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

The Gaza/Hamas 500. It’s not a race.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik
The poster reads, “500 Days, Get Them Out of Hell”

500. An unbelievable number. Growing up, I remember when the US hostages were taken in Iran. The TV show Nightline, was created to track the daily updates on the hostages. The program began on November 8, 1979, four days after the start of the Hostage crisis. It is still on television, more than 45 years later. Yet the stories of the 250+ hostages taken on October 7th remain largely unknown. More than 40 Americans were murdered on October 7th by Hamas and I doubt most Americans could name one. 12 Americans were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th and I doubt most American know the number or know how many remain a hostage today (thankfully the number is only 1 and he is scheduled to be released this Saturday).

Hamas targeted individuals from over 40 different nationalities during its attacks in Israel. The victims included citizens from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Nepal, and several other countries. Yet the world has largely been quiet as their citizens were attacked, murdered, and kidnapped by terrorists all because they are Jewish or because they were in Israel at the time of their kidnapping or murder. It is a horrific indictment of the world’s antisemitism and Jew hatred.

Today, the Hamas leader in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, announced that six living hostages, including Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, will be released on Saturday. Bedouin Arab Israeli Hisham al-Sayed, seized in 2015 and Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mengistu, seized in 2014, have gotten no world attention. Avera has spent the last DECADE as a hostage of Hamas while Hisham has been a Hamas hostage for nearly a decade.  

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, hostages of Hamas in Gaza for a decade

al-Hayaa also announced that four deceased hostages will be released on Thursday, with the remaining four deceased hostages from Phase A to be released next week. This release plan has been confirmed by Israeli officials. While we can take a deep breath once they are home that phase A of the ceasefire and release will be completed, there are still 59 hostages remaining in Gaza, including at least 28 deceased. How the world allows this is horrifying. How the world defends this is horrifying. How the world demands that these terrorists and monsters be allowed to rebuild Gaza and remain in power when they openly state that they will do this again and again is beyond offense. All I can say to the world is “F YOU”. Israel knows better. It appears the new US administration knows better.

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese during World War 2 and the killing of 2,400 Americans, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed Congress and, via radio, the nation. He spoke powerfully with the famous line, “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.” and immediately declared war on the Japanese. The Japanese attacked not just Pearl Harbor but also US bases throughout the South Pacific. Thousands of American’s were taken prisoner, hostages, and experienced unbearable cruelties.

FDR addressing Congress and the country after the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

Former Ambassador Michael Oren asked a powerful question today. Imagine if instead of declaring war and fighting the evil of Japan and Nazi Germany, Oren wonders what if FDR had instead said the following“The enemy has not just massacred our citizens, but they have also taken hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners. They are now being held hostage and will be raped, starved, and tortured to death, unless we agree to Tokyo’s demands. We have no choice but to concede, America must do everything to liberate the hostages.”

That is what Israel has faced since October 7, 2023. 500 days since the murder of more than 1,200 people with more than 250 people taken hostage by the evil of Hamas. The world and many nations demanding that Israel surrender. Requiring that Israel negotiate with terrorists. It made me think of this classic scene from the movie, Tropic Thunder. Negotiating with terrorists means you always lose because they have no morals or ethics. Their word means nothing. They will give you whatever you want to get what they want because they never intend to hold up their end of the bargain. They will simply do it again and again to get more and more. At some point, the answer must be no, so why not start there? FDR did and the Japanese and Nazi Germany were defeated. Imagine if he had caved to their demands. Imagine if he had surrendered instead of fighting to defeat them.

500 days. 500 days of suffering for the hostages. 500 days of suffering for those who have had loved ones murdered or kidnapped. 500 days of a nation in shock, in mourning, dealing with rage and PTSD. 500 days of the entire Jewish people impacted. What would have happened if the world had said NO on October 8th. What would have happened had the world not accepted what Hamas did as resistance and instead treated it as it was, an act of war. What if the leadership of America and the world stood up like FDR did in 1941 and clearly stated that it was not acceptable, not ok, and we would do whatever was necessary to defeat this evil? Unfortunately we will never know.

What we do know is that we cannot allow Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran to continue their reign of terror. After the release of the six living hostages on Saturday, there will be at least 28 bodies to reclaim and perhaps as many as 31 people to get returned alive. Each one of their souls is precious. Each one of the families of those murdered deserves to have the body of their loved one returned for a proper burial and an opportunity at closure. The question we have to ask is, at what cost? Is it a fair trade to get them back if it costs us another 1,200 people being murdered in the next attack? Another 250+ people taken hostage? More women raped? Babies beheaded? Lives and families destroyed? These are difficult questions and I am glad that I am not the one who has to make that decision. The one thing I know is that IF I had to make that decision, that is the question I would be asking. At what cost? Am I willing to address the families of those 31 people who don’t come home and explain myself? Or would I rather face the families of 1,200 people in the future who have loved ones murdered because of my decision? The families of 250+ people who’s loved ones are hostages because of that decision?

As I am writing this, the following press release from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters came out, which broke my heart.

Statement from the Bibas family:

“In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil following Hamas spokesperson’s announcement about the planned return of our Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir this Thursday as part of the hostages’ remains release phase.

We want to make it clear that while we are aware of these reports, we have not yet received any official confirmation regarding this matter.

Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over.

We ask the media and the public to respect our privacy and refrain from contacting us about this matter.”

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas. It appears our worst fears are true.

I have written a lot about this family in part because I so identify with them. They had two boys. I have two boys. The age difference with their children is almost identical to the age difference of my children. I felt as if my family could have easily been their family. At my Passover table, I had their pictures on empty chairs as if they were sitting at my table. I left these pictures up on the chairs for a few months because I couldn’t bear to take them down. When their bodies are returned, like Hersh Goldberg-Polin, I will watch the funeral. I may light a shiva candle for them because I so identify with them.

So what comes next? Will there be a phase 2? How do we reconcile the murder of this mother and her two beautiful children with the release of more terrorists? How do we enable the people who murdered this beautiful mother and her two babies to walk free, let alone stay in power? Is the cost of getting those 31 hostages home too high? A friend of mine has had a number of his family members who are hostages. All but one have been returned and that one is scheduled to be released on Saturday. I can hear his voice in my head telling me that no price is too high. I also hear the voice of friends of mine who are Generals and Lt. Colonels in the IDF telling me that we simply must win this war and we can only do that by ending Hamas and their rule and influence. Not only in Gaza but also in Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank).

I never really thought that the first phase of the agreement would actually be completed because of Hamas. If it wasn’t for the strong response from the current American administration when Hamas threatened to pull out of it, it wouldn’t have. I never expected that the talks about phase two would actually happen like they are. I am not optimistic that phase 2 will happen. As Bibi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and President Trump have said, it’s time to end the ‘drips and drabs’ of hostage releases. Yet if Hamas releases the hostages, what do they have left to bargain with?

We must never forget the hostages and do all we can to get them home. We cannot also allow a situation to occur where future hostages will be taken because Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, or Iran think Israel and the United States are weak. These are challenging times with no clear answer. The future of Israel, the future of America, the future of the West and our values are at stake here. No matter what anybody tells you, don’t forget that. Evil cannot be allowed to win. Evil must be eliminated. Whatever it takes it what it takes because if we let Evil win, if we let Evil flourish, the world we want to live in will cease to exist.

Am Yisrael Chai – Release them all NOW!

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And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Yesterday, 3 more hostages were released. Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov, and Iair Horn spent 498 days in captivity. The slow drip of hostage releases is aggravating. It’s frustrating. As each group is released, we see the physical damage they have undergone while being held hostage. As the news media reports that they were ‘all walking without apparent serious injuries,’ I got even more angry. Yes, they were not as physically gaunt as those released a week ago, however there was clear damage and injuries due to their being tortured.

