Author: Keith Dvorchik

Keith has been a nonprofit leader for 25 years before moving into the consulting world in 2023. He focuses on three major areas: (1) Fundraising - All aspects from creating development plans, solicitations, annual, capital, endowment and special campaigns, as well as feasibility studies. (2) Organizational development - This includes reviewing and creating the business structure, coaching and mentoring employees, board and staff training, job description review and creation, and creating organizational structure and charts. (3) Family philanthropy.- Focusing on the goals of the family/individual to determine where to give and how to measure impact and ROI. This also includes the best vehicles to use for philanthropy and compliance for these vehicles. Keith is a proud Zionist, having visited Israel 25 times. He has spent time meeting with leaders of Palestinian Civil Society as well as Israeli-Arabs, and lots of time with Jewish Israelis. He is a huge sports fan. Favorite teams are the NY Yankees, Penn State Nittany Lions, Philadelphia 76ers and whatever team his oldest son is coaching. The opinions in this blog are entirely Keith’s. To contact him, you can email keithdvorchik@gmail.com

Two years of war and a happy country?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I returned from Israel on Friday. It was a long return trip, waking up at 5 am IST (10 pm Thursday night ET) and leaving early in the morning from Haifa to get to Ben Gurion airport. The long flight to JFK was easy but was during the day so I didn’t sleep much. A 2 hour layover and I was on my flight home. I got to my house around midnight, 26 hours after I woke up in Haifa.

The long trip gave me a lot of time to think. Dealing with jetlag upon my return gave me more time to think. This was a different trip for me. I knew going into it that I needed to be in Israel for my soul. I wasn’t touring the ‘normal’ way and was going to spend a few days just being in Israel before a day of work in Jerusalem and then 3 days up north working. It was a day about my relationship with Israel and Israelis, not about the Jewish connection to Israel. I was in Jerusalem but not the old city. I didn’t visit the Dead Sea or Masada. I did spend time on the beach, hanging in restaurants with Israelis, visiting schools and youth programs, and being connected to ordinary people.

On the plane returning and in the past two days, I have found myself reflecting on the ordinary people of Israel. Israel is typically rated one of the happiest countries in the world. This despite living in a very tough neighborhood with genocidal terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah on their borders. Terrorists try to come in every day to murder Israeli people and Iran is an existential threat. This was before the horrors of October 7th. Yet in the 2025 survey of the world’s happiest countries, Israel ranked 5th. A country that was attacked and invaded in 2023 where over 1,200 people murdered in the attack. A country at war with so many of her citizens called back to serve in the reserves. A country being villified by the international community based on terrible lies, being called terrible things, all due to Jew hatred. A country that had the north evacuated due to daily rocket attacks and who spent time almost daily in bomb shelters. This is the country that was the 5th happiest in 2024?

This past week helped me really understand how a country facing all these challenges could be the world’s 5th happiest country (for comparison, the United States was 21st). In Israel, they focus on what they have rather than what they don’t have. They focus on gratitude not desire. It’s a country that realizes that gratitude is a far better way to live than envy.

It got me thinking about my life and the changes I have made in the past few years. My dad dying in September 2022 was a life changing event for me. Not just because I lost a parent and mentor. It was a realization that the end is closer than any of us want to acknowledge and the question is more about who we want to be and how we want to live than how much we can have.

So I have changed my life. I removed a great deal of stress. for decades, my job was filled with stress. I’m just as busy and working just as hard but now it is without the stress that I used to have. I make sure that I am rested and not burning the candle at both ends. I make sure to eat and eat healthy. No more skipping lunch because I’m too busy. I eat healthy now – whole foods rather than something quick. Today I had the time to make a fresh salad for lunch, cutting up lettuce, tomatoes and other veggies rather than grabbing something quick to stuff down my throat because I had no time between meetings.

On this Israel trip, I got to meet people who were doing the same thing. People who lived by their values so they moved their family to the north to repopulate that area after the war. While many people won’t move back, there are many who realize how important it is to live there and are choosing to do so. The high school student who had the opportunity to decide whether he wanted to take the exams for his bagrut (high school diploma) and decided not to take them. As he shared that with us, I could feel his trepidation as he was waiting for criticism. Criticism that he didn’t get. The early childhood teacher who loved his job and the children he interacted with. The little tricks he did for them and the joy in their faces as he did them. The care in his voice as he talked to them and way they were truly little people, not just kids.

I talked with people who are more concerned about the mental health of IDF combat soldiers than their personal income. They are volunteering tremendous amounts of time to do their part in providing for the mental health care needed for these soldiers. Each time an IDF combat soldier commits suicide, a little piece of them dies, so they work to reduce that number to zero. They invest their time, their money, and their heart and soul.

I went to visit Hapoel Jerusalem Football Club (HJFC), a team that is much more than a professional team in the Premier League for men and women’s soccer. Their social programs are changing the face of Jerusalem and the future of Israel. Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z’l) was one of the leaders of their fan club. I wear my Hapoel Jerusalem FC shirt with his face on it proudly. It speaks to people living by their values, choosing to make the world a better place which means they are happier in their daily lives. Read the post below which describes somebody’s experience with the girls program of HJFC. It’s extraordinary.

I used to believe that I could never make Aliyah (move to Israel) because I want to live like an American in Israel and to do so is extremely expensive. There is a saying about life in Israel that explains this well.

People don’t move to Israel to become financially rich. They move to Israel to be spiritually rich. To be emotionally fulfilled. To have meaning in their life. You don’t have to move to Israel to have those things. We can choose them in our daily lives. Yet in America, we rarely do. We place money ahead of our values. Our answer to the saying, “You can either be happy or right” is often to be right. The lesson I was reminded of on this trip is that we don’t have to make those choices. We can learn to focus on what matters. Being happy. Enjoying life.

When I came back from Israel, my oldest son was home for the weekend. It was great having him home for the weekend, even though we didn’t do anything. Just having him around was nice. My best friend’s son is getting married next weekend and I’ll be there to celebrate. A few days later, my younger son is taking the LSAT and has to go to Ft Myers to take it (that’s an entirely different story). So we’ll drive down to Ft Myers, stay in a hotel, he’ll take the LSAT and then we’ll drive home. 8 hours in the car together along with a night at the hotel together. Priceless. That’s the key to being happy – enjoying every minute and the opportunities they present.

I think of my dog, a now 10 month old chocolate lab. She gets excited to see me every morning, not because I’m going to take her outside and give her breakfast. Not because she’ll get treats and do a puzzle. She gets excited because we are together. When my wife comes downstairs and comes home from work, my puppy is filled with anticipation and realizes she is the luckiest dog in the world because she’s with her people, with her pack. That’s how I want to be.

Israel taught me that. Despite two years of war, they cherish every moment. Despite a year of rockets falling on them and rushing to their safe room day after day after day, they found ways to appreciate things. As I sat on the beach in Tel Aviv, breathing the fresh air, listening to the waves and people all around me, I realized just how lucky I am. It’s not about the things I have or don’t have. It’s not about the size of my house or my bank account. It’s about the people in my life. Recognizing the beauty in the world around me. The gifts of life.

