and wonder why they aren’t following Queen Esther’s lead. Very few are willing to actually put it on the line and take the risk of losing their power and position to do what is right. There are the exceptions. Senator John Fetterman has been outspoken and lately there have been pieces written about the cost he has paid as a result. The Wall Street Journal wrote a piece about him being the “Lonliest Democrat in Washington”.

He has spoken out repeatedly against Hamas and those who defend them. He is a throwback to the days when America didn’t negotiate with terrorists, when terrorist was evil without any excuse. He is a true leader who is going to do what is right, regardless of the personal consequences.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has done the same, talking about the evil of Hamas and revoking the green cards of those who incite violence and support terrorist organizations. He is unequivative is his condemnation of Hamas and those who support them.

We simply don’t have enough of these leaders in the Democratic or Republican party. We have far too many Bernie Sanders, who blames Israel when Hamas won’t agree to ceasefires, won’t release the hostages, and remains responsible. We have Thomas Massie on the right, who is an open antisemite. We have people like Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Pramila Jayapal on the left who are so far into their Jew hatred that they could be mistaken for Marjorie Taylor-Greene or Lauren Boebert with their hatred. Queen Esther teaches us all that we must stand up for what is right, regardless of the personal cost. The greater good matters.

As a Jew, the ending of the story of Purim was always a happy one. Like most Jewish stories, they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat. However the story ends differently for Queen Esther. She doesn’t go back to her regular life after Haman is hung and Mordechai promoted. She doesn’t get to leave the castle and stop being Queen or the wife of King Achashverosh. Her sacrifice is truly one for her entire life. Often times we think it is just for the length of the story. That the things we are willing to give up, the choices that we make are only going to be temporary. Queen Esther reminds us that is not always the case. There are times when the sacrifice we make is much greater and lasts much longer. It doesn’t change the importance or significance of that sacrifice. The megillah continues after Queen Esther tells King Achashverosh she is Jewish and Haman wants to kill her and her people. The story continues about the role of Mordechai and the gifts and power he is given. Esther falls into the background. Her work is done but her sacrifice is not done. It is one she continues to make on a daily basis for the rest of her life.

That’s the lesson about sacrifice. It’s for the greater good and must be willing to pay the price regardless of how much it may be. The cost of not making the sacrifice is far greater. We see this with the IDF soldiers and the people of Israel. Since October 7th, they have made incredible sacrifices. Many have lost their lives. Their families have been changed forever. Children have spent most of the year without their parent(s) who have had to serve in milium (reserves). Incredible instability with rockets falling daily, war all around, funerals on a regular basis due to the war, many forceably relocated for safety. Soldiers facing PTSD and their lives changed forever. Hostages who endured unbelievable torture. Every Saturday night there are massive protests against the government and demands to release the hostages. The leaders of these efforts pay a high price. Those who commit to be there pay a high price.

One of my friends was a high level commander in Gaza during the first four months of the war. The price he paid was easy to see when we got together after those four months. Just recently, he was one of the commanders in charge of the hostage releases during phase 1 of the ceasefire. He shared how difficult and painful that was for him. What he experienced on October 7th, the first four months of the war, and managing the hostage releases will stay with him for life. He is not the same person he was on October 6th. Like Queen Esther, he was willing to make the sacrifices that were necessary, regardless of the personal cost.

There are lessons to be learned from Queen Esther beyond being proud of being Jewish and standing up for the Jewish people to those in power. The lesson of sacrifice is key among them. The lesson of the greater good. The lesson of standing up for what is right regardless of the cost. Nowhere in the Megillah does it recount Queen Esther complaining to Mordechai that she did her job and now is stuck for the rest of her life. That’s true leadership.

True leadership is remembering that it is a sacrifice, not a privilege. It is an obligation not a coronation. This applies in our political arena as well as our Jewish organizations. The lesson of George Washington only serving two terms and our Founding Fathers wanting to get home to their families and their lives rather than serve forever in Washington DC has been lost. Their willingness to sacrifice their personal success and time with their familes for the greater good has been lost. The Israeli people are showing us what it looks like. People stepping up to serve much longer than required. People letting their spouses serve and figuring out how to raise children and pay the bills without one of the parents being there. People leaving the government because they fundamentally disagree with decisions being made. People peacefully protesting every single week because they want to see change. It’s time to bring it back. It is time for us to do our part. Otherwise we are letting evil win. I, for one, refuse to do that. What about you?

Don’t forget it is the United States they call Great Satan

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and set for deportation. This was because of his criminal actions, although many on the left have made this a free speech issue. I have found this to be beyond appalling. They won’t stand up when Hamas invades Israel and murders, rapes, beheads, and kidnaps civilians. They won’t stand up when Hamas uses human shields. They won’t stand up when Hamas and Hezbollah fire rockets at Israel on a daily basis for almost an entire year. They won’t stand up when the UN and UNRWA have employees that participate in the October 7th invasion, rape, murder, and kidnapping. They won’t stand up with UNRWA is found to be hiding hostages in their hospitals and schools. They won’t stand up when Hamas strangles two children under the age of 5, brutally murders their mother, and brutalizes their bodies to attempt to hide how they murdered them.

They will stand up when a Jew hater who breaks the law is arrested and is going to be deported. They will stand up to defend an institution like Columbia University who violates Title VI and doesn’t protect Jewish students when some of their Federal funding is cut. It disgusts me. It infuriates me. It makes me want to throw my arms in the air and wonder if there is a future for Jews in the United States. When it is also done by Jews, I wonder how can they be so stupid. How can they look at our history and repeat the same behavior in 1930s Germany? How can they repeat the behavior that led to the destruction of the first and second Temple?