Iair Horn was limping. His leg was injured on October 7th and he received no medical treatment for 498 days. In addition, he was kept in a small area where standing upright was difficult for 498 days. He was tortured while in captivity. Just prior to his release, Iaiar was given an hourglass with a picture of Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage and who has emerged as a leading figure in the movement for the hostages’ return. Hamas made sure to continue the emotional torture even as they released him.

Sagui Dekel-Chen had been shot in the shoulder on October 7th and received no medical attention for 498 days. He only used his left hand to greet people upon his release due to the damage. He was tortured during his captivity while being interrogated and has scars on his body as proof.

Sasha Troufanov was held along for 498 days. Solitary confinement for 498 days. Food withheld. Only dirty water to drink. No information about his family provided. It wasn’t until yesterday, when he was released, that he learned that his father was murdered on October 7th.

The world decided that they looked good upon being released because they could walk and because they didn’t look like the starved Holocaust survivors that Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami did upon their release just a week ago. Kidnapping, torturing, and witholding medical care and food from Jews isn’t enough for the media to be outraged. Only being shamed when the victims look like walking skeletons seems to have any effect.

For 498 days the International Red Cross has refused to visit or demand to visit the hostages. They have refused to ensure the hostages got medical treatment or were being treated humanely. It’s disgusting. They are disgusting. Yet on day 498 since Hamas attacked and took hostages, the ICRC dared to issue this statement

They call murderers and terrorists ‘detainees’. The celebrate that Israel had to release 343 murderers and terrorists to get 3 hostages released. They claim to be neutral despite having no visits with the hostages in 498 days other than to serve as their Uber from Hamas to Israel when they are released. Then they dare to call for all hostages to be released in a dignified and safe manner, as if criminals are hostages and as if Israel is parading those they are releasing on a public stage the way Hamas is.

Then they demand more aid when more than enough aid is getting in but the United Nations and UNRWA are giving it to Hamas. At day 498 they finally ask for access to all hostages but have to include the word ‘detainees’ instead of murderers and terrorists who were tried and convicted of crimes.

If I didn’t already hate the Red Cross since they have chosen to act on their Jew hatred since October 7th, they have found a way to embarrass themselves even more and to ensure that anybody with a moral conscience will never view them as legitimate every again. And the media remains silent.

The only ‘humanitarian’ groups worse than the Red Cross are the UN and UNRWA. UNRWA, who employs Hamas members, who lets Hamas use their facilities to hide hostages, who gives the aid to Hamas instead of the people, who uses Jew hatred as core principles in the textbooks they use to ‘educate’ children in Gaza, continues to lie.

UNRWA says there is no aid getting in to Gaza and there is a famine. They say there is no medical care happening for the people of Gaza (the fact that the hostages have received none in 498 days is irrelevent to them). They claim there is no shelter available in Gaza. And then they have the gall to post this message bragging about the number of medical consultations they provided since Octber 7th. The food assistance they have provided despite their claims of no food being available. The shelter they provided despite their claims of no shelter being available. UNRWA is a terrorist organization. They have been and continue to commit true war crimes. They are complicit with the events of October 7th, the keeping of hostages, and the theft of humanitarian aid. The media remains silent about it all. The Jew haters talk out of both sides of their mouth. Famine but we are feeding 2 million people. No medical care available but we had 7.4 MILLION medical consultations. The UN and UNRA are a disgrace as are the media and leaders who lie and cover up their crimes.

https://twitter.com/UNRWA/status/1890813083934707925

We hardly pay attention to the Jew hatred in the United States any longer. What happened on college campuses and the administrators, Presidents, and ‘leaders’ who not only permitted it but encourages it are no longer in the media. They kind of said, “oops, my bad” and hope everybody will forget it and give them a pass. Yet the Jew hatred they feed continues every day. This happened in Orlando earlier this week. Not in some backwoods, stereotypical white nationalistic area, not in Appalachia or Deerborne, Michigan. In Florida, a state that is not only filled with Jews but also one that has been very good to their Jewish citizens. Those of you who excuse bad behavior because you hate President Trump or think that these Jew haters will accept you because you support the social causes they care about are complicit. You are just as responsible. Once again we have swastikas in Orlando. It’s not just crazy racists like Kanye West selling t-shirts with swatiskas on their website after taking out a superbowl ad to promote the site selling them. Shame on you Fox for selling him the ad and running it. Shame on you, the NFL, for permitting it to occur. The world we live in is one that too many people want to pretend doesn’t exists because it doesn’t fit their narrative. I have had to ‘snooze’ a number of my friends on social media because they simply want to ignore things like swatiskas and essentially Nazi ads at the Superbowl because they’d rather be part of a movement than stand up to real hate. Can you feel my anger and rage yet?

https://twitter.com/bigvorch/status/1890156263654502555

I’m not saying that Presidnt Trump’s ‘plan’ to relocate the Gazan people and have America take over Gaza and rebuild it is the right thing to do. I am saying very loudly and very clearly that the words being used about it and the statements being made are false and filled with Jew hatred. Between 1948 and 1951, 250,000 Jews were forcibly relocated from Muslim countries. In 2005, all 9,000 Jews living in Gaza were forcibly relocated, making Gaza Juden-frei (Jew free). The world was silent in both cases.

Other examples of forced migration include the refugee crisis emerging from the Syrian civil war; the Rohingya people fleeing to Bangladesh to escape murder and violence inflicted by Myanmar’s state forces; migrants from Honduras and El Salvador forced into a treacherous migration route through Mexico to the United States to escape violence; and the challenges facing Ethiopia, which hosts the largest number of refugees in the world even though it lacks basic necessities for that population, such as clean water. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that nearly 71 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide. Let that sink in. The UN itself estimates that nearly 71 MILLION peole are forcibly diplaced and the only ones they are concerned about are the ones who might be displaced because they were involved with the invasion of another country, murdering more than 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 people. Once again the phrase, No Jews, No News, applies. 71 million people are forcibly displaced but the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ only applies if it is those who were involved with attacking a country, murdering their people, and kidnapping and holding those people for 500 days. The Orlando Sentinel had this horrific op-ed, upset because it is coming from President Trump and relates to Israel and the Jews while staying silent about the 71 MILLION PEOPLE that have nothing to do with President Trump or the Jews.

Editorial: Trump’s Gaza bombshell would constitute ethnic cleansing

I hate the hypocrisy. I hate the lies. I hate the Jew hatred that is so clear and apparent yet the media and the world refuses to recognize.

I titled this blog from a famous scene in Pulp Fiction. Samuel L. Jackson uses this quote from Ezekial (the full quote is longer) as he delivers his own justice. The quote ends with the words, “and you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengence upon thee.” The bible is filled with stories of God’s vegenence and I believe in karma. I believe that those involved with evil will pay the price. Good will overcome evil. It may take time. It may not happen quickly. People like UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres and UN  Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese will pay the price. Those in the media who promote the lies will face consequences. The politicians and University Presidents who are on record with their Jew hatred will get their just due in time. It won’t be Samuel L. Jackson delivering justice as he does in the movie but justice, true justice, will occur at some point.

We each have a choice. We can choose to hide until they find us and we face their wrath. We can think we are one of them or that they will treat us as one of them because we went along with them. We saw how that worked out during the Shoah. We saw how that worked out after October 7th. All these celebrities who spoke out about violence again women have been silent. Where have Michelle Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, Alicia Keys, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayak, Queen Latifa, and Juila Roberts been? Nowhere when it’s Jewish women.