I have been to Israel 24 times. Trip 25 is scheduled. What a gift. What a blessing. As I look at that image, my heartbeat slows, any stress disappears, I relax and realize just how lucky I am. And when we realize how lucky we are instead of thinking about all we don’t have, the world is a much better place.

Coexistence vs. Shared Society

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

One thing has become crystal clear over the past few years. Our world is really messed up. Those who used to advocate for standing up against hate are now leading the charge with their Jew hatred. Places that were once safe for Jews no longer are. The Arab world has begun to stand up against Hamas — sort of. The far left advocates for the Palestinians until Hamas begins to murder them – then they go silent. There is a famine in Gaza until a ceasefire is agreed upon at which point there is suddenly 3 months worth of food, overnight. The cries for the ceasefire are endless until there is one agreed upon and then those crying for the ceasefire urge Hamas to reject it so more people will die. New York, home to one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Israel, is ready to elect a Mayor who openly hates the Jews. A huge number of those NY Jews are ready to vote to elect him as Mayor as he openly talks about excluding anybody who supports the existence of Israel from his administration. The mainstream media publishes lie after lie and when caught, just pretends it didn’t happen.

It’s a crazy world we are living in. A crazy world we are told we are living in that often isn’t accurate or the truth. The words we use are often the wrong ones and we call things by the wrong name to incite people (famine instead of hunger, genocide instead of war, militant instead of terrorist).

Coexistence is one of these words. I never thought about it until yesterday when I spent time with people from the Arab villages of Ein Mahel and Jisr Al Zarqa. I had the opportunity to visit Ein Mahel last September and meet the leaders and some of th children in their branch of HaNoar HaOved (NOAL), an Israeli, Zionistic youth movement that is now 101 years old. That’s right, in Arab villages in Israel (55 to be exact) there are Zionist youth movement branchs. There are more than 20,000 arab children in these branches. More than 20,000 arab children who are actively involved with an Israeli, Zionistic, youth movement. Where do you see this on the news? Where do you read about this? It changes the paradigm in a way that those who hate Jews don’t like.

With the children in NOAL in Ein Mahel – Sept 2024
With te leaders of NOAL in Ein Mahel – September 2024

On Thursday, I had the chance to visit the Arab village of Jisr Al Zarqa. It is one of the poorest Arab villages that struggles with violence inside the village. As we entered the village, it was pointed out to us the locations where people were murdered by gangs inside the village last week. Jisr Al Zarqa has a remarkable asset that sets it apart from every other Arab village in Israel. It sits on the beach of the Mediterannean Sea. This poor town is right on the water with a beautiful beach. As we walked to the beach, we saw the trash strewn all around. It was a harbinger of the story we were about to be told – a story of hope and of a potential different future.

Looking at the city of Jisr Al Zarqa as we walked to the beach
Arab schools on a field trip to the beach at isr Al Zarqa

At the beach, we met Shadi, who lives in Ein Mahel and who I got to know last year during the visit. We also met Hamami, an amazing women from the village of Jisr Al Zarqa, and Hassan, an amazing young man from the village of Jisr Al Zarqa. Why did we meet with them? Because of their involvement with HaNoar HoOved (NOAL). Both Shadi and Hassan grew up in the movement. Shadi is in his early 30s, Hassan is 20. Both are leaders in the movement. You read that right – Arab (Muslim) leaders in an Israeli, Zionistic, youth movement. Shatters what the media tells you. Shatters the paradigm the world is taught and believes. We also met Hamami, a spectacular woman who is changing the reality on the ground. Hamami is a fisherman, the only woman in the fisherman’s guild in Jisr Al Zarqa. She was a professional soccer player when it was unheard of to have an Arab woman play professional sports on an Israeli team. She is a force of nature.

What is she doing? In a village where children often skip school and get in lots of trouble, she began going out in the streets and pulling them off the streets to participate in a sports program she created herself. She took them fishing, surfing, swimming, and all sorts of water sports. Every day she goes out in the streets and corrals them to come with her and do something productive instead of getting in trouble in the streets. At one point, she went to the schools and began working with them. She took the children off the streets in her program and then ordered them to return at 8 am the next day. All but 2 returned on time. The two who were late were sent home. The next day all of them showed up on time. She spent 3 months working with them on the water, with the sea, before returning them to school where they restarted their education. What an incredible woman.

Hamami’s boats on the beach
Hamami’s boats and surfboards on the beach

Uri, a member of NOAL who works with the Arab villages, learned about the work of Hamami, and went to meet her. She told us that he was the first person who didn’t try to make money off her program and instead just wanted to know how he could help her and help the children. They are now partners in the effort, as Dror Israel, the overaching organization of NOAL, works to fund and support her organization Instead of trying to MAKE money off the work of Hamami and the children, they are INVESTING money in the work of Hamami and the children! Once again, you read that right. Jews and Arabs working together, in partnership, in Israel, to help the Arab children who are at risk. You don’t hear that from the UN or in the media. But it is happening.

As we sat together to eat lunch and continue our conversation, one of our group used the phrase “coexistence’. Shadi quickly spoke up telling us not to use that word. He told us that coexistence means we live alongside each other. We don’t interact. There are Arab schools and Jewish schools. Arab youth movements and Jewish youth movements. Arab leadership programs and Jewish leadership programs. Saying coexistence means living separately, side-by-side. The right phrase, he educated us, was ‘shared society’ because we share things together. That’s what they are doing with NOAL. That’s what we need to strive for. Not coexistance where we live separately but a shared society where we truly live together. I was inspired and am changing my vocabulary.

Having met Shadi last year and connecting, we spent more time together this year. We built our friendship and talked about many things. The challenge of being Zionistic (loving Israel) with the challenges of the government and the country, especially post October 7th was the start of a fascinating conversation that I look forward to continuing with my friend.

As we talked, he shared his upcoming visit to the United States, mostly New York, to share the work of NOAL, Dror Israel, and help change people’s minds about what is happening and what is possible. When I shared that I may be back in December, he was quick to ask when and tell me about an amazing three (3) day leadership conference they are having in early January and urge me to come and experience it. I’m not sure what my schedule will look like but I know it’s something that if I can attend, I will attend. I can’t wait to see Shadi and the others lead and educate these Arab and Jewish youth together about leadership and shared society. As Shadi said to me and I replied back to him, “Inshalla” which means “if it’s God’s will”. A beautiful Arabic word. Part of a shared vocabulary now.

While the title uses the phrase Shadi taught me not to use, this is a great event and when they cme near you, make sure to go meet him, listen and learn.

There is so much happening in Israel that does not fit the narrative the media tells us. There is hope and there is possibility. There are Arabs and Jews working together, not just with NOAL and Dror Israel but across the entire country. It is something you can see with your own eyes and they are people you can meet in person and speak with. It is part of why I urge people of all faiths to go to Israel and see it themselves. Experience it yourself. Don’t believe the narrative. Don’t believe the lies. We can have a shared society if and when we work hard for it. Hamami, Shadi, Hassan and Uri are only 4 people working towards it. I’ve met many, many more. Too many to list by name. Come join them. See it, feel it, believe it, and help make it happen. Bring them to your community. Share the story and share them with your friends and family. Shared society is about togetherness and that’s what we need to make it happen.