Senator Chuck Schumer has become one of the worst. I heard him speak at the AIPAC Policy Summit in 2024 didn’t believe a word that he said because of his actions. I heard his speak at the rally in DC before the JFNA General Assembly in November 2024 when his words were so irrelevant that the audience didn’t listen to a word he said. Where the audience openly booed him. A man who previously claimed that he was “Schumer the shomer,” which means guardian in Hebrew. He promised the Jewish people that he didn’t just have their back, he also had their front. Schumer promised that he would always stand sentry before the Jewish community. What he didn’t say is that he would have our back so he could stab us in it. He would have our front so he could catch us as we fell after he stabbed us in the back. He would stand sentry and do nothing as people tried to kill us, tried to finish what Hitler started, and actively defend those who attempted this genocide.

Schumer’s statement about Mahmoud Khalil is a perfect example of this. He covers his behind with pithy statements that mean nothing and that he did nothing about. He cites the 8 month pregnant wife as significant while having ignored the pregnant wife of US citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen who was taken hostage on October 7th. He ignores the Title VI violates, he ignores the requirements of the immigration status Khalil has and the violations of that agreement, he ignores the process of deportment that is currently ongoing and instead defends the Jew hater and the behavior that terrorizes Jewish students.

Schumer embarrassingly wrote:

I abhor many of the opinions and policies that Mahmoud Khalil holds and supports, and have made my criticism of the antisemitic actions at Columbia loudly known. Mr. Khalil is also legal permanent resident here, and his wife, who is 8-months pregnant, is an American citizen. While he may well be in violation of various campus rules regarding how the protests were conducted last year, that is a matter for the university to pursue, and I have encouraged them to be much more robust in how they combat antisemitism and maintain a harassment-free campus that protects the safety and security of Jewish and other students. The Trump administration’s DHS must articulate any criminal charges or facts that would justify his detention or the initiation of deportation proceedings against him. If the administration cannot prove he has violated any criminal law to justify taking this severe action and is doing it for the opinions he has expressed, then that is wrong, they are violating the First Amendment protections we all enjoy and should drop their wrongheaded action.

Seth Mandel wrote this scathing piece about Schumer in November 2024. Who would have imagined that it would get worse. Who imagined that if the piece was being writing in March 2025 Schumer would look even worse.

Of course we have one of our favorite Jew haters, Rashinda Tlaib, chiming in. She makes sure to use the words, “bring him home”, appropriating the language used for the hostages taken by Hamas. Hostages that Tlaib doesn’t care about. Khalil wasn’t illegeally abducted, he was legally arrested. He was taken to appropriate facility and it is public knowledge. He will have a deportation hearing and based on the results of that hearing, he will either be deported or he won’t. That is our rule of law. It is being applied based on the actions of Khalil. Tlaib doesn’t care. She doesn’t believe in the rule of law when it comes to Jew haters and Jews. She is an utter disgrace to the US House of Representatives and the United States but gets defended by those who hate the Jews.

The Senate Judiciary Democrats pile on to the Jew hatred and defense of terrorists and those who not only hate Jews but act on that hatred. They wonder why the country didn’t re-elect them in the last election and have no introspection. David Hogg, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), doubles down on the positions that led to the Democrats losing. He continues the lie of ‘abduction’ instead of arrest. He ignores the actual process related to deportation and Khalil’s immigration status to apply false regulations that do not apply. It is not a constitutional violation. It is not a first amendment issue. It’s not based on freedom of speech, it is based on what he did. Just like you are not allowed to yell fire in a crowded movie theater, there are limitations to speech, especially when you have a green card and are not a citizen.

“Immigration law does allow the federal government to deport noncitizens, even people who are green card holders,” over certain offenses or certain kinds of behavior, said Adam Cox, a law professor and immigration expert at New York University. The key is applying the law and as of now, the government has done that. This is the process. The government will have to prove their case, show that he committed these offenses or was involved in this specific type of behavior. The demands of Schumer, Tlaib, the Senate Judiciary Democrats, David Hogg, and so many others, are to not apply the law and instead treat him differently because his target is the Jews.

Maya Sulkin of The Free Press (and the daughter of friends of mine) discusses the realities of Khalil’s actions clearly. “This is someone who has been the engine behind so much of the violence we have seen on campus since October 7th”. Watch and listen to her explain the realities. While the mainstream media will highlight the Jew haters in Congress calling this freedom of speech and the protesters who hide their faces and don’t understand the law calling it freedom of speech, this is about inciting violence. About taking away the rights of others.

So lets look at the actual law, not just throw out ‘free speech’. The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act states that if the Secretary of State has “reasonable grounds” to believe than a non-citizen poses “potentially serious adverse foreign policy and national security interests of the Unites State of America” they have grounds to deport that individual. No crime has to be committed and no criminal conviction is required. This includes anybody with a U.S. visa or a green card. That is Mahmoud Khalil’s immigration status and what the government, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is asserting. Note that it’s not up you or me to determine the reasonable grounds nor what the adverse interest may be, but only the government through the Secretary of State.

The facts matter. Understanding freedom of speech matters. Applying the law in an appropriate manner matters. As we have seen with the Jew haters, they don’t care about the law. They don’t care about following the rules and regulations except when it benefits them. They make things up and create their own reality in the face of the law and in the face of fairness. Khalil has been deeply involved in the unrest at Columbia since October 7, 2023 including the April 2024 takeover of Hamilton Hall in which maintenance workers were held against their will and the building was damaged. He was actively giving interviews to the Hamas-aligned Quds News Network with openly pro-Hamas signs and supported the right to resist ‘by all available means.’ The right to free speech is core to our country but there are limits as the supreme court has ruled. The law says that the government has the right to revoke his immigration status and green card and deport him if they deem him a serious risk to our national security. Like it or not, that’s the law. If you don’t like it, change the law, don’t choose to not apply it and lie about it.