Amazon’s employee, Sasha Troufanov, was taken hostage 498 days ago. After 498 days of captivity and only upon his release, did Amazon say anything. CEO Andy Jassey was ‘relieved’ upon his release, after being silent for 498 days while his employee was beaten, tortured, starved, and not given medical care.

So pick that option if you want. The results are clear. Or we can fight. We can stand up and scream at the top of our lungs. We can call the Jew hating bigots out. We can stand up for ourselves. History has shown what happens when we do that as well.

I pick fighting. I pick screaming. I pick calling out those who hate me because I’m Jewish. I refuse to stand by idly while people try to eliminate the Jews.

At some point in the future, our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are going to ask what we did when they came for us. What did we do after October 7, 2023. I know what my answer will be and I know what my children will tell their children and their grandchildren about what I did. I’m proud to leave that legacy for future generations. What will yours say about you? Will they be proud that you fought or embarrassed that you hid. Will they even exists or will they have been murdered like the 1,200 people on October 7th?

Somebody on social media said that they were not Jewish yet wanted to stand with the Jewish people and asked when and where would it be appropriate to wear a Star of David. My reply was ‘anywhere and anytime.” If somebody who is not Jewish will do it, why won’t you do it for yourself. The time to decide is now. What will you do?

We are not alone and my dad (z’l) visited me last night to prove it

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Last night, my dad (z’l) came to visit me. It was the second time he has come to visit me since he died on September 6, 2022. The first time was well over a year ago and it was very emotional for me. We spent a lot of time talking and I really needed him at that time. Things in my life we unsettled and he has always been my ‘go to person’ to talk about my life and get perspective. I was very lucky that way. Lately, I have been missing him and treasuring my mom a lot. I have asked him to come visit again, something I didn’t expect would happen but I knew that if I asked, maybe it would happen. After a month or two of asking, he showed up last night.

Many of you may not believe that those we love can come visit us in our dreams at night and that is perfectly fine. I do believe it and have now have had it happen twice with my dad. It was a crazy dream – things were all over the place and nothing was connected until all of a sudden I walked up to the gym counter and there he was. He started to talk to me and I just reached out and gave him a big hug. I hugged him intensely the entire time, tears in my eyes, until he was gone. Whatever words he was saying didn’t matter. I needed that long hug from my dad and I got it.

I think this is because of what happned with the hostages this past Saturday. I was deeply affected not just by the way they looked and how they were clearly mistreated, but also by the story of Eli Sharaby. A bright eyed, vigorous, healthy man, who is only 5 years younger than me, was taken hostage on October 7th. His wife and daughters were murdered by the Hamas terrorists that day but he didn’t know this for his 491 days of captivity. He actually spoke about how much he looked forward to seeing them when when Hamas paraded him before release and forced him to speak. They knew his family was murdered and they watched him and laughed. It was painful to see. It was painful to hear. I cannot even imagine what it was like when he was told they were murdered 491 days ago.

Perhaps it is because we are close in age. Perhaps it is because I have one child who has started his career and lives in North Carolina doing what he loves and isn’t at home. Perhaps it is because my second child is graduating college in May and while he wants to get a job and stay local, who knows what will happen. Eli’s loss felt very personal to me.

Perhaps it is the story of the Bibas family. This family of four, mother, father, and 2 boys who are just about the same age difference as my boys, were kidnapped on October 7th. Yarden, the father, was released a week ago from captivity. His wife Shiri and two beautiful boys, Ariel and Kfir, remain hostages and we don’t know if they are alive or dead. More and more, I have been preparing myself for their bodies to be returned and to have to know that these beautiful young children were murdered by terrorists out of hate while the world didn’t care. They remind me of my family. With Yarden home, perhaps I am identifying closely with him and the fears for his family and their lives. I can’t imagine that feeling nor do I want to imagine it. Last night, I needed my dad and his hug and I got it.

These are crazy times. After more than a year with nothing strong coming from the American administration, President Trump spoke loudly and clearly yesterday about the condition of the returned hostages. CNN reported that the hostages “appeared to look gaunt”, a horrible minimization of their condition. The legacy media still can’t report the news, they have to insert their own Jew hatred and anti-Israel takes into their reporting.

Today, Hamas announced they are pausing the release of the hostages this upcoming weekend. It was only a matter of time before they would violate the agreement. Everybody knew that because Hamas has no morals and no ethics. Their word is not reliable nor dependable. It is why there can be no peace. It is why there is no hope for a Two State Solution. As my friend, Fleur Hassan Nahoum has eloquently stated, “The Palesteinian leadership have never wanted a state. It is not their dream. It was our dream.” She continues, “The problem of the conflict is not that there isn’t a Palestinian State. The problem is that there is a Jewish State.”

Hamas’s announcement suspending Saturday’s planned hostage release is an intentional plan for them to regain world sympathy through their lies. Their reason for suspending the release is a complete lie, as available data shows consistent humanitarian aid flow since January 19, with 12,600 trucks entering Gaza, maintaining the 600 trucks per day requirement. This steady flow, averaging 4,200 trucks each week, directly challenges Hamas’s claims of aid restriction. It is not just the COGAT (Israeli data) that shows this. Other monitoring mechanisms confirm these figures, with their own data validating that Israel has consistently met the agreement’s humanitarian benchmarks.

Don’t expect the media to report the facts. They will report what Hamas says and the lies. I’m telling you now so that you have the accurate information before the lies come out. Hamas is trying to frame this violation of the agreement through a humanitarian lens because they know the media will report their lies and not the truth, helping them to gain international support. I can already see the tweets coming from Antonio Gutteres, Secretary General of the UN, complaining about the lack of aid going in despite the documentation saying the opposite. I can already see the tweets from the bigoted and racist Francesca Albanes, they UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, claiming Israel is starving the people of Gaza despite having just seen what starvation looks like with the release of the hostages on Saturday.

The world will demand that Israel maintain the ceasefire even though Hamas has broken the agreement unilaterally. The world will demand that Israel move into phase 2 of the ceasefire even though Hamas failed to live up to phase 1 of the cease fire. The world can kiss my a**. This is when I am glad that Bibi is the Prime Minister and Trump is the President. They don’t live in a delusional world when it comes to Hamas. The proof of this is right after Hamas announced they will break the ceasefire agreement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) issued a decree revoking the payment system to families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prison or to families of Palestinian terrorists. This “Pay for Slay” program has been an abomination that UNRWA has been funding for years. Abu Mazen didn’t just announce it, he made sure to inform the Trump administration in advance. This is what happens when you stand up to bullies. They stop their awful behavior. Hamas is a bully and while the media and the Western nations will support their lies and hatred, there is a growing population that will not do so any longer.

An example of this is that over the past few months, I have seen more and more people standing up for Israel and the Jewish community. More people willing to be public in calling out the lies and the Jew hatred. Douglas Murray, comedian Michael Rappaport, Senator John Fetterman and Representative Ritchie Torres along with newscaster Erin Molan seemed to be alone for a long time. Today, I read this post on X that warmed my heart. Not just the post but the comments by others stating that they are not Jewish and why they speak up for the Jewish community. People quoting her with their own reason along with those commenting below. It appears that we are finally seeing the type of support that has been missing for the past 16 months. Read the entire post. Look at the comments of those sharing why they support the Jewish community. You can find those who quoted her post and their reasons. It is heartwarming. It is hopeful.

With Hamas ending the ceasefire, we are going into another phase of Jew hatred on the public stage. At least this time we have a President who understands the evil of Hamas. We have many more people speaking out in support of the Jewish community and of Israel. Perhaps we are moving closer to a resolution where Hamas will be ended, where we will get as many hostages as possible home alive, and where Israel can return to peace and a chance to recover and heal.