On the beach – Marc, Irit, Gary, Shadi, Sasha, Hamami, Jill, me, and Hassan – a new group of friends.

The Children of Israel

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Over the past two years the media has focused repeatedly on the children in Gaza. The suffering they faced. Some real, some made up. Stories they were real and that were made up.

They denied much of what happened to the children of Israel on October 7th. They completely ignored what happened to the children of Israel from October 8th until today. Spending this past week in Israel, I have had the opportunity to interact with many children here. Children in pre-school, elementary school and high school. Parents of young children who have struggled the past two years about what to say to their children, how to protect them from the horrors, and parents who are IDF reservists, struggling with the fact that they have been gone from their children’s lives for more than half of the past two years. It’s not something that can be ignored.

I visited a preschool in Carmiel, in the Northern District of Israel, often included in the area of Israel called the Misgav. It’s a town of 55,000 that is beautiful and as we drove through, you could see how wonderful a place it is. The preschool (Gan) I visited had 35 students, agest 3 and 4, and as we walked in, they were running around, happy, laughing, and inquisitive. They were excited to see new people and happily smiled at us, walked around us, and when we sat to talk, pulled up their own chairs to sit with us or sat on playground equipment to be a part of the group. They were wonderful, happy, normal children. It was amazing to see.

At one point, we moved inside to a smaller room to sit and talk without the children around us. We learned that the room we sat in was the safe room for the Gan. When the rocket alerts went off, this was where all 35 children and the staff of 3-5 teachers would all have to get into within 30 seconds. I ran a JCC with an early childhood center that had hundreds of children. Monthly, we practiced our fire drill in which we had to get all the children out of the building. We timed it an regularly had them all out of the building in under 5 minutes. Each class had no more than 16 children with 2 teachers. The alarm was loud and many of the children would hold their ears, cry, or be upset. In Israel, at this Gan, they had to get 35 children into a small room within 30 seconds. Who knew how long they would have to keep the children in this small room. Packing 38-40 people in this small room for any amount of time would be a challenge. Yet the teachers did it. The children did it. They managed. I think of how difficult that must have been on the children and on the teachers and am astounded that the children aren’t afraid of the room and don’t want to avoid it. That the room doesn’t hold terrible images for the teachers. The trauma is real and yet they are dealing with it.

We visited an afterschool program in Kiryat Shmona that has a special program for the children who live there. It’s hard to imagine, but with the 2 years of Covid and the 2 years of the war, these children have had 4 years of learning interrupted. A child in 1st grade at the start of Covid is now in 5th grade and has barely been in school. How do you overcome the deficits that occurred both developmentally and educationally? What has to happen so that these children have a chance at a normal life and learning the basic tools that they missed, both educationally and socially? My youngest son spent his entire senior year doing online learning due to Covid (before you freak out, the schools were open and there were many reasons why we began and then stayed with online learning for him). It wasn’t easy for him to overcome the social deficits as a result of the last semester of him junior year and his full senior year being done online. We created a plan and it worked. That was just over 1 year for a 17/18 year old. Not 4 years for a 6-9 year old child. These children in Kiryat Shmona and other evacuated communities may need years of remedial work to deal with the academic deficits, let alone the social and developmental ones. Who’s talking about the damage done to them?

I spoke with a 37 year old father who has spent more than a full year since October 7, 2023, in the IDF reserves. He talked about his struggles when he returns home. He has two children – two children who have not only missed having their dad in the life for more than half of the past two years but who also know that he has put his life on the line every day he wasn’t at home. A father who has trauma to deal with so isn’t the same father that left them on October 7th to defend the people of Israel and the Jewish people. A father who struggles to be there for them all the time. Who talks about these children? Who is taking care of their needs? Where is the attention on the children of those brave soldiers who have kept going back to serve to defend not just their country but the Jewish people? Why is there no outrage at the damage to them?

We talked about a school that one of my friend’s children attend. In one classroom there is a teacher who has spent a great deal of time in reserves. There are two children dealing with the loss of family members on October 7th. Why is there no outrage about these children, living in the center of the country, who know the cost of war and the cost of freedom better than most people in the United States? Why is there no outrage at the impact on these children of losing their teacher for so long?

We have a generation of children of Israel that face enormous challenges. Who have faced enormous stress. Who have lost loved ones, parents, and friends due to the Hamas attack on October 7th and the ensuring war to keep Israel safe. Where is the outrage about what they have to deal with? Where are the world’s children’s organizations who are so critical of Israel, forgiving of Hamas and their responsibility?

This past week in Israel has shown me a new price that is being paid by Israel and the Jewish people. The price is being paid by our children. I don’t think we’ll know the exact cost we have to pay for quite some time. It’s a high price for sure, one that the world doesn’t care about. Jewish children — Jewish people — are expendable to the world. They don’t count nor do they matter. It’s unforgivable.

We can never forget the price of this war and defending Israel. It is a very high cost. The only thing worse would have been doing nothing. It’s not easy, especially when you see this price. It’s worth the high cost and we hope to never pay it again. It’s worth the many people who were impacted because of the many people who will be kept safe as a result.

When you look at the faces of these beautiful children and these beautiful babies, how can you not stand up and speak out on their behalf? How can you not do everything possible to protect them? We know Hamas does everything they can do damage and harm the children in Gaza as well as the children in Israel. We have to fight back even harder to protect ours.

Except

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have been in Israel for the past few days, enjoying the beach and excitement of Tel Aviv with a day trip to Jerusalem. With the living hostages now home, there is a lightness in the air and you can feel joy returning. Quite different from my trips in May, July and September of 2024.

Today I spent the day up north in the Upper Galilee. Tel Chai. Mutula. Kiryat Shmona. Places that were on the front line of the Hezbollah rocket attacks starting on October 8, 2023. It was a long ride from Haifa to get there – over 90 minutes. In Israel, 90 minutes is an eternity to drive. The Upper Galilee is beautiful. Actually it is stunning.

The contrast of the lush green with the mountains of the Golan Heights takes your breath away. The clear air, the cool breeze, the birds chirping and the cold streams fed by Mount Hermon is simply spectacular. It’s something that makes you want to stay for a month and hike, swim, explore nature and enjoy the peace and quiet. It is a place that should be in demand to live and in demand to visit. As I looked out upon the city of Metulla, I could imagine myself renting a home there for a month and enjoying the beauty.

EXCEPT, then I looked just a little bit further. The wall separating Israel and Lebanon was right there. I could see the places where Hezbollah was firing rockets on these Upper Galilee towns. I could see where Israel was forced to bomb the border community to destroy the Hezbollah rockets being kept in, and fired from homes. As I talked to one of the people from Metulla, I heard how before October 7th, they had 5 IDF soldiers protecting the town of approximately 1,500 people. She told us how now, with only about 40% of the residents returning, they have 500 IDF soldiers protecting them.