Meanwhile, anytime there is an opportunity to criticize Israel or the Jews, you can count on Peter Beinart to speak up. He makes his own realities and somehow continues to be given a platform. Beinart, a self-hating Jew, is always on the wrong side of every issue when it comes to Israel and the Jews. I met him in 2015 when he spoke in Seattle. I listened to what he had to say to understand his point of view. What I came to understand is that he hates Israel. He hates the Jews. He will side with our enemies and the Jew haters EVERY SINGLE TIME. Now he chooses to use the holiday of Purim, about to be celebrated this week, as a reason to slander Israel and the Jewish people. He disgusts me. Somehow he thinks that when they kill us all, they will spare him because he was on their side. He doesn’t bother to learn the lessons from history that they hate us all.

Yet there are those who get it. There are those who actually stand on a moral high ground. Senator John Fetterman continues to speak out. He is unwavering in his fight against evil. He has recently begun to discuss the cost of being principled. How other Democrats shun him. He doesn’t care. He will do what is right regardless of the consequences. He earns my respect regularly and that respect grows each time he stands up and speaks out. I hope that he inspires others to do so. I hope that his principles inspire you and others to also speak out for what’s right. Not to believe the lies. To get educated.

We are in a war between good and evil. Hamas and their supporters are evil. As long as we allow evil to exist, it will continue to grow. Good doesn’t defeat evil by simply making it a little smaller. Good defeats evil by eliminating evil. We know that Hamas hates Israel and the Jews. Don’t forget that they call Israel and the Jews, “little Satan”. It is the United States they call “Great Satan”. People like Mahmoud Khalil go after Israel and the Jews because they can. Their ultimate target is the United States and the West. We have our laws for a reason. Let’s make sure we enforce them. The fools who defend those who want them dead can kick and scream and cry all they want. They are on the wrong side of history. Time for you to choose. Do you want to ensure your freedom or do you want to empower those who want you dead to make that happen. This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. This isn’t a Biden or Trump issue. Look at the words of Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They know it is an existential threat to us all. Fight evil with all you have because if evil wins, we all lose.

You’ve gotta fight, for your right, to get real information (sorry Beastie Boys).

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

We have seen the pictures and videos of the hostages coming out of Gaza. They are horrifying. The images of Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy when they were released was horrifying. It was like watching the survivors of the Nazi death camps all over again.

Eli was brave enough to share his story in a powerful interview. It won’t be shown on 60 minutes or Dateline. It won’t be widely publicized through the western media. The question is if you will have the courage to watch the entire interview. To hear his story of captivity and torture. To experience the evil that he did. And then, will you share the interview? Will you talk about the interview? Will you make sure others see and hear the truth. The video is below. The decision is yours.

Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped, abused, tortured, and held hostage by Hamas along with his wife Shiri (z’l), and children Ariel (z’l) and Kfir (z’l) spent 484 days in captivity. After his release we all learned that the rest of his family had been murdered by Hamas a month or so after being taken hostage. Brutally murdered, their bodies desecrated afterwards to attempt to hide how they were strangled by their evil Hamas captors. Yarden wrote a powerful letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu this week. In many ways it speaks for the Jewish people. Get the hostages back and then destroy Hamas.

Yarden Bibas giving the eulogy for his wife and two beautiful children, murdered by Hamas

Here os full letter that Yarden Bibas wrote:

Mr. Prime Minister,
My name is Yarden Bibs, and while they read my speech to you, I sit Shiva on my wife Shiri and my children Kfir and Ariel. Innocent and innocent children who were kidnapped from their homes and murdered captive. They could have and should have been saved.

The cursed terrorists conquered Nir Oz with flip-flops, my family and I were brutally kidnapped from our home to Gaza.

On that cursed morning, the state was not in Nir Oz. There were only local heroes – members of readiness classes and brave fighters, who did everything they could and even paid with their lives.
And today, 514 days later – I returned from Gaza to an unimaginable reality in which I was forced to bury my entire family in one day. I don’t wish this horrible nightmare on anyone. And despite the terrible pain, I ask you at this moment to stop. The stage of revenge has not yet reached. At this point we are obligated to immediately return our brothers, including my best friend David Kunyo and his brother Ariel. David, my friend from the first grade, the neighbor from the Kibbutz, who fell in the Hamas tunnels. I know I won’t be able to hug my children and wife anymore. But Emma and Yuli – David’s daughters, who were kidnapped by themselves to Gaza when they were only 3 years old, are waiting to hug him. Sharon’s wife deserves to hug him.

After we bring back David and all the hostages, I will be the first to support all your actions to overthrow Hamas. As a resident of Nir Oz, I know that we will be forced to defeat Hamas because otherwise we will not have security, but we must always preserve the sanctity of life, the honor of the dead and leave no one behind, otherwise we have lost who we are. Mister Prime Minister, 514 days and nights have already passed and you and your government still have not taken responsibility. The demand to set up a state inquiry committee is a demand that with israel united around it – 83% of israel citizens demand it, along with 1,500 October Council families and I am among them. Its goal is not personal persecution, but to produce lessons to prevent the next disaster. I call you Mr. Prime Minister – unite the nation israel give calm to our souls, uphold the will of the people and the families. Inform today about the establishment of a state inquiry committee that will strengthen the security of Israel prevent another disaster, and give me and everyone with israel answers.

How did it happen that nine-month-old Kfir, and four-year-old Ariel were kidnapped and murdered together with Shiri’s mother in unimaginable cruelty?