For all of those in Israel, they desperately need it. And for those of us in the diaspora for which every day since October 7th has been October 7th, we need it as well. As President Trump said, I don’t know how much longer we can take this. Perhaps Hamas showing who they really are once again will finally be noticed. I doubt it but I can hope.

As I finish writing this, I learned that my friend Mahmoud, the owner of the Educational Bookstore in East Jerusalem and at the American Colony hotel was arrested by Ben Gvir’s police for basically selling books. I met Mahmoud in 2019 as he took us around East Jerusalem and talked to us about his experience living there as a Palestinian. We went to his big bookstore for lunch and talked some more. That afternoon, we went to him home where we dug even deeper. He said something there that I will never forget and that gave me great hope. He said, “If Zionism means the Jews have a right to the land and that we have a right to land as well, then I am fine with Zionism.” It was a profound and huge statement for a different future. In May when I was in Israel, a friend and I walked through East Jerusalem to his bookstore at the American Colony hotel where we spent 90 minutes engaged in a deep conversation. Mahmoud was devastated that Hamas took hostages and wanted them returned on October 8th. We covered many challenging topics and disagreed about many things but the one thing we agreed on was the hope for peace and a desire to live in peace with each other. There are many people who advocate for violence, for murdering the Jews, for eliminating Israel, and who actually engage in violence. They should be arrested. Somebody like Mahmoud who actively wants peace should be supported, not arrested. I am angry. I am hurt. It has been bad enough when it is Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, Syria, and others doing it. It is horrible when it is the US media and our supposed Western allies that are doing it. Yet it is far worse when it is Israeli leadership doing things.

Mahmoud and me at this American Colony Hotel bookstore in May 2024

If we truly want peace, if we truly want to heal, we have to build relationships with our potential partners, not arrest them. There are plenty of people to arrest for their criminal behavior. It’s time Israel gets rid of those bigots in her government. Bibi can do better. Israel can do better. The Jewish people deserve better.

Holocaust survivors in 2025

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Three more hostages were released. Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy were all taken hostage on October 7, 2023. They were held by Hamas for 491 days. We shuddered as we thought of the abuse they were undergoing. When we saw them today, we realized how horrible it has been. How evil Hamas is. How useless the Red Cross is. That UNRWA and the UN are terror organizations. All you have to do is look at the before and after pictures of them to understand. These pictures bring tears to my eyes.

Pictures of Ohad, Eli, and Or, before they were kidnapped and upon their release. It is horrifying.

As Or Levy was being paraded before Hamas and the ‘innocent Gazan people’ before his release, you can see the condition he is in. He has to be help up on both sides to walk. He is barely able to stand. He looks like a Holocaust survivor. The images of walking skeletons from the liberation of the death camps in the 1940s are being repeated in 2025 as they come out of Gaza after 491 days of captivity. They are what famine and starvation look like. There will be no apologies or retractions from those who claimed Israel was starving Gaza, proven wrong once again. There will be no criticism of Hamas for how they treated these men and the hostages. The world doesn’t care. That’s the reality.

We have seen images of family members as they see their loved ones for the first time upon their release. Most images we have seen are those of joy and celebration. They know their loved one underwent terrible abuse. They know that the person coming home isn’t the same person that was taken on October 7th. But they have been able to watch them return with a sense of joy. Today’s release was different. While the anticipation was that of joy, when they saw the images of their loved one and what they looked like, there was shock and horror. This was captured best in the image of Ohad Ben Ami’s family as they got their first view of him. The shock. The horror. The pain in their eyes. I can’t get over the look in their eyes. It brings tears to my eyes. It makes me filled with rage and my jaw locks with anger. What the monsters of Hamas and those who support them, both in and out of Gaza, did to these men is horrifying. That the world allowed and enabled it is even worse. I think of the celebrities wearing their red hands pins, not even knowing the story behind them, who bear responsibility for what happened to these men. If looking at the images of Ohed, Eli and Or aren’t enough to wake you up to the reality of Hamas, let the faces of Ohed’s family show you.

We talk about cruelty. Eli Sharabi was held for 491 days and allowed to maintain the hope of reuniting with his wife and daughters. This is despite Hamas murdering them on October 7th. This is despite Hamas knowing they murdered his family. As they released him today, they allowed him to speak about how much he looked forward to reuniting with his family. They cheered and jeered him. They mocked his hopefullness because they knew. It was their final ‘fuck you’ to Eli. You may be free from out captivity but soon you will know that we murdered your entire familiy, destroyed what you loved the most, and we will always live in your head and in your heart. Monsters. It is not just the monsters of Hamas that are responsible. We see the people in the street cheering Hamas and what they do. We see some of our politicians and celebrities who support Hamas. We see students on campus supporting Hamas. They all own this as well. They are playing their role in this inhumanity.

Erin Molan spoke out powerfully today. She has been a powerful, clear voice since October 7th. When you listen to her talk, you hear her pain, not just as a human being seeing the abuse these men underwent, but how the rest of the world stood by and stayed silent. How the rest of the world blamed Israel and held Hamas blameless, while Hamas starved and terrorized the people they kidnapped. Listening to her talk captured my anger. Her words were perfectly stated. “The world is a disgrace.”

Why do we release 30 terrorists and murderers for every one of our people held hostage? Shouldn’t it be a 1-1 ratio? Why is Hamas emboldened to ask for an even greater ratio in phase 2 of the ceasefire agreement? It is because we love life. It is because we value life. It is because we all feel the pain of those murdered and kidnapped and desperately want their return. We feel for their families and what they are going through. And it is because of pictures like the one below of Or hugging his 3 year old son Almog after 491 days of captivity. It touches us deeply. It is core to who we are. We all feel the love from Or to Almog and from Almog back to Or. It makes us want to hug our children a little tighter, no matter how old they are.

Or hugging his 3 year old son Almog after 491 days of captivity.

The events on October 7th and since then have impacted me greatly. I wrote and shared about the two tattoos that I got related to October 7th. On my left arm, I have a tribute to the Nova festival with the Golani tree. When an Israeli sees it, they are taken aback. They can’t imagine that as a diaspora Jew, I would feel their pain so strongly that I would make it a part of my physical being. There are a number of people who have told me they didn’t see me as a ‘tattoo guy’. This image speaks loudly and strongly to me and I wanted to make it a part of who I am.

After seeing what Hamas did to Emily Damri, I was deeply moved, not only by what happened to her but how she responded. Her smile, her determination, and her wililngness to share what happened to her hand with the world was inspiring. Moshe Shapira, a father and artist who lost his oldest son, Aner Shapira, on Oct. 7, 2023, turned the image of Emily’s injured hand into a symbol of blessings. This symbol spoke to me in a powerful way. On my other arm, I had gotten the same tattoo that Mia Schem did after her release, saying “we will dance again”, reminding her and me of the resilience of the Jewish people. We will dance again. We will continue to live and to thrive. I found the art of Moshe a perfect fit with the words of Mia. On Friday, I went to get Moshe’s image added under Mia’s words on my right arm. I asked the artist to move the hands slighty apart so they would frame the October 7th date.

The addition to my arm. It’s a powerful image and reminder.

The image of Emily’s hand also is the same as the the American Sign Language symbol for “I love you”. It’s also the symbol of the priestly blessings, the first of which is inscribed underneath this image. In Hebrew it says, “May the lord bless and protect you.” Powerful words. And yes, this is the symbol that Leonard Nimoy, a Jewish man, used to create the vulcan image used by Mr, Spock on Star Trek.