The border was empty from Hezbollah terrorists today. She told us how prior to October 7th, you could see the terrorists in the border towns. They didn’t try to hide. They wanted to be visible to attempt to scare and intimidate the residents of Metulla. Today it was quiet, peaceful and beautiful. With 500 soldiers protecting a town of about 600 people. Almost a 1:1 ratio to keep the peace. To keep the quiet. To keep them safe.

They then shared how this part of the Upper Galilee is bordered on three (3) sides by Lebanon. How on October 7th, if Hezbollah had decided to invade, they could have simply cut off the one road that goes in and out of that part of Israel and instantly had more than 25,000 hostages. How they could have taken their time murdering, raping, and kidnapping these 25,000 people, now hostages, because it would have taken so long for the IDF to get there and there is only the one road in and out.

As beautiful as these pictures are, the wall is the border to Lebanon. The town behind it has been destroyed because that’s where Hezbollah was firing rockets into Metulla and the Northern Galilee. The mountains you see all around are the border of Lebanon. You are completely surrounded by a genocidal enemy in Hezbollah who has the means, opportunity, and motive to attack and kill you.

Yet people continue to come back to live in these towns. It’s their home. They won’t be scared out. While only 40% have returned to Metulla right now, there are new groups of people moving there. In Kiryat Shmona, 80% of the 25,000 residents have returned. Their homes need to be rebuilt as they have either been destroyed by the Hezbollah rockets or ruined by being empty for two (2) years. Businesses has been destroyed and need to be rebuilt for the same reason. In some cases, the owners haven’t decided if they even want to rebuild. Yet these towns won’t go away. The commitment by their residents to live in the north of Israel, in the lush and beautiful Upper Galilee won’t disappear.

We ate lunch at an incredible restaurant in Kiryat Shmona. The portions were enormous. The schnitzel, sausages, meat and chicken were delicious. Couscous, fries, rice, and veggies were plentiful sides and the salads they served……… well if you have ever had the salads they bring out as appetizers before the meal, you know not only how many they bring (about 10 or so) and how incredible they are. Freshly baked bread (it made me jealous that I couldn’t eat it). More food than we could finish. What a great place, EXCEPT, it only recently reopened because not long after October 7th, a rocket launched by Hezbollah hit the street right in front of it and destroyed it. When we heard that, everybody got a little uncomfortable, even though we knew that the likelihood of a Hezbollah rocket being fired today is small, thanks to the IDF crushing Hezbollah.

The Upper Galilee and the north of Israel is beautiful. It’s stunning. It should be overflowing with people living there, vacationing there, having second homes there, EXCEPT there are genocidal terrorists close by. EXCEPT there is fear of rockets launching at any minute.

I hope that sometime soon, I’ll be able to spend an month relaxing and vacationing and recharging in the Upper Galilee, enjoying the beauty of nature. The mountains. The lush green. The streams and rivers. Hiking. Sitting in the cool, clean air, reading a book, having a conversation, listening to music. There is no EXCEPT for me. It’s an incredible place for us all and we cannot allow fear or hate to deter us from it. Like those who have returned to live there, we all need to claim it.

Think about spending some time in the Upper Galilee. You won’t regret enjoy the beauty and peaceful environment that is there now.

Our world and our country is lost

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I think today is when I finally acknowledge the reality we are all seeing and none of us want to admit. Our world is lost. We have reached the tipping point from which I am no longer sure we can recover. Today we had both a school shooting outside of Denver as well as the assasination of Charlie Kirk. I was no fan of Charlie Kirk. I didn’t agree with much of anything that Charlie Kirk said. Yet his assasination is the type of behavior that shows our country has no moral conscience. It shows how lost we are. We don’t shoot people we don’t agree with or don’t like. We don’t condone murder. This isn’t a left/right issue. If you haven’t seen the video of his murder, here it is. It’s something that is unforgettable once you see it.

We have already seen the efforts to blame him for his own murder. The media isn’t holding themselves accountable for promoting hate and divisiveness. They aren’t blaming the person who murdered him. They are blaming him. Matthew Dowd says it publicly on MSNBC. He won’t hold people like Francesca Albanese accountable for her lies about Israel. He won’t hold Hamas accountable for their actual genocide. But he will blame somebody he disagrees with their own murder.

We are seeing things like this all over the place. No outrage at murder. No outrage at the taking of a life. Because they disagree with Charlie Kirk, they celebrate his death and his murdered. We saw this with the shooting and murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 by Luigi Mangione (who has not yet been officially convicted) and the way Magnione has been celebrated and become a hero to many. With Charlie Kirk is now dropping to a new low.

Charlie Kirk’s murder has overshadowed the school shooting in Evergreen, Colorado. Think about how insane a statement that is. A person took a gun and shot up a school and it’s not the lead story. It’s not even the lead story related to gun violence. It’s not even the lead story about a shooting that occurred at an educational facility.

Three high school students were shot in Evergreen, one of them the suspected shooter. They are in critical condition. A fourth is also in the hospital. Students went to high school today to learn. Instead four are in the hospital, three in critical condition (including the suspected shooter). A community is traumatized. The country? Not so much. Only three, including the shooter, were shot. In today’s world, that’s barely noticable. Insanity. School shootings should NEVER occur let alone not be newsworthy. It’s far beyond reasonable gun laws. We have a crisis on our hands. A crisis of the soul.

The Spanish Prime Minister says that unfortunately Spain doesn’t have nuclear weapons to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Nothing about the hostages. Nothing about October 7th. Instead, he regrets they don’t have nuclear weapons to stop Israel fighting the terrorists. There is a reason they don’t and shoudn’t ever have nuclear weapons.

A European elected leaders expresses remorse for his inability to use a nuclear weapon on Israel to stop them from fighting an existential threat to their own survival. Fighting an enemy that tried actual genocide on October 7, 2023, that celebrated their horrific actions by recording and publishing them for the world to see. Yet no outrage is shown by the media or the world. Imagine a world leader saying that about any other country and what would happen. But nuking the Jewish state? Totally ok.

Canada continues to sink into its antisemitism and Jew hatred. Israel has provided more humanitarian aid to the enemy than any country in history. They do all they can to notify civilians ahead of time to evacuate an area before they attack. They target the leaders and put their own soldiers at risk. This isn’t about whether you like or hate Bibi Netanyahu. This isn’t about whether Israel is fighting a perfect war (not so subtle hint – they are not). This is about the existence of Jews and of the State of Israel.

These same people applauded when the US invaded Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin-Laden. They are pure hypocrites and Jew haters. As Hen Mazzig points out in the post below, President Macron of France, who criticized Israel for their action to target Hamas leadership, ignores the fact that France has bombed FIVE countries because of terrorism. What type of world do we live in when this is not only happening but encouraged.