How did we get to the point that during the long hours at the police station no one came to save us?
I keep thinking and regretting that I didn’t take better care of my wife and kids. It is eating me up inside. And I only had a gun and I will be a simple citizen in a quiet kibbutz. Do you think about it? Do you also find it difficult to get through day and night without a heavy sense of responsibility for what happened? Are you able to say this loud and clear?

So many citizens are asking for forgiveness. So few politicians apologize.

So many civilians and fighters taking responsibility. So few members of government take responsibility.
My sister Ofri said at the funeral a sentence that I deeply connect with: “Forgiveness means accepting responsibility and a commitment to act differently, learning from mistakes.” There is no point in forgiving before the defectors are investigated, and all position holders will be held accountable. Our disaster as a nation and ours as a family should not have happened, and it must not, must not happen again. “I have no interest in closing account of the past, I try to gather strength and look ahead. I ask that we all do our best to make it better, more close and stronger here. From the window of the car that led us on the funeral journey, I saw the people of israel I saw a broken country – religious, secular and ultra-orthodox, standing together with flags and tears. I felt like they were really with me. I didn’t know them but I felt they were my brothers and sisters. What are you doing in leadership to maintain this togetherness? Do you get up every morning to separate or to strengthen us a little more from the inside? In my eyes it’s not less important your role than sending planes to eliminate enemies. This is our strength. This is our spirit.

In conclusion, I appeal to you Mr. Prime Minister, I have not yet entered my home in Nir Oz and I do not know what awaits me inside. I’m asking you to come along with me, to join me for the first time since October 7. I ask we do it together. If we do not look disaster in the eye, we cannot recover.“ 

Yaron Bibas letter published in many newspapers

This should be the lead on the news. After having his wife and two babies murdered by Hamas, he is not calling for vengence. He wants the rest of the hostages home. He also acknowledges the evil of Hamas and that they must be destroyed but the lives of the hostages come first. Despite the lies of the media, despite Hamas using child soldiers and human shields, the humanity of Israel is real and continues to be hidden, the lies continue to be told, and the world continues to believe them.

Amotz Eyal

My friend Amotz Eyal is the founder and CEO of TPS-IL. It’s something you have probably never heard of. Until I met Amotz, I hadn’t either. TPS-IL, officially known as The Press Service of Israel, is an Israeli news bureau. It is the equivilant of AP and Reuters only when it comes to reporting from and about Israel, TPS-IL is actually factual. Their reach across the globe, outside of America, is incredible. Last month, Amotz was in Orlando and we spent two days together. I learned so much, not just about TPS-IL but also about him.

On October 7, 2023, Amotz got a phone call that something was happening but the photographers couldn’t get there to document it. Of course he volunteered to go take pictures and video, even though he is the CEO. He told his wife he would be home by dinner. As he began taking pictures, he quickly realized that this wasn’t something small and he put his camera away and moved towards the fighting. He ended up in Sderot and took over operational command to defend the city against the Hamas invaders. He ended up home 3 months later. He is still active in the IDF, commanding an elite unit. The first morning in Orlando, he stood outside our first appointment on the phone with his unit, planning their raid of Jenin to eliminate terrorists and capture weapons. He hung up the phone, joined me for our meetings that day as if nothing was happening. The next day he showed me pictures of the weapons they captured in Jenin. If only the mainstream media (MSM) would cover what really happens.

Hamas child soldiers. This is what the Jew haters are defending.

Amotz just wrote a powerful piece in the Jerusalem post titled, Propaganda without boundaries: How Hamas exploits, abuses, weaponizes children. It should be on the front page of every newspaper, covered by every major news network, but it won’t. You can read it and see just how Hamas is inculcating hate, using children as weapons and as soldiers. It is horrifying.

The truth is cleverly hidden by the media that we see and the narrative that they tell us and want us to believe. A perfect example is the recent ‘documentary’, No Other Land, about Masafer Yatta in Judea and Samaria (often called the West Bank). The truth of the village is very different than what this alleged documentary claims and what the mainstream western media tells you. Read the article by Honest Reporting and learn the real history.

Masafer Yatta & Khan al-Ahmar: Behind the Headlines

If you want another source to read, check out the JNS article about Masafer Yatta. The truth is out there. Documented history is out there. You can choose to find out what the truth really is or you can believe what you are being fed. The choice is entirely yours.

It gets worse. Oscar-winning Pallywood star Basel Adra of No Other Land was caught on video, lying about what happened. Here he is setting fire to Palestinian structures —but telling people to say “the Jews did it” for the cameras. Facts don’t matter. The truth doesn’t matter. The media determines the story they want to tell and makes up what they need to tell it. My blood boils when I see it happen over and over and over again and nobody held accountable.

Basel Adra, now an Oscar Winning Director of a documentary that lies, is shown lying on film.

Yesterday, President Trump met in the Oval Office with eight hostages that have been released. I found this video of their interaction incredibly powerful. A few quotes really stood out for me. “Horrible, horrible stories. Not even believable.” Then, “Don’t worry, we’ll get them out.” I don’t care what you think of President Trump. Love him or hate him, it doesn’t matter. These are statements that are long overdue. You can see and hear from these 8 hostages what powerful words and actions mean to them and the hostages still in captivity. Our media will not run the stories of these hostages. The media will not highlight the torture that they endured. Freedom of the press was designed so that the press would be able to report the truth, not so they could hide behind it and lie over and over and over again. Yet that is what we are seeing. Lie after lie.

Over a decade ago, I had the opportunity to learn about a new organization, Fuente Latina, that was doing something unbelievable. Having learned that Iran was targeting the Spanish speaking world with anti-Israel propoganda and lies, founder Leah Soibel decided to create a pro-Israel media outlet to share the truth with the Spanish speaking world. In the dozen years since, the work they have done is incredible. In 2024, they took over 100 journalists from Spanish speaking countries to Israel to see with their own eyes what happend on October 7th and what Israel is really like. The content they provide to the Spanish speaking world is incredible.