The world may not wake up, even as the physicians have reported that the three hostages released today were in the physical condition of people who had spent a year in a concentration camp. That is Hamas. That is what some of our politicians and many Hollywood celebrities support. It is what the UN supports. The same with the Red Cross. The condition of these hostages was so alarming, so shocking, that Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon wrote the following letter to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN. The UN is a hate organization. They are a bank account for Hamas and Hezbollah. The letter documents Hamas’s inhumanity and crimes against humanity. The UN will do nothing which is why it is time for them to be disbanded. Secretary General Guterres will do nothing, which is why he needs to be indicted for crimes against humanity. UNRWA is a UN agency that participated in all of this. He is the leader of the UN which oversees UNRWA.

The images of today are shocking. They should spur us all into action. Those who are Jew haters will ignore it or celebrate it. We must continue our fight. We must continue to live and fight for our survival. If you haven’t spoken out yet, start now. This is no time to be silent. This is no time to ‘go along to get along.’ This is no time to put your head in the sand and hope they will leave you alone. Ohad, Eli and Or are images we cannot forget or they are destined to be images of us in the future.

Stand up. Speak out. Be loud. Be proud to be Jewish. Don’t let those who hate win. Am Yisrael Chai – the Jewish people live!!

Is America safe for its citizens?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine called to tell me that her family was moving from Orlando to DC because they felt Florida was no longer safe for their family. It is a strange thing to hear about where you live. Yet I understood what she meant and why she felt they had to move. It wasn’t the gun laws in Florida nor was it the mass tourists or the humidity. It was the political climate where the government was getting into their personal lives. It was because their daughter is Trans.

My heart broke as they sold their dream home, packed up, and moved. We stayed in touch and I saw her last year when i was in DC and we got together for dinner and to hang out. Her daughter was flourishing and the family, while missing Florida, was doing well.

She reached out to me today to let me know that she and her daughter were moving to Israel for two years because America was no longer safe for her family. I had known this was a possibility for a few weeks and hoped that it wouldn’t be what ended up happening, but it is.

How do we live in a country where people literally have to leave because they feel unsafe to live here because of who they are? I know there are many people who are undocumented, who did not follow our immigration laws, that feel unsafe. Their feeling of being unsafe is the risk of being sent OUT of the country and their desire is to stay. This is the opposite. They are choosing to leave because staying wouldn’t be safe.

I understand the concern about safety. With the rise of antisemitism and my public stance on speaking out, I felt that I became a target of those who hate. I was on TV regularly and was clearly identified as being Jewish and a leader in the Jewish community. My information is public. Anybody can find where I live with a simple property search. They can see what cars my family and I drive and follow us easily. We had people in Orlando wearing Nazi uniforms, flying Nazi flags, chanting hateful sayings, hanging Jew hating banners from bridges over interstate roads and even assaulting jewish students on camera.

Two hate groups met on a bridge in Orlando in September 2023
The entrance to Disney in June, 2023, with protesters flying multiple Nazi flags

I couldn’t take the risk of being a victim of serious hate crimes against me or my family, so I went to get my concealed carry permit. I made sure that if the need every came up to protect my family from serious harm, I could. I also reached out to a friend to ask if they would hide me and my family, if the need every came. Just the thought of making that call made me sick to my stomach. When I actually did it, it felt worse.

As I watch what my friend and her family are going through, they are actually leaving the country. We have reached the point where American’s don’t feel safe living in our country because of hate. Hate for those that are different. Hate for those we don’t understand. Hate based on lies, misstatements, misunderstandings, and lack of knowledge along with pure bigotry.

I have friends who have many differences. At least four that I know of have children who are Trans. Some of my friends are Gay or Lesbians. Others are different races and religions. Their differences only enhance my life, they don’t detract from it. Their friendship, who they are, make my life better. I have learned that friendship is about who shows up. It’s not because you are have similar physical characteristics. As I think of my friend and her daughter getting ready to leave for Israel, I am both excited for them and this journey (a part of me has always wanted to make aliyah), and I am sad for them, forced to move once again due to safety concerns as a result of hate and bigotry.

We can do better. We must do better. We must be better. This isn’t about giving any singular group ‘special privileges’. This is about ensuring that every American has the same inalienable rights guaranteed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, where it is written, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In this time where hate in our country continues to grow, we must also remember the words of the Declaration of Independence that come after this. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Government is to ensure we have these rights, not to take them away. The past few decades have shown our Government to be taking them away. And once again, the Declaration of Independence tells us what happens when our Government does this. “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, had many beliefs about the government. It’s purpose was to ensure these rights for all. Not for some. Not for those who agreed with him. Not for the limited few who met random criteria of wealth, age, race, gender, sexuality, etc. For all. That’s why he wrote those words in the Declaration of Independence.

Our Government exists to serve the people and ensure our inalienable rights. Somehow we have forgotten that. Somehow we have gotten to a place where Government now scares half the country all of the time.

Once again I go back to Thomas Jefferson, one of our most influential and impactful founding fathers for inspiration. We have seen our government struggle to truly guard our inalienable rights for nearly 30 years. Year after year, it seems to get worse. It doesn’t matter who the President has been, which party has control of the House of Representatives or the Senate, our government has bred divisiveness and created fear among the citizens. The type of fear that led my friend to leave the country with her daughter to keep her daughter safe. For the past 3 Presidential elections I have chosen to write in candidates because I refused to support either of the ones running. I reject the ‘lesser of two evils’ with the belief that I don’t want evil at all. I want inspiration. I want somebody who truly cares about the entire country to lead it, not with an agenda to only benefit half the country (I don’t care which half). I’ve taken lots of grief for this but I don’t care. In this past election, it seemed many people agreed with me. Now it’s time for us to to listen to Jefferson and have ‘a little rebellion’ to force the change we want. What we are currently doing isn’t working. There is no reason to think it will work after the election in 2 years or in 4 years if we keep doing what we are doing.

It’s time for us to stop the insanity. It’s time for us to take action and do something different. We need to listen to Albert Einstein and take action. Forget about bringing business back to America. We to make sure our citizens feel safe and don’t need to leave to stay safe. We need to have a government that reflects the vision of Abraham Lincoln. “Of the people, by the people, for the people.” The way things continue to go, what we have will perish from the face of the earth.

I hope my friend and her daughter will feel safe enough to return to live in the United States. That is up to each of us to remember that if we want freedom for ourselves, we need freedom for everybody. If we want to feel safe in our country, we need everybody to feel safe in our country. If we truly value our Declaration of Independence and Constitution, we need to make sure that everybody is represented and personal beliefs don’t become our country’s policies.

The question is what are you going to do? Do you want to wait until it’s your turn to have to leave the country? Do you want to put your head in the sand and think they won’t eventually come for you? Because they always do. I faced it myself with Jew hatred. I have seen it happen to my friend and her family. I choose to speak up. I choose to take action. As long as we allow hate to exist, it will grow and eventually will come for all of us.

I hope you take action before it comes for you.

Goodbye UNRWA and Good Riddance

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Yesterday, January 30, 2025 marked the end of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Many in the world are criticizing this action, claiming that only UNRWA can provide the aid and take care of the needs of the Palestinians. Those who do that have chosen to believe the lies and ignore the truth about UNRWA.

Every refugee in the world is covered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Every single one. Except for the Palestinians, who get their own agency despite not really being refugees. Gaza has been fully governed by the Palestinians, who elected Hamas as their leaders, since 2005. In Judea and Samaria, the Palestinian Authority fully governs Area A. They are in charge of the civil society in Area B. Yet they have to have their own refugee organization while the entire rest of the world gets their own?