What used to infuriate me the most, until today when a school shooting wasn’t really news and the murder of somebody was celebrated by many who disagree with his views, was the way the world leaders don’t care about the truth and continue their lies. Their demand that Israel make peace, when Israel accepted the most recent plan to end the war and it was Hamas who rejected it, is beyond insanity. Their demand for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza when it’s documented that approximately 700 trucks of aid are coming into Gaza DAILY is beyond ignoring the truth. The following was the announcement and report from September 9, 2025 from the IDF and COGAT:

Humanitarian Aid Data and Efforts on September 9:

Over the past day, more than 280 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

Additionally, 400 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations, while the contents of several hundred more remain on the Gazan side of the crossings, awaiting collection.

We have facilitated the entry of tankers of UN fuel for the operation of essential humanitarian systems.

In addition, a rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel has been successful completed.

We will continue expanding our efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Gaza.

There is no criticism of the United Nations who doesn’t deliver the aid when it comes into Gaza. There is no celebrating the efforts of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that is getting food directly to the people. There is only the lie that food and aid isn’t getting into Gaza. It is getting in. The UN makes sure it doesn’t get to the people, only to Hamas or that it sits out in the sun. It is Hamas that is starving the people with the assistance of the United Nations. Our world leaders don’t even attempt to pretend they are telling the truth. They just out and out lie because the world hates the Jews and is willing to believe anything they are told. The media helps them.

Our world is broken. I’m not sure that it can be fixed. For the first time in my life, I understand the story of Noah, the ark, and the flood in a way I never have before. I understand the story of Sodom and Gemorrah like I never have before. Tikkun Olam means something different that it ever has before. Today, I question if our world is even worth saving. Yet despite my questions and my misgivings, I won’t give up the fight. I won’t stop trying to do my part to make it a world filled with kindness, love, and care for each other. I don’t have another choice. None of us do. The future of the world literally depends on us to confront the evil, the lies, and the hate. We can’t sit by idly. We can’t bury our heads in the sand. We can’t stand by quietly.

At times like this I find myself thinking back to the three times that I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the great Elie Weisel. I think of the last time, when I brought my children, then both young, and what he said. How it was our responsibility to build the world we want. How much our actions mattered and that it was up to us to build the world we wanted for them. The world we have today is NOT the world i want for my children. So I fight the evil. I speak out. I write. I have tattoos to commorate October 7th. I proudly wear my Star of David with Israel in the middle of it. I have a Florida Stands with Israel license plate on my car. I have a big mezzuzah on my front door. I won’t hide. I won’t be silent. And I won’t accept evil.

As Elie Weisel said, we need to be held accountable. God will always do God’s part but we must do ours. Will you join me in the fight against evil?

Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road is a life journey and a lesson

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

August 25, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s album, Born to Run. Bruce was a big part of my adolescence and through college. Born to Run, The River, and Born in the USA were the anthem of my coming of age in the 70s and 80s.

On of my favorite songs by Bruce is Thunder Road. That doesn’t make me unique at all. It’s an anthem of growing up, of exploring freedom, of an unknown and exciting future. My childhood friend, Rabbi Neil Zuckerman, writes beautifully about it in his recent blog in the Times of Israel.

As I read his blog and thought about the song on it’s 50th anniversary, I was inspired to think about the song in a different way. I went back to an old version of the song that I stumbled upon years ago. It is a very different version yet entirely recognizable. The music is very similar but the lyrics, the lack of harmonica, and the lightness in the song are noticably different. The intention of the story remains the same – a right of passage, a blank page as Neil describes in his blog, an exciting, unknown future. Yet the difference is signficant. The protaganist is different. The song is much more focused on the freedom of the car and what that means than the journey itself. As I listen to Bruce sing it, I understand where he’s going with the song, especially knowing the final version. It’s a beautiful version yet it isn’t the classic that millions have come to love. It’s part of his journey. Take a listen for yourself. I love it and enjoy the differences.

Early version of Thunder Road – enjoy the differences

When I listen to this song and then listen to the classic version, it is easy to see the process of growth. From a blank sheet of paper, Bruce got the version above. From a blank sheet of paper in our lives, we can get something beautiful. And just like Bruce, it doesn’t have to be the final version. When he wrote the song, it was about Angelina. The final version it is Mary. People come in and out of our lives, just like they came in and out of Bruce’s version of Thunder Road. Angelina is beautiful and powerful and was critical to the song. Until she wasn’t and it was Mary. The 442 was an essential part of Thunder Road in the first version until it wasn’t in the final version. As you listen, you will note so many things in the first version that do not appear in the final version.

That is life. As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we have a blank slate in front of us. We have the entire year to craft what is going to fill the page. Had Bruce left the song in its original format, it would have been a fantastic song. One people loved. Instead, he used the time he had to continue to work on it, to continue to alter what he put on the page, until he came up with the final, iconic version. I enjoy both. That’s the beauty of life – we can enjoy and appreciate the journey, the early versions of who we are, and the versions that we are today, all while we work to be a better version of ourselves.

As Rosh Hashanah creeps closer and I prepare a new, clean sheet of paper for the upcoming year, I am excited about the possibilities for that blank sheet of paper. What will I write? What colors will I used? Will there be artwork or just text? I don’t know what the page will contain but I do know that I will not settle for the first draft nor will I regret what the first draft looks like. When I get to the full page, I won’t forget the journey it took to get there or the beauty of the versions along the way that led to that final version.

Just like the clear notes in the first version of Thunder Road without the iconic harmonica, to the completely different lyrics that change from the freedom of a car to how he feels about the future, the path there is different but the song, like our lives, get us to a wonderful place as long as we appreciate the journey.

The classic version of Thunder Road

As you listen to both, I hope each speaks to you in a different way. I hope you enjoy and love each version for the message it provides and the different ways that Bruce uses to get there. That’s our blank sheet of paper. What are we going to choose to write on it? Are we going to be satisfied with the first version? If we aren’t, are we going to be critical of the early versions and not appreciate how critical they were to get us to the version we finally share with the world? Can we look at the early versions with love and appreciation rather than cringe at the things we ultimately found didn’t work and

In his Broadway show, Bruce talks about the song before playing an acoustic version of it. He talks about the blank page and how much he misses the beauty of that blank page as he has gotten older. The promise, the possibilities. As he says, “so much life in front of you.” The reality is that Rosh Hashanah gives us that blank page every year. The question is are you going to take it? Are you going to realize that we get the freedom to clean up our messes and begin fresh every year. As Bruce says at the end of the introduction, “Just daring you to write on it.”

I’d love to sit and talk with Bruce about the song. What he was thinking in that first version and why he made the changes he made. I’d love to hear his thoughts on that first version. Does he love it and embrace it as a part of who he was and how he got to where he is? Or does he hear only things he removed and think it’s a lesser version and is upset that it’s out in the public. The deep conversations that are possible from comparing an early version to a much more finished version are exciting. Just like our lives – the early, unvarnished, exploratory versions compared to the more polished, public facing versions.

Take the next few weeks to decide if you are going to dare to write on that blank page that the upcoming year offers you. No matter how old you are, no matter how much life you have behind or ahead of you, the blank page is still there. You can leave it and just look back on the prior pages and what you have written before. Or you can dare, be filled with adventure, and choose to write something new on that blank page. I know what my choice is. What’s yours going to be?