They created an incredible 4 part docuseries about October 7th that focuses on the Latin Americans that were murdered and taken hostage on October 7th. Most people don’t know that Latin Americans were the largest immigrant group attacked on October 7th or that the Bibas family is Argentinian. I watched the trailer and was captivated. I don’t speak Spanish and as I listened to the tone of their voices and read the subtitles, I was overwhelmed. There was something about watching these people tell their stories, while in Israel, living as Israelis, and speaking Spanish, not Hebrew, that was incredibly powerful. Once again, you won’t see this on 60 minutes or Dateline. You won’t see this type of reporting in our mainstream media. The truth has to fight ten times harder to overcome the lies. Watch the trailer. I’ve seen it half a dozen times or more and it gets me every single time. I can’t wait for the docuseries to be available.

Fuente Latina’s trailer for the docuseries. I can’t wait to see the full series. Incredibly powerful.

So what do you want to do? Do you want to be a lemming who believes the lies they are told? Do you want to ensure you are on the wrong side of history? Do you want to find real information and fight for truth and against the lies. Are you willing to do the work it takes in today’s world to get beyond consuming whatever those in charge want to feed you and instead learn for yourself?

I always go back to the great CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite for inspiration. He knew his job was to share the news, the facts, and the truth and let the viewer consume, digest, and interpret. His tag line, “and that’s the way it is” was the gold standard and his newscasts should be required viewing for all those who are a part of the media today. His final broadcast as the anchorman of the CBS Evening news, ironically enough March 6, 1981, was a classic, but in hindsight, he was very wrong. He talks about a supurb team of journalists and unfortunately that isn’t the case any longer. The news is part of the entertainment division and they are going to tell you a story, the story they want to tell, and it is up to you to decide if you want to consume it. Far too many people don’t understand they are now watching a story created by the entertainment division, not getting the facts. The hardest thing to hear him say is, “and none of that will change.” Walter was very wrong. It has changed.

Each time I write this blog, I think of Walter Cronkite, because I’m going to tell it like it is, or at least how I see it. I’m tired of lies. I’m tired of being fed BS by those with their own agenda. I’ve long tired of being told by others who is good and who bad, who is right and who is wrong, what I should believe in and what I should fight against. The days of Walter Cronkite being the voice and face you could trust to give you the facts are long gone. Now it’s up to each of us to be our own Walter Cronkite. Are you up for the challenge?

Wonder Woman for the Win

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

In January 2025, the Palm Beach Post’s editorial page editor Tony Doris decided to run a political cartoon about the hostages being released from over a year of captivity in Gaza by the terrorist organization Hamas. Doris, who is Jewish, somehow thought that politicizing the kidnapping and torture of innocent civilians was appropriate. The cartoon itself, places no blame or responsibility on Hamas, who invaded Israel, murdered, raped, beheaded, kidnapped, and tortured those they encountered. Even the headline, “a year of merciless war” is clearly a political mistatement as there was no war until Hamas invaded on October 7, 2023 and kidnapped the hostages. It doesn’t reflect any of the terrorists killed in the 40,000 number or any of those killed by Hamas. It is a symbol of the increased Jew hatred and what is wrong with our media.

The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach immediately addressed the cartoon, taking out a full page ad in the newspaper the following Sunday. Gannett, the owners of the newspaper, took the allegation seriously and met with leadership to address the publication of the cartoon, even admitting that the proper protocals were not followed and had they been followed, the cartoon would not have run. They suspended Doris and investigated the situtation before firing him a week later for violating company policy.

“The cartoon did not meet our standards. We sincerely regret the error and have taken appropriate action to prevent this from happening again.” stated Lark-Marie Anton, a Palm Beach Post spokesperson.

Yet it was not until this week, the first week of March, that the firing became public. Both Doris and Jeff Danziger, who drew the cartoon, gave the typical pithy defense. They were criticizing war. They were criticizing the policy of the Israeli government. One is a war veteran so he ‘knows’ what he is talking about. The other is Jewish and believes Israel has a right to exist (but not to defend herself when attacked and not to hold those who invade, murder, rape, kidnap, and torture civilians responsible). Thankfully the leadership of the Federation spoke up. Thankfully Gannett didn’t buy the BS being offered this time. It’s a big deal and shows what standing up and speaking out can do. Neither Doris or Danziger will ever understand what was wrong with the cartoon and choosing the publish it. Neither will ever admit the inherent Jew hatred in drawing and publishing the cartoon. They were held accountable for their actions, which is a big change from what we have seen since October 7th.

To understand how disgusting the cartoon and the hatred that is behind it really are, read the article about the interview with Eli Sherabi, released after 491 days of captivity. A few highlights. Near lynching (by civilians). Starvation. Beatings. Monthly showers with a half a bucket of cold water. “A year and four months shackled by my legs, with chains that wrap around me, with very, very heavy locks that tear at your flesh.”

Eli Sherabi, a hostage in Gaza for 491 days.

His interview has gotten no publicity in the United States. His description of the horrors he faced are not a main story. The evilness of Hamas is not on display because the media doesn’t think it will sell. I urge you to read the interview. It is hard to read, hard to imagine what he and the others endured, hard to believe the world sat idly by. The Red Cross and UN are proven to be worse than I even thought when I think of how complicit they are in what he and others endured. If Eli could endure his captors’ torture, the least I can do is speak out. The least I can do is use my voice and fight back against the Jew hatred. I have the easy part. Any time I think what I have to do is difficult, all I have to do is reread the interview and remember what Eli endured is hard. The rest is not.