UNRWA has been exposed for many human rights violations. Employees of UNRWA have been confirmed to be Hamas operatives. Employees of UNRWA have been proved to be active participants in the attack on October 7th. Employees of UNRWA have been proved to have hidden hostages in their private homes. UNRWA has failed to deliver the humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza. It isn’t that the food isn’t being sent to Gaza. UNRWA has left it on the docks to rot. UNRWA has given the food to Hamas and the local gangs who sell it on the black market. I have seen the pictures of the food on the docks, rotting. I have seen the pictures of Hamas taking the food from the relief trucks.

When I saw the post above, I was livid. UNRWA held her in captivity AND denied her medical care. This is the organization that is supposed to help people. This is a part of the United Nations (UN). If there was ever something that showed just how disgusting and vile UNRWA and the UN are, this is it. Yet the world is silent. You won’t see this information on the national news, read it in the NY Times or Washington Post. The ICC won’t be issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of UNRWA or the UN. They should, but they won’t.

When Arbel Yehoud was released from captivity on Thursday, she had to go through a crowd in Gaza of people shouting at her. She was surrounded by terrorists in uniform. The look on her face is terrifying. They are wearing pressed uniforms, the crowd looks well fed, which in a famine shouldn’t happen. These are the people Israel is supposed to trust and make peace with? Israel should trust the UN after learning that they held Emily Damari as a hostage since October 7th? That their employees are Hamas and Hezbollah members?

Hamas and people of Gaza as Arbel Yehoud is released

I’m grateful that UNRWA is no longer operating in Gaza, Israel, or Judea and Samaria. Why should Israel enable terrorists (and UNRWA is a terrorist organization) to operate freely? The world is an outrage over this but not that Emily was held hostage by UNRWA. The hypocrisy is beyond aggravating.

Along with the good news of no more UNRWA, there is also this heartwarming video of Agam Berger being reunited with her four fellow Nahal Oz comarades who were release last Saturday from captivity. The look on the faces of Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag as they see Agam, the sound of their voices, their hugs and compassion tears at my soul. What these women endured is unimaginable. Like the Jewish people at large, they endured, they survived, and they will flourish. It won’t be easy.

Hostages returning home. Three more scheduled to be release tommorow. We know Yarden Bibas is alive and hopefully we will get good news soon about Shiri Bibas and their beautiful children, Ariel and Kfir. We know 8 of the 33 being returned will not be alive. We can only hope and pray that most of the remaining 82 hostages are still alive. We do know that they must all come home.

With President Trump meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, we can only hope that this administration stands strongly with Israel and enables her to do what is needed to both get the remaining hostages back and ensure her long term security. Since October 7th, those have been the two clear priorities. Whatever it takes, both must happen.

Hope inspired in the barbershop

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I went to get my hair cut and beard trimmed yesterday. I’ve gone to the same barbershop since we moved to Central Florida. It is a true, old school barbershop. What makes it a little unique is that it is a Latin barbershop. Most of the people working there do not speak much English. The owner, Gomez, does and he usually cuts my hair now. My previously guy, who was great, didn’t speak English so we communicated with pictures and hand guestures, unfortunately left.

It is a barbershop with an interesting history. When we began going there in 2016, it was in a different location than it is now. A year or so into going there, there was a major gang shooting there leaving one barber dead and a few injured. It closed for a few months and then reopened. I never thought of going anywhere else. Maybe that says more about me in many ways than anything else. I wasn’t going to be afraid and I wanted to continue supporting this small business where I had become friendly with the owner. They added a buzzer to be let in, tinted the windows, and business went on as usual. A few years later, the land was sold and they had to move. The new location is a little further away, in a little sketchier area, but once again, I wasn’t going to stop supporting the business.

When I went yesterday, the only person working was a young barber that I had never met before. He didn’t speak English so I showed him a picture of what I wanted and we managed to figure things out. He cut my hair and we didn’t talk because of the language barrier. As we got near the end of the haircut, he took out the straight razor to get the close shave and make things look good. A man I don’t know, where we have a language barrier, has a razor to my neck, and I’m laying back with my eyes closed. I began to think about what it would take for an Israeli Jew to get into a barber chair and let a Palestinian Arab not just give them a haircut with sharp scissors but then take a straight razor to their neck. It was something that I no longer could imagine. Prior to October 7th, I could imagine places in Israel where relationships between Jews and Arabs are good where this could happen. Today, I can’t fathom it.

The buzzer rang and two teenage latin boys came into the barbershop. The conversation was all in Spanish. I had no idea what they were saying and the barber had the straight razor on my neck. I tried to imagine two Arab teens coming into an Arab barbershop, speaking to the Arab barber in Arabic, with a Jewish Israeli who doesn’t speak Arabic in the chair, a straight razor on their neck. Again, it was incomprehensible. How can something be so absolutely incomprehensible in one place that is so easily done in another? What is the difference that makes that happen? How do we change the reality?

It comes down to hate. The terrorists hate the Jews. They want them all dead. They hate the Christians, Druze, and even the Arabs who work with the Jews. There is no compromise. There is no opportunity for commonality. When there isn’t hate, there is opportunity. I saw it myself in 2019 when I spent 4 days meeting with leaders of Palestinian civil society. Those who lived in hate gave me no hope, made me angry and frustrated. Those who chose not to live in hate gave me lots of hope and made me want to do better. When I was in Israel in May, I walked from Ben Yehuda Street through East Jerusalem to the American Colony Hotel. I walked through Arab neighborhoods, past Arab schools getting out for the day, passed by Arabs on the street. I met my friend who owns the bookstore at the American Colony Hotel and we spent 90 minutes talking about October 7th, the hope for peace, if the 2 state solution was dead, Hamas, hostages, and much more. It was a thoughtful and insightful conversation. I didn’t agree with everything he said and he didn’t agree with everything I said, but we had a great dialogue. It gave me hope. In September while doing work with Dror Israel, a client of mine, we went to visit their youth movement, Hanoar Haoved, in Ein Mahil, an Arab village. This is an Israeli, Zionistic Youth Movement that is in EVERY Druze Village in Israel along with 55 ARAB VILLAGES with over 20,000 Arab children involved. The Mayor of Ein Mahil came to speak with us because he enrolled his daughters in Hanoar Haoved. We spoke to leaders of the movement in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, Arabs who grew up in the movement and have dedicated their lives to it. We met with children in the youth movement and it was beautiful. Throughout the time at Ein Mahil and ever since, this has given me hope.

In Ein Mahel with the leaders and children of Hanoar Haoved.

Israel is a different place today than it was on October 6, 2023. The hostages remain front and center in our hearts and minds. The IDF soldiers, risking their lives every day, are in my thoughts. My friends who are serving or who’s children are serving in the IDF, the families dealing with the challenges of having their mother and/or father away for long stretches of time due to milium (reserve duty). One of the people I met in September was from Kibbutz Nir Oz. He lost his mother and father on October 7th although he didn’t know his father was murdered for a few weeks and didn’t know his mother was murdered until July 2024 when they found her body in Gaza. I thought of him today as hostages Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes were released from Gaza. Both are from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small kibbutz of 380 people on October 7th. I can’t imagine the way he is feeling, watching them come home. I can’t imagine the emotions he has thinking of his parents, who were murdered after being taken hostage, and his friends and neighbors, who were also taken, finally coming home after 482 days of captivity.

The Unites States and the world are different since October 7th as well. Antisemitism is on the rise and we see violence against Jews and Jewish organizations and buildings. It is often times hard to find hope. It often feels that where we are and where we are heading is hopeless. We cannot allow that to be our reality. Without hope we are lost. I think of two different quotes about hope from two remarkable people. Anne Frank wrote, “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that remains”.  The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”.  In these challenging times, I think of their words and of my 4 days in 2019, my meeting with my friend in May in East Jerusalem, and the visit to Ein Mahil in September to give me hope for a better future. I refuse to be lost so I will continue to find hope.