They no longer even try to hide their Jew hatred

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

It is official. AP has gone into business with Hezbollah and the terrorists. They have quietly defended the terrorists through inaccurate reporting and lies but no longer feel the need to do it under any pretense. They just released what used to be considered an unpublishable and unforgiveable article about how life has been difficult for terrorists who were targeted in a strategic and surgical attack to eliminate them or at least stop them from being able to be active terrorists. To AP, they are now tragic figures who’s only crime was that they wanted to murder, rape, decapitate, and ensure the genocide of the Jews. And honestly, they are only Jews so to AP, they don’t really count. After all, what is thousands of dead Jews compared to a terrorist who can’t be a terrorist to kill more Jews with his buddies or one who can’t play football any longer.  

Here was this incredible report by the Associated Press. The didn’t even try to hide their support of the terrorists.

So AP wants us to have sympathy for people like the terrorist Mahdi Sheri, who can’t play football and can’t fight for Hezbollah anymore, but writes nothing about what should have been Ariel Bibas (z’l) 6th birthday on August 6th. Somebody dedicated to murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, and real genocide gets a sympatheic piece while the brutal kidnapping and murder of a 4 year old child is ignored. Pathetic. Horrific. The American media no longer needs to hide its antisemitism and Jew hatred.

In the article, it cites that Human rights and United Nations reports say the attack may have violated international law, calling it indiscriminate. Using the pagers assigned by a terrorists group to their terrorist members to stop the terrorists is called ‘indiscriminate’. You couldn’t make this type of stuff up. It’s time to close the UN, no longer anything close to what it was designed to be. If we, as a country, want to really believe in our ideals of humanity, we have no place for the Jew hating UN.

Then there is Mahmoud Khalil, a terrorist who led the Columbia antisemistism and Jew hatred efforts. Amazingly he says publicly that October 7th was necessary because Israel was making peace with other Arab countries and the Palestinians were being ‘left behind’. If being left behind means their rejection of every peace offer since 1948, then yes, they were left behind. Accepting a deal that acknowledges the right of Israel to exist that would create a Palestinian state isn’t acceptable so instead, their decision is to murder, rape, kidnap, and decapitate as many Jews as they possibly can. Khalil all but says that publicly and yet the world stays silent. It’s beyond obscene.

Then there is Linda Sarsour, one of the most vile antisemites around. She completely ignores the oppression of Hamas, completely ignores the freedoms of muslims who are Israeli citizens, and instead, chooses to to advocate that all Muslims must hate all Jews. According to her, the official position of the entire muslim community needs to be Jew hatred. Once again, the world stays silent. Their silence is their tacit approval of what she advocates. It’s their way to encourage Jew hatred without having to directly say it.

It’s hard to find things that go beyond those, however in today’s world, that is not only possible but probably. Amazingly, an Austrian heiress to the industrial dynasty whose company manufactured Zyklon B—the chemical used to gas Jews during the Holocaust—is set to sail on a “Freedom Flotilla” to Gaza. Her family wasn’t able to eliminate all the Jews so she is going to do her part in carrying on the family tradition of demonizing and attempting to murder the Jews. The world sees no irony. The world sees nothing wrong with this.

The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) came out with an incredible report that explains the food shortages in Gaza. They found that between May 19 and August 5, 2025, 88% of aid trucks collected by the UN in Gaza did not reach their intended destinations. This means that of the 2,604 trucks with food and humanitarian aid that entered Gaza, 2,309 of them were intercepted and didn’t reach the people of Gaza. In some months, the percentage of stolen aid was even higher, reaching 94% in July 2025. The report is even more damning of the UN and Hamas. Data shows that 85% of aid pallets sent to Gaza did not reach their intended recipients, with 28,000 out of 33,000 pallets looted. The more food and aid given to the UN to distribute, the more food and aid ends up with Hamas for them to feed their terrorist agenda and for them to sell on the black market to fund their terror operations.

Yet it is Israel that is blamed. Hamas is absolved of any responsibility. The UN, charged with delivering the food and aid to the people are given a free pass from their role in the lack of food for the people of Gaza. Israel, who sent the food in, who turned it over to the UN, is the who the world blames for the lack of food. It’s beyond absurd.

What makes it even worse? The Jews who side with the UN and Hamas. The Jews who use terms like genocide and war crimes when talking about Israel. The Jews who will be shocked when the Jew haters come for them because they were on the side of Hamas. This image and post on X (Twitter) puts it best, using Bernie Sanders, the ultimate Jewish Jew hater (Peter Beinart is a very close second) as the example.

If Jew haters like Bernie Sanders really cared about starving children in Gaza they would hold Hamas and the UN accountable for allowing the food and aid to be stolen and looted and not given to the people. They would hold Egypt accountable for not allowing ANY aid through their border and for not allowing the civilians (i.e. not Hamas) of Gaza to move into the Sinai where they could be safe, have plenty of food, water, medicine, and a life while Israel eliminates Hamas. The reality is they don’t care about anything other than hating Jews.

No longer can we allow this blatent Jew hatred to go unchallenged. No longer can we excuse it, especially when it comes from other Jews. It’s bad enough when the rest of the world hates us but when we decide to hate ourselves, thinking the world will love us because we helped rid the world of Jews, we are delusional. At times like this, we need to listen to Winston Churchill.

Don’t be an appeaser. Don’t allow those you know to be appeasers. When you do, in the end, we all get eaten.

Free Palestine

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

We have heard this chant for years. Since October 7th, the cries have come more frequently, louder, and in many places. It has become the calling card for antisemitism and Jew hatred. “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.” A chant that is saying, “From the River to the Sea, the middle east will be Jew free.” It is cute, clever, rhymes and is easy to say. It’s also racist and bigoted. But because it’s a chant against the Jews, it’s accepted and defended.

Since October 7th, it has caught on like wildfire. It’s an easy way to terrorize Jews and attack Jews in a now socially accepted manner. Jewish passengers on an Iberia flight had to deal with it. What will be the consequences for this blatent Jew hatred? Nothing.

As Jews, we have allowed this to happen. We have tolerated it, excused it, minimized it, and allowed the Jew hatred to grow. Even today, we continue to find ways to excuse Jew hatred and do things to make the Jewish community responsible for others behavior. The claims that Israel is committing genocide is a perfect example. They are fighting a war. Innocent people are dying. They are not fighting a perfect war and have made many mistakes. Just like every other country in the history of war. It doesn’t matter that the data doesn’t support this claim. It doesn’t matter that it clearly doesn’t meet the definition of genocide while Hamas’s attack on October 7th fully does. It doesn’t matter that just a few weeks ago, in Syria, the Syrian army were ordered to kill every Druze and to eliminate the entire population, a clear genocidal intent, which the world didn’t care about. Every time I see a Jewish person make the claim of genocide my stomache turns. When it is a Jewish leader, especially a Rabbi, my heart breaks. Once again, we are helping our abusers destroy us. Once again we are complicit. In his article in the Free Press, Coleman Hughes addresses the simple truth about the war.