The stupidity of antisemites never fails to amaze me. I saw this exchange and rather than make me angry, it made me laugh and cry just a little bit. It’s like those who deny Jews lived in Israel and Jerusalem before Islam and can’t understand why we built a holy wall for our Temple beneath Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque.

If I had to bet, lorrie is either a bible thumper who can quote the story of the sale of Joseph into slavery and his interpretation of Phaoroah’s dreams or a major fan of broadway who has seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat multiple times. Yet can’t put two and two together.

I wrote about the Academy Awards and specifically about the accusation made by Basel Adra, one of the Directors of the award winning film, No Other Land. Since then, as result of Adra’s blatent lie, accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing, I have done a little bit of research into the story behind the movie. What I have learned is fascinating. It also both debunks the premise of the movie and highlights just how prevelant antisemitism is in Hollywood and how much they like to promote lies about the Jewish homeland. This is what was written about the movie and the story they tell.

The Film ‘No Other Land’ Sparked Significant Controversy.

In reality, the film is based on a complete Palestinian falsehood known as “Masafer Yatta.”
Let’s talk about it for a bit.

First of all, the film tells the story of Masafer Yatta. The film attempts to convey the narrative that Palestinians have lived there for hundreds of years and that Israel suddenly decided to evict them.
In reality, this was abandoned land that nomadic Bedouins occasionally used for grazing and sometimes took shelter in the caves there. 

In fact, Palestinian construction in the area only began in the 1990s. Before that, there were caves that Bedouins used as seasonal dwellings.  The most important point: Until 1993, the Israeli Air Force conducted attack training in the area. These were full-scale military exercises—of the kind that made permanent residence impossible. This fact alone proves that no permanent settlement existed there.

Only in 1999 did Palestinians file a petition with the court. The simple reason? Until then, the area was of no importance to them, and no one lived there permanently. It’s also worth noting that even afterward, they never presented any ownership documents.

Summary:
Palestinians have never provided evidence that the area belonged to them. Even more striking, it was only many years after the military had been active there that they began constructing homes.

Attached is a screenshot of the court ruling, with an English translation:
ynet.co.il/news/article/r…

בג”ץ: אפשר לפנות מאות פלסטינים המתגוררים בשטח אש בדרום הר חברוןבתום מחלוקת ארוכת שנים, דחה בג”ץ שתי עתירות של פלסטינים החיים בשטח שנמצא בשליטת צה”ל. השופט מינץ קבע כי “ערב ההכרזה על שטח אש לא היו מגורים קבועים בגבולותיו”, אך הוסיף כי העותרים יוכלו להיכנס לאזור לצ…https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/ryxs6swuq

The judge rebuked the petitioners for exploiting the legal battle to continue illegal construction,
even though the court had conditioned its injunctions against demolition on a halt to further illegal building.

In other words: All the demolition footage was staged. They built in a prohibited area precisely so that the IDF would demolish their homes, allowing them to document and publicize it. 

A side note relevant to the previous point:

At 11:15 in the film, they explicitly discuss their strategy to prevent what they fear most:
“I think we can stop the eviction. It will happen if we document and work on the ground.”

It’s astounding how openly Palestinians reveal their well-worn tactic that Israel has been blind to for years: provoking a confrontation, standing by with cameras, and capturing the perfect moment. This is textbook Pallywood. Anyone familiar with Palestinian tactics—not Westerners unfamiliar with their methods—knows that this means: “Let’s stir up trouble, capture the perfect moment, edit around it, and publish.”

This is the same trick they’ve used thousands of times: A soldier turns his rifle, they freeze the frame the moment it’s aimed at a civilian, and they frame it as if he is targeting an innocent bystander.

By the way, the Arabic word ‘Masafer’ means ‘nothing.’ Many believed the area was worthless. 

What bothered me personally the most was the use of children.
And it’s a shame Hollywood enables this.
The same way they arm their children and encourage them to commit acts of terror,
The same way Hamas builds tunnels under schools,
The same way they always send their children—whom they love less than they hate us—into the line of fire, hoping they’ll get hurt so they can parade them in front of cameras,
That’s exactly how children were used in this film.

Why use children and force them to live in a conflict zone solely for political purposes? 

Did you know they even stole the film’s title from the Jews?

https://twitter.com/GAZAWOOD1/status/1896607745949773832

Summary: Why are Palestinians trying to seize Masafer Yatta?

The Palestinian push to take over Masafer Yatta is not coincidental and not simply a ‘survival struggle’ as international media portrays it. This is a well-planned strategy motivated by demographic, political, and territorial considerations in the battle for control of the West Bank.

1. Creating ‘facts on the ground’ as part of the fight for Area C
2. Masafer Yatta is in Area C—territory under full Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords.
3. The Palestinian Authority knows it has no official authority there, so it promotes illegal construction to establish footholds and turn them into permanent settlements.

The goal?

1. International pressure leading to de facto recognition of Palestinian control over the land. 2. Establishing Palestinian territorial continuity and breaking Jewish settlement
3. Masafer Yatta lies between southern Hebron and the Negev—a strategic area linking West Bank 4. Palestinian communities with Bedouin populations in the Negev.
5. Palestinian control there isolates Jewish settlements, preventing Jewish territorial continuity between the Negev and the Hebron region.

European Union & international support

1. The EU directly funds illegal Palestinian construction in the area, despite it being a designated military firing zone.
2. Palestinians receive financial and logistical aid from European left-wing NGOs looking to push an anti-Israel narrative by manufacturing a “forced eviction crisis.”


Exploiting legal and media platforms

1. Palestinians use courts and media to frame the issue as “forced displacement of traditional residents,” even though the area was historically used only for grazing, not for permanent settlement.
2. Branding the conflict as a ‘human rights project’ recruits global support and hinders Israeli sovereignty enforcement.