Four more home and more inspiration

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Four more hostages returned home on Saturday. Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, all members of the Israeli Defense Forces, were released from captivity in Gaza by Hamas after 477 days. They were released early in the morning Eastern Time, so when I woke up, they were already out of Gaza.

L: Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Liri Albag, Naama Levy

When I watched the video of their release, I was horrified. Hamas held a parade to show them off to a cheering crowd. The video clearly shows the support of Hamas and of terrorists who brutally murdered 1,200 people on October 7th and kidnapped another 251 people. It’s more proof of the lies told by the media, the ICC, and the world. There is something very wrong about giving gift bags and certificates to people you have brutally kidnapped and held for 477 days.

The Hamas parading of the 4 hostages to a celebratory crowd in Gaza.

I anxiously awaited the videos and pictures of them reuniting with their families. Last week, those videos were incredibly emotional and both broke and warmed my heart at the same time. Thinking of those who will never come home alive, thinking of those still in captivity, and thinking of what nearly 500 days of captivity would do to a person.

The pictures and videos were amazing. They brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me why Israel made such a terrible deal. 200 terrorists and murderers went free to bring these 4 women home. A terrible deal. And worth it. When I looked at their faces, the faces of their family members, and listed to the sounds of their squeals of delight, it was an insight into the values of Judaism. Life. Family. Love. Perserverance. Humanity.

Naama Levy greeting her family
Daniella Gilboa with her family
Karina Ariev meeting her family
Liri Albag with her family

I’m not sure how any human being can watch these videos and not smile and have tears in their eyes. We’ve seen the brutality of Hamas on October 7th. We’ve seen them murder hostages. They kept these 4 women in captivity for 477 days. An incredible number of days. The hostages in Iran were held for 444 days in much better conditions.

I can understand how these women could be bitter and angry. How they could be filled with resentment. I would expect they would want privacy with the families and loved ones. Amazingly, I would be wrong. Last week we saw the amazing Emily Damari, who lost two fingers on her left hand, inspire us with her bravery and smile. The story of how she tried to get Hamas to release her friend’s father, Keith Siegel, instead of herself, is an epic exhibition of selflessness. This week we got the story of Liri Albag, now 19 years old, send the world a message of love. She has every right to be angry. She has every reason to hate the world that allowed her to remain in captivity for 477 days. Instead, she sent a message of love.

I was astounded as I watched it. Her smile. The heart symbol at the end. Extraordinary. How does somebody come out of 477 days of captivity at 19 years of age with this type of attitude? How much gratitude for her family and for life must she have?

As the day went on, we learned more about their 477 days of captivity. They were used as domestic slaves, often given no food and not allowed to bathe or have any personal hygiene. They were kept in civilians’ home for a good amount of time. Civilians who harbor and hide hostages are not civilians. They are complicit and combatants. As the media decries attacks on civilians, it’s important that we remind them that these ‘civilians‘ are anything but innocent. They were part of the looting after the attacks on October 7th and they helped hide hostages. When the UN or the ICC makes their absurd claims, we have proof that they are lies.

Later in the day, word came out that a member of the Israeli Health Ministry said that the released hostages are in an “emotionally and medically complex” situation. None of us know what that means but it hurts to the core of our hearts. These brave women clearly faced things that are unimaginable. Yet the had brave faces for the world. She wanted to show strength and love in public. We can only pray for their full recovery, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

To summarize what we know about Hamas and these hostages on the day of their release:

  • They were held together in captivity along with Agam Berger, who remains in Gaza, and were separated from her just days ago.
  • In the first days of captivity, an elderly hostage helped ensure they had food and were able to shower. They were able to share that he was killed in captivity.
  • There were periods when there was no food and they were starved
  • The girls were held both in civilian apartments and in Hamas tunnels
  • They were disguised as Arab women when moved from place to place
  • They were able to see some news, mostly to Al Jazeera, and learned to speak Arabic

When they spoke about Hamas’ “release ceremony,” they said, “We showed them on the stage that it did not bother us. We are stronger than that.” Now we all say a mishaberach (prayer for healing) for them to have a full recovery.

The other topic of the day is the Bibas family. They are on the list to be released but have not yet been included. This beautiful family with two beautiful babies were taken hostage on October 7th. We don’t know if they are alive or not. We know that they have a deep meaning to us all. We need them to be alive. We need them to be ok. We need them to come home. If they aren’t alive, I am concerned about what the Jewish world will demand as a pound of flesh for their murders. Kidnapping a 9 month old and a 4 year old is bad enough. Murdering them is unforgivable. If they come home dead, I’m concerned that I will feel like I did at Kfar Aza while I watched and listened to Israel bomb Jabaliya, less than a mile away. In May, that was the only time I felt any relief at Kfar Aza, when the bombs were dropped and exploded. Listening and seeing buildings collapse. It’s not who I am but it is who I was in that moment. The murder of the Bibas family may be that way for not just me but many others. All we can do is pray and hope. All we can do is wait for Hamas to send them home.

The Bibas family – 2 beautiful babies and their parents taken hostage

It is hard to believe that we will go through this same emotional rollercoaster every week for another 5 weeks in this first stage of the ceasefire. 33 hostages will come home over a 7 week, painful period. Hamas wants us to feel the pain. Hamas wants us to agonize. We will. But we can also look at the videos of the released hostages. We look at the images of their reunification with their familes and see the love and gift of life. Their hope and their spirit can get us through this. After nearly 500 days in captivity, the three girls released last week and four girls released this week will continue to give to us. It feels selfish but somehow, I think they would disagree and would understand and appreciate our pain.

I will use this picture of Naama Levy reuniting with her parents. Naama, who’s kidnapping was one of the most seen videos from October 7th. Naama, who we begged to come home and now is. When I look at this picture, it reminds me of a picture I have with my dad, one from my older son’s bar-mitzvah, when we were both filled with joy, happiness, gratitude, and awe. Just like the Levy family who got their precious daughter back alive.

Her hand is a symbol and lesson – but of what?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Emily Damari’s hand has become an international symbol.  The pictures are stunning and shocking. When you see her face and her hand, you realize that her hand does not define her, yet it also is a par tof her identity now. Shot in the hand by Hamas on October 7th, kidnapped and held hostage for 471 days, nobody knew what Emily would be like upon her release. What we have seen in just a week is truly remarkable. Her spirit, her smile, and the videos of her with her family warm my heart. It gives me hope for the other hostages and their pending release. It reminds me of my obligation to live and to be an inspiration, not just to my family, but those who know me or know of me.

One of the most beautiful pictures I have seen. Her face, her smile, and her hand show resilience

Her hand is a symbol and an inspiration. But of what? Rabbi Daniel Gordis, in his Israel from the Inside substack, writes about this, stating

“Here are some of the thoughts that I’ve heard from others:

  • It’s a “V” symbol, for “victory”
  • It’s “just” a wave, but Hamas turned her simple into “V”
  • It looks like the letter shin, ש, which is the letter on the Mezuzah, as “shin” stands for “Shadd-ai”, one of the Hebrew names of God 
  • It sort of looks like a heart 

And then, the one that I thought was the most profound:

  • “She’s home, and she’ll heal. But she’ll never be whole. Just like this country.”“

There is so much to think about in that analysis. It may be a ‘V for victory’, but what did we really win? She is home safe, which is a victory, but it is hard to say that we have won anything. Israel defended her citizens, crippled Hamas and Hezbollah, weakened Iran, and as a result, allowed for the toppling of the Assad regime. Yet it’s hard to think of that as a ‘win’. I believe almost everybody would rather the world be as it was on October 6th rather than where we are today, so it’s hard to see anything as a victory.