Yahyah Sinwar knew this about the world and about the Jews. In his article, The Wisdom of Yahyah Sinwar, Oren states clearly that, “The leader of Hamas bet that the West’s oldest hatred would obscure Hamas’s atrocities. He was right.” The world hates Jews. We are th oldest scapegoat, easy to blame for anything and everything. Easy to hate because we help those who hate us. Oren points out the many lies that have been told, the way the truth has been proven and yet it is the lies that remain what the public remembers and believes. And we help them.

There are many people who have been very critical of our major Jewish organizations and our Rabbinic leadership for their failure to speak out fast enough, powerfully enough, clearly enough, and with a strong moral clarity. It is easy to miss those who speak out clearly and powerfully, with moral clarity and no ambiguity. My friend Rabbi Jeremy Barras is one of them. Rabbi of one of the largest reform synagogue in Miami, Temple Beth Am, Rabbi Barras is an unabashed Zionist and speaks with incredible passion and moral clarity. His comments below are powerful, clear, and come with moral clarity. Listen to what he says and understand.

It is time for us to stop helping those who want to kill us to succeed. It is time for us to stand up for who we are and what we believe. It is time to call the world out on their Jew hatred and not allow it. The NY Times knowingly ran a picture that was altered and of a child with Cerebral Palsy and lied about it, staying it was starvation. There are rumors that Irael is going to sue the NY Times for $10 billion dollars for this. I hope they do. They must be held accountable. It isn’t just the NY Times. Today it came out that TIme Magazine staged a photo of people in Gaza starving. They did this for the cover of their magazine!

It doesn’t matter to the world that the pictures are altered or staged. It doesn’t matter to the world that these ‘news’ organizations knowingly lie about the story. It fits the narrative that the world wants of the Jews. Michael Oren wrote in his article about how the world holds, “the 2,000-year belief that Jews were inherently vengeful, greedy, and lustful for the blood of innocents and children.”

This is the reality that we face today. Hamas lies. The media intentionally believes the lies and helps facilitate the lies to generate Jew hatred. People believe it. Jew hatred grows. A good example of how this happens and the impact is Sam Rasoul of the Virginia House of Delegates. He is a Democrat who chairs the Education Committee in the state’s House of Delegates and has used his social media accounts to attack Israel and America’s support for Israel. Recently, he has gone even more offensive in his posting, slandering Zionism and putting Jews in danger. On July 26, 2025, he posted on Instagram that Zionism is a “supremist ideology created to destroy and conquer everything and everyone in its way.”. He then accused Zionists of “making the world less safe for my Jewish friends.”

He starts with a lie about Zionism – simply the belief that Jews should have their own homeland. A homeland that continues to offer peace to the Palestinians that they have continued to reject. If there is any supremist ideology, it is the Palestinian leadership that demands everything and rejects peace. But the truth doesn’ tmatter. He then accuses Zionists of making the world less safe for Jews, another lie, as it is people like him who are making it less safe. Maybe he has some Jewish friends but I doubt they more than tokens designed to provide some cover to his Jew hatred.

This is the person who chairs the Education Committee in the Virginia legislature. Is it reasonable to assume he’ll provide real information and educational guidance about Jews and Israel? Should we expect that he will do everything required to protect Jewish students, especially if they are Zionists? Will a student wearing a Jewish star or any visible support of Israel be deemed a fair target for abuse under his leadership? All good questions and concerns yet the silence of the leadership of the House of Delegates is frightening.

We can’t be silent especially when leadership is silent in the face of Jew hatred. We cannot allow the lies to grow. When we hear the words, “Free Palestine” we must ensure that it includes “From Hamas”.

Are you going to be part of the silence and the problem or be vocal and part of the solution? Our silence allows the lies to grow unchallenged. That is no longer an option. Be like Rabbi Barras and speak out. Be like John Spencer, Michael Oren, Coleman Hughes, Erin Moran, Michael Rappaport, Brianna Wu, and the others who are willing to speak out, to take risks, and fight the lies. Otherwise the effort to make the work Juden-frei (Jew free) will grow and one day, it may succeed.

If you don’t know what you’re willing to die for, then you don’t know what you’re living for

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

About a year ago, on a trip to Israel, Saul Blinkoff, one of our trip leaders was speaking to us. He quoted one of his Rabbis, the great Rabbi Noah Weinberg (z’l), the founder of Aish HaTorah, who taught him that “If you don’t know what you’re willing to die for, then you don’t know what you’re living for.” Powerful words and a powerful and deep thought. We spent the rest of the trip grappling with what that means in general and to each of us. It’s something that has stayed with me since then and something that I ask myself on a regular basis.

In this crazy world that we live in today, with all the Jew hatred we see around us, take a few minutes and ask yourself that question. What are you willing to die for? When you come up with the answer, make the choice to LIVE for it. Almost 30 years ago, I began a career working on behalf of the Jewish people. From Hillel to the Federation to the JCC/Federation to today, working with clients in Israel, I have spent the vast majority of my professional life. I write and speak out because so many Jews before me were willing to die so that I could live, so many are fighting right now to ensure that my children and future grandchildren will be able to live, that I must actively live.

My friend Saul, who spoke that wisdom to us in Israel last year, is also a Hollywood Filmmaker (Disney, Dreamworks, Netflix). He has a great podcast that I encourage you to subscribe and listen to. He began his career with Disney. On that trip, he gifted us all not just a prayerbook, but one where he personally drew Mickey Mouse for us. He told us the story of how when he was illustrating the Winnie the Pooh movie, he made sure to put a mezuzzah on Winnie the Pooh’s doorpost, joking that he made him “Winnie the Jew”. We all have the ability to pick the things that matter to us, the things we would die for, and live for them. I do that with my family. With my children. I’d willingly die for them so why would I not take advantage of the chance to live for them. I take advantage of the time I get to spend with them because no time is guaranteed.

I feel the same way about my values. They matter to me. They define who I am and how I live. I’m willing to die for them. If that’s the case, then I’d better live for them. That means actively making choices that align with my values, even when they aren’t popular. Even when they aren’t easy to follow. Even when there are consequences for living them actively. Especially when they are difficult to follow through with or there is risk involved in standing by them.

Saul talked about this an much more on Ben Platt’s podcast. It’s worth the 30 minutes to watch and listen, to take in what he says and ask yourself deep questions. Especially the big one. What would you die for? And if you’d die for it, why aren’t you living for it right now?

In the podcast, Saul talks about the barbecue with the families from the kibbutz and the dancing with the children on our soldiers. That was my trip. Here’s a video of us dancing with the kids. It is something I will never forget. These families were attacked on October 7th. They had to relocate to Netanya from the Gaza envelope. They left their homes and their lives behind, moving to an apartment building in a different city. Many of the husbands were not there, called up to serve in the IDF to defend Israel and the Jewish people. Yet they were living life. Robustly. I watched a sweet toddler riding his tricycle. Kids playing ping pong. And, as you see in this video, dancing on our shoulders.

They literally went through what they would die for – living in the South of Israel in the Gaza envelope. It’s clear they know what they will live for and are doing so. There is much we can learn from them.