Conclusion: This is a strategic battle, not a defense of ‘ancient villages.’ The Masafer Yatta narrative as “historical villages” is not backed by facts—permanent settlement began only in the 1990s. The real goal is political: To create Palestinian territorial continuity, isolate Jewish communities, and weaken Israeli control over Area C. The use of media and courts is a calculated move to generate international pressure and solidify Palestinian presence as an irreversible reality.

This isn’t about “another Israeli injustice”—it’s a deliberate strategic operation backed by European funding and a manipulated narrative. 

To mock this film and the way it takes lies and spins it into truth, a fake sequel was created based on October 7th. It is ironic, sad, pathetic, anger inducing, and ultimately a good view into how the world enables terrorists to tell lies to advance their Jew hatred.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1896516233895580145

How do you wrap up a post that starts with a horrific cartoon, has an interview with a released hostage that documents how he was terrorized, beaten, and abused, has a small bit of humor, and thencalls out the lies of an Oscar winning movie? What can possibly sum it all up? I wasn’t sure as I wrote or as I thought how this post would end. And then I saw and listened to Gal Gadot at the ADL conference today. I am not going to comment on it, break it down, or analyze it. I am going to let you listen and feel the impact of her words. We can stand up and speak out. We must stand up and speak out.

My name is Keith. I’m a father, a husband, a brother, a son, a professional, American, a Zionist, and I’m Jewish. I’m going to say it again. My name is Keith and I am Jewish.

The Oscars and Hollywood are dead to me

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Hollywood has been a bastian of Jew hatred. Despite there being a long history of Jewish leadership in Hollywood and in the industry, many of today’s celebrities are open with their Jew hatred and have no fear of sharing their bigotry and hate of Jews while condemning hate against any other organization. Whether it is Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Selena Gomez, Mel Gibson, Bella and Gigi Gigi Hadid, Jon Cusack, Roger Waters, Cynthia Nixon, Kanye West, or many others that I could fill this blog with by name, they are not afraid to share their Jew hatred on a public stage.

The Oscars (Academy Awards Ceremony) is no different. Once again they banned the yellow ribbon hostage pins as being too political while allowing the red hands pins, which celebrate the murder of Jews. I have lost interest in the movie industry and rarely go to the movies any longer. I no longer watch anything these hateful people are affiliated with. It is much easier than you would think.

Last night, I had no plans to watch the award ceremony when my son turned it on. I didn’t pay much attention and didn’t ask him to turn it off. When Selena Gomez was announcing the awards, I thought in my head, this is why I stopped with this industry – a clear Jew hater who has shown this over and over again, is given the honor of presenting. A few minutes later, the documentary No Other Land won. I didn’t pay much attention until the director began to speak. When he called to ‘stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people” I asked my son to turn it off. There is no ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Their population continues to increase year over year. It is yet another lie that the media continues to allow and often encourage. I knew there would be no consequence for this statement, no correction of his lie, and nobody with the courage to stand up on that stage at a later date with morals and ethics to address what he said. Last night Hollywood and the movie industry officially died for me. I have no interest in them, the big screen actors, or the films they make. I won’t watch anything that those who actively speak out with Jew hatred are affiliated with. I can live without them. We all can live without them. They can’t live without us.

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1896385264970543313

This is a big part of the problem we face. Those who hate us will openly say so. They will lie, make up facts with no basis, speak their lies from every public stage possible to get them spread far, wide, and fast. Those who have the same stage and platform to combat this hatred simply don’t. There are a few who will speak out. Most do not. Nobody last night after Basel Asdra’s lie was going to address it because they might lose a future job. They might get criticized. They were too afraid to simply say, “war is terrible but there is no ethnic cleansing and there is no genocide in Gaza. We must stop the lies.” So the lie becomes the story as if it was truth. Adra gets congratulated for speaking out against something that isn’t happening.

This cannot continue to happen. It is our obligation to speak out against Jew hatred and the lies that are being told. Our silence simply ensures our destruction. Nobody spoke out about how Hamas murdered the Bibas children. Nobody spoke out about how Hamas won’t extend the ceasefire. Nobody spoke out against the terrorists murdering civilians in Israel and Hamas and the Houthis congratulating them and encouraging more. Nobody spoke out against the pay for slay policy of the Palestinian Authority, which got great coverage when they supposedly stopped it but really haven’t.

We have failed in teaching our people to speak out in our defense. We have failed in teaching our people how to lead and how do what is right. They know the talking points. Tikkun Olam. Tzedukah. Wonderful words that are meaningless without real action. Where were the Jewish celebrities at the Oscars last night who got up after the lie of ethnic cleansing was stated and walked out. Who made public statements that they won’t stay in a room where those lies are allowed to grow. Where were the celebrities who boldly stated, “If I can’t wear a pin to bring awareness to people kidnapped, tortured, and murdered, I won’t attend!” Nowhere to be found.

While we won’t find them in Hollywood, we finally had somebody who did stand up. Professor Deborah Lipstadt, United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism under the Biden Administration finally spoke loudly from her public forum. I have met her in the past and she is a woman of integrity. I was disappointed in her performance in her role with the Biden Administration as I had hoped she would be much more vocal and public. I had hoped she would be the public face and leading the fight against the Jew hatred on college campuses and outside Jewish spaces that we saw after October 7th. Unfortunately, we never saw that side of her. No longer in that role, she finally spoke up and spoke out loudly against the Jew hatred on college campuses, specifically addressing what has been happening at Columbia. While I wish she had done it in her official role, she has finally done it. In a powerful piece published in The Free Press yesterday, she explained clearly why she has rejected the opportunity to be a visiting professor at Columbia. It was long overdue.

A few quotes pulled from her piece struck me. “But watching Barnard capitulate to mob violence and fail to enforce its own rules and regulations led me to conclude that I could not go to Columbia University, even for a single semester.” If she, a learned professor, highly educated, well written, read, and spoken, couldn’t go there even for a semester, how could we as a Jewish people send our children there for college? How can the Federal Government continue to fund an institution that has gotten so bad that the former United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism wouldn’t go there to teach for even a single semester? What makes Jew hatred so special that it is allowed to flourish while all other hate is quickly addressed? What will it take for Federal funding to be removed from these type of institutions? Lynching of Jews? Is one enough? Half a dozen? Do we need 50 or 100 on a campus?

As she lists her three (3) reasons for declining the appointment, Professor Lipstadt makes an incredible indictment of Columbia, our current University environment, and the lack of response from our Government, especially the administration she served. She wrote:

My decision to withdraw my name from consideration for a teaching post at Columbia is based on three calculations.

First, I am not convinced that the university is serious about taking the necessary and difficult measures that would create an atmosphere that allows for true inquiry.

Second, I fear that my presence would be used as a sop to convince the outside world that “Yes, we in the Columbia/Barnard orbit are fighting antisemitism. We even brought in the former Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.” I will not be used to provide cover for a completely unacceptable situation.

Third, I am not sure that I would be safe or even able to teach without being harassed. I do not flinch in the face of threats. But this is not a healthy or acceptable learning environment.

Her first reason questions the integrity and purpose of the University. If it isn’t doing that, should it even exist? Perhaps Columbia should be shut down entirely, the way a campus would shut down a fraternity that was behaving poorly and allow them to restart a few years later. Perhaps Columbia should be shut down for 3-4 years, all staff fired, all students forced to transfer elsewhere, while they then had an opportunity to restart with integrity and a new, clear focus on education.

Her second reason has been obvious to most who have been paying attention on college campuses for a while. It’s not new, merely new to her because it would be her name being used. Bringing Peter Beinart or Norman Finklestein to campus as the token Jew does not represent the larger Jewish community and does not provide cover except to those who are Jew haters and want to say they brought a Jew who agreed with them. It’s sad that it took her until now to speak out about this instead of when she had a powerful position within the Biden administration.

The thired reason is a clear indictment of the Federal Government’s enforcement of Title VI. Students have had to deal with an unacceptable learning environment while the Government sat on its hands and did nothing. They made settlements with Universities that accomplished no change. If Dr. Lipstadt, a true icon in the field, an educator with incredible credentials and a history of addressing antisemitism says it is not a healthy or acceptable learning environment, then WHY IS IT ALLOWED TO CONTINUE? Why does the Federal Government continue funding their research, student loans, and every other type of funding they provide? If a true expert on antisemitism says it’s not an acceptable learning environment and so she won’t teach there, why should any student be learning there? Why should we be funding this type of education?

What I have come to realize is that as the author David Baddiel wrote, Jews Don’t Count. Written and released well before the horrific events of October 7, 2023 and all that has happened since then, this should be required reading by all members of Government. If we are truly to have, what President Lincoln so elequently stated in the Gettysburgh Address, a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” and that it “shall not perish from the earth” then we must address this. We cannot allow Jew hatred to go unchallenged. We cannot encourage those who find reasons to allow or support Jew hatred to continue to do so. Jews do count. It is our job and responsiblity to make sure the world knows this. Staying silent doesn’t work and we can never stay silent again.

Earlier today I was talking with a friend who shared the frustration of having a conversation where two others were debating whether Jews had to join with the far left or the far right to accomplish our goal of staying alive. I found that topic absurd. Should we pander to the far left who thinks we are evil and only want to harm other groups or are we better pandering to the far right, who thinks we killed Jesus and use the blood of Christian children to make Matzo for Passover? When we pander to any group, we always lose.

The comedian Michael Rappaport wrote a great piece about this today. A Canadian politician, Heather McPherson, is trying to ban his entrance into Canada using lies, mistatements, and overgeneralizations. Instead of doing her job and protecting Canadians, she is focused on attacking the Jews. Rappaport won’t take it. He won’t be silent and he won’t let her win. He openly calls her out, writing, “The irony is that McPherson, in her post, asserted that “hate has no place in Canada”—except, of course, when hate is directed toward Jews, which Canada apparently has no problem with.” He doesn’t stop there, writing, “the real issue is this: Fifty-nine hostages, both dead and alive, are still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Rather than call attention to that—or the horrific antisemitism sweeping her own country—this member of Parliament is spending her capital making pleas to keep me out, rather than fixing whatever is going wrong in her own backyard. (Hey Heather, you might want to get to the bottom of why the great people of Edmonton are sawing down the statues of women’s rights pioneers!)”

The same way that I won’t be quiet and won’t hide, Rappaport is one of the most public and vocal supporters of Israel and fighting the lies. He writes, “I don’t look for trouble. I do, however, refuse to give in to bullies. That’s why, since October 7, I’ve called out people in Hollywood who have remained silent on this issue, who haven’t had the moral backbone to denounce the moral depravity of those who stand on the side of a terrorist regime.” Let’s be like Michael Rappaport. Let’s fight back, stand up to bullies, and use our moral backbone. We can call out those who need to be called out and stop supporting those who hate us.

Michael Rapaport speaks at rally outside ‘The Hostages and Missing Square’ on December 16, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld via Getty Images)

I can be done with Hollywood and the movie industry. I can refuse to support the actors and musicians who show their Jew hatred. I can take action with those who support Jew hatred included our elected politicians. I can support those who stand up to Jew hatred and publicly commend them. The one thing I can’t and won’t do is be silent. I urge you not to be silent either.