The older I get, the more I find I can learn. The more I find I must learn. Today’s world doesn’t value learning. Look at how poor our education system is. Look at how few people actually want to take the time to learn facts – instead they’ll get their information and knowledge from a TikTok video made by somebody who knows nothing. Judaism is all about learning. What’s going on in Israel and in the United States takes effort to learn. To investigate. To question.

In this critical time, remember the words from the Mishna. “Find yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend.” There many types of teachers. You can find a Rabbi or a Jewish educator. Ask the hard questions. You can find some experts who write regularly. Read what they write, listen to their podcasts. I have done both. Every week I learn from my friends Harry Rothenberg and Ari Shabat through their video blogs. You can subscribe via email to Harry’s and by whatsapp to both Harry and Ari’s. I read Michael Oren, who has both a substack and writes in the Free Press. I read John Spencer’s substack which you can subscribe for free or get a paid subscription. I am a paid subscriber to The Free Press, with it’s many articles and different points of view. I read Daniel Gordis’s Israel from the Inside, delivered to my email each morning. I get the Bernie News Network on WhatsApp, with so much information every day it is usually overwhleming. You don’t have to be like me in terms of how many teachers you choose to have. Start with one. Get a taste of what real, accurate, challenging information is like. Things that make you think, not parrot back a position somebody else tells you to take.

Keith and Harry at the Dead Sea
Ari Shabat teaching us in Israel

Once you start down this path, your mind and spirit will thank you.

The horrors of the media

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have written a lot about the media and the problems that they create. It is no longer about the news or about facts. It is about agendas, clicks, advertising dollars, and being first with a story even when it is wrong. The media has created and continues to create incredible division and hatred. The NY Times running the lies about the child from Gaza who has Cerebral Palsy is a perfect example from just this week. The lie has gone around the world while their pathetic small appending of the article is missed by most. The lame correction wasn’t put on the front page, like the lie. It wasn’t put on their big social media accounts.

We continue to allow the media to say whatever they want, regardless of the truth. They provide no context. A friend at lunch told me he listened to NPR talk about the food crisis in Gaza is a fifteen minute segment. Not once, in the entire segment, did they mention Hamas. Not once did they address the hoarding of food by Hamas and their selling of food on the black market. Not once did they address the complaints of the Gazan people that the food was too expensive. Free food was too expensive. Not to NPR who chose to make it an anti-Israel narrative.

The media loves to show anything that makes Israel look bad. Even when it’s not true. Especially when it’s not true. Anthony Aguilar is a perfect example. As you will see in the video below, it didn’t take much effort to understand that he is lying. What his motivation to lie was and plenty of documentation to back it up. Yet the media is making him a star. Why? Because his lies make Israel look bad. Because his lies paint a picture that they want to sell. It creates and reinforces the narrative that makes them money and makes those who hate Jews love them. Eventually there may be a retraction or an apology. But like the NY Times, it’ll be buried where nobody will see it or care about it.

Getting real information isn’t always easy. It’s also time consuming. I was recently introduced to Triggernometry, a podcast that takes its time to delve deep into issues. I was sent this one as my introduction and the interview of Andrew Fox, a British military veteran is spectacular. When he says, “There have been more bombs dropped in Gaza than people have been killed so either the IDF are the worst shots in history or they are actually taken care of civilian lives,” you hear a clear statement about the war in Gaza. In this 1 hour and 15 minute interview, they delve deep into various, difficult topics. The answers aren’t always pretty. They don’t whitewash Israel’s decisions and actions in the war. They are honest. They are based on facts. They paint a very different picture than the mass media. They make countries like Canada, the UK, and France, ready to recognize a Palestinian State that doesn’t meet any of the requirements to be a State, look like Jew hating fools. The conversation you will listen to gives the information that makes what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says about recognizing a Palestinian State clear and obvious.

To be educated and to know what you are talking about takes time and effort. Listen to this – you will be armed with information and facts so that you can speak intelligently about what’s happening.

I like listening to Chris Cuomo on his podcast. He will have anybody on his podcast and he will ask any question. He will push hard and not let people off the hook. This week, he spent 12 minutes discussing “What is the truth about aid in Gaza? The answer people don’t seem to want to accept:” He doesn’t let Israel off the hook for stopping the aid when they did. He does hold Hamas accountable. He demands the return of the ‘people that they stole‘, powerful words that I wish the mass media would use. Take 12 minutes and listen to him.

While the media will show and publicize the lies about the child from Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, promote the lies of Anthony Aguilar, what they won’t do is put any focus on the hostages, still held captive in inhuman conditions in Gaza. This week, Hamas publicized a video of Rom Braslavski, a hostage taken on October 7th and held in captivity until today. Look at the image on the left, released this week, and you see somebody who has been tortured, starved, and abused. They feed him one-half a piece of pita to eat each day and give him dirty water to drink. Enough to keep him barely alive. Look at the picture on the right – of Rom before being taken hostage. It is one of the most haunting images I have seen – my heart breaks every time that I look at it.

The day after they released the video and images of Rom, Hamas released images of Evyatar David, another person taken hostage by Hamas and kept in brutal conditions in the tunnels under Gaza. Evyatar looks happy and filled with life and a bright future in the image on the right. The image on the left is skin and bones, barely alive, with no spark or spirit.

This is what war crimes look like. This is Hamas. This is what our media and countries like Canada, the UK, and France are defending. Imagine either one of these two people were your child, your grandchild, your sibling, your friend. I have been outraged by Hamas even before October 7th and even more since then. As I look at the media coverage of Gaza, I am disgusted by their failure to report on the hostages. Failure to report on their captivity of almost 2 years. Their failure to keep them in the news and their failure to prioritize their health. Where is the media outrage at the UN and the Red Cross for not visiting a single hostage in captivity for nearly 2 years? All they have been is a glorified taxis service. Where is the outrage from the media when these pictures are shared? This is what starvation and captivity looks like. This is what war crimes look like. Don’t turn away. Share the images. Force people to see the reality.

Rom Bravlasvski starved as a hostage
Rom Bravlavski before October 7th
Evyatar David – still held hostage in Gaza by Hamas. This is what starvation and war crimes look like.

It gets worse. Hamas released this video of a captive, starving, Evyatar David being forced to dig his own grave. They don’t hide their war crimes, their crimes against humanity, they celebrate them. The world allows them to celebrate them because they don’t hold them accountable. Our US policiticans scream to flood Gaza with food but they neglect the starving hostages. They willingly ignore the 2 million meals per day being provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the UN’s failure to deliver food and to ensure the food goes to the people instead of Hamas. They willingly ignore the images of starving hostages and the video of one being forced to dig his own grave.

I refuse to stand by idly and allow this to continue. I reach out to elected officials. I write and speak out. I educate friends and others. People must see the reality. We can’t give up and we can’t surrender. We can’t accept the reality being pushed on us because of the lies. It doesn’t matter who we are talking to, the facts matter. The truth matters. I won’t be silenced because the cost of silence is the cost of our lives. Canada, the UK, France, elected officials, the media – they may all be against us and support Jew hatred and the lies but they won’t do it without me fighting back. Will you join me or will you be part of the problem? The choice is yours.