I love the concept of her hand now looking like the Hebrew letter shin, standing for the name of God. It’s a physical symbol of God and how God is inside all of us. In Emily’s case, she now has an outer symbol of God. It has been noted that her hand is now the same as the sign for “I love you” in American Sign Language. This ties even more into the letter shin as it shows God’s love for us all. I had the privilege and honor of meeting Elie Wiesel three times and having dinner with him twice. Sitting with him, it was clear that he had been touched by God. I feel the same way about Emily. Her hand is the symbol.

When I look, I don’t see a heart. I think it’s a bit of a stretch but I do love the concept. Emily and all the hostages have had our hearts since October 7th. When we learn one of them was murdered, our heart breaks. When we see one of them released, our heart sings. As Jews, we are all mishpacha (family). It’s a reminder of that as well. It is a reminder that no matter how much the terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah try to take away our morals and ethics and our commitment to life, we will not let them do that. When I see her hand, it reminds me that I have to do better, be better, to make the world a better place.

I agree with Rabbi Gordis on the last one. It is the most profound. And perhaps the most true of them all. October 7th broke us. Going to the Nova site at Re’im was incredibly painful. Visiting Kibbutz Kfar Aza felt like being at Auschwitz just after liberation. I’ll never forget that feeling. Meeting and spending time with the displaced families from Kibbutz Alumim in Netanya as heartbreaking and inspiring and then visiting Kibbutz Alumim two months later, meeting those who moved back, and seeing what the terrorists both did and tried to do there, was deeply moving. We will all heal in some way. Yet we will also not be whole. Emily is the symbol for the entire Jewish world. She is the symbol for Israel. When I visited Israel in May and July iof 2024, you could feel how the country was different. When I went back in September, after the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Carmel Gat, the country had changed yet again. Israel will heal. Israel will recover. But the Israel of October 6, 2023 will likely never exist again. Neither will any of us.

Kfar Aza in May 2024. When I watch and listen, I still feel the pain and anger that I did on that day.

My friend Fleur Hassan Nahoum picks a scumbag of the week and a hero of the week on her podcast, The Quad, each week. This week, her hero was Emily. As you listen to her talk about Emily, there is so much to identify with. She, and all the hostages, are family. We cried when they were taken. We ached as we thought of what they were enduring. We spoke out for their release and safe return. We celebrate when they are released and we mourn when we find out they have been murdered. Her hand should be the new symbol of giving Hamas “the finger”. They tried to murder us all and kill our spirits. They took her captive and held her for 471 days. She wouldn’t be detered. She is emblematic of the Jewish and the Israeli spirit. When I look at her, when I watch videos of her, I see life. I see future. I see hope.

Emily reminds us all of who we used to be, who we currently are, and who we aspire to be. As she comes home after 471 days that none of us can imagine, after 471 days than none of us would to experience for a single day, she exudes hope, love, and beauty. In a world filled with despair, filled with immense challenges, filled with incredible hate and bigotry, Emily reminds us that there is another path. Even in the worst of times, in the worst of places, enduring the worst of humanity, Emily’s smile shows us we can perservere. We can win by living our lives. We can defeat evil by never letting go of who we are and what we believe.

Drawing by artist Moshe Shapira, the father of Alex Shapira z’l, murdered on October 7, 2023, while hiding with his friends and others in a shelter in Re’im, after fleeing the Nova music festival

Emily is an inspiration. She is a reminder than good can defeat evil. It takes effort. Sometimes herculean effort, like surviving 471 days of captivity and brutality by Hamas. Losing two fingers and having their stubs fused together. Who knows what other horrors she had to face. Yet she survived and brings light to all of us. If Emily can do it, so can we. Let Emily’s spirit inspire all of us to do better, to be better, and to fight harder. Am Yisrael Chai!!

3 are home

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Yesterday was a challenging day, emotionally. After 471 days, three of the remaining hostages were set to be released. As expected, Hamas didn’t follow the agreement, resulting in a 2 hour delay. When word came out that ‘our girls’ were being handed to the Red Cross, it once again came with mixed reports. Terrorists and ‘innocent civilians’ were in the street, harrassing them as they were taken to the Red Cross. If you aren’t aware, the Red Cross is the most expensive and well funded taxi service in the world. In 471 days, they have yet to visit a hostage, to make sure they get medicine, and are being humanely treated. They are a great taxi service between Gaza and the terrorists and Israel though. In the first hostage release they served that role and they did it again today. I have confidence that as the deal moves forward and more hostages are released, the Red Cross will continue to be an excellent taxi service between Gaza and Israel. As a relief organization, a disaster relief organization, and one that purports to take care of human beings, they simply exclude the Jews and the hostages.

The word came out that they were with the Red Cross and able to walk on their own. Soon we heard that they were officially in Israeli hands. The relief was overwhelming. After 471 days, these 3 women were finally home. They were finally safe. When the video below was released, it was comforting to see them.

We can see the bandage on Emily Damari’s hand and her missing fingers. Hamas took 2 of her fingers, shooting her in the hand and not getting her proper medical treatment. We also see she isn’t consumed by her damaged hand. She is filled with life. It’s a reminder of the difference between terrorists and the rest of us. We celebrate life. We want to live. They celebrate death and destruction. They don’t care about life.

Because I have only the worst expectations of Hamas, it didnt’ surprise me when I learned that the terrorists gave these three women ‘gift bags’ when they released them. After 471 days in captivity and who knows what torture and abuse, Hamas thought it would be nice give them a reminder of their captivity. Bags filled with pictures of them as hostages, a commemorative photo of Gaza, and a certificate. Treating their 471 days of captivity as if it was a vacation.

The girls with the Hamas gift bags.

We got to see video of the mothers of the three girls talking to them on the phone. I have met with family members and parents of hostages when I was in Israel in May and July. I’ve been the Hostage Family Forum and Hostage Square. I’ve heard the anguish in the voices. The anger, fear, and hope. I’ve felt it deep in my soul. Watching these mothers see their daughters was heartwarming. It brings hope to a terrible situation. It’s the reason we made a bad deal, because we value life and family.

The mothers of Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher waiting to video chat with their daughters after 471 days of captivity,

Israel released pictures of each of the released hostages with their family. It was heartwarming. I could feel the emotion in each picture. The joy. The love. Looking at the pictures is a reminder of who we are – people who value life. People who do whatever it takes to save a life. People who will hold their nose and allow their stomachs to churn as 99 murderers, terrorists, and people who are pure evil are released from prison so that these three girls can return home. As distasteful and dangerous as it is to let these 99 terrorists back into the world, we pay the price because it is who we are and what we value. It is because of our morals and ethics. It is what makes us human and separates us from the evil that is Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iranian regime.

Whenever I think about what a bad deal this is, how we are releasing 999 murderers and terrorists to get 33 of our hostages back, I focus on the faces of these three girls. On the faces of their mothers. On the pictures of them embracing. It’s a reminder that no matter how bad the deal is, it’s worth it. It’s worth it because we value life. It’s worth because we understand that nothing is more important than life. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a) tells us:

וְכָל־הַמְקַייֵם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מַעֲלִין עָלָיו כְּאִילּוּ קִייֵם עוֹלָם מָלֵא הַמְאַבֵּד נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מַעֲלִין עָלָיו כְּאִילּוּ אִיבֵּד עוֹלָם מָלֵא 

Translated, this means that “Whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved an entire world.” When you look at the faces of these 3 women, you realize this deal has saved 3 entire worlds. The next 41 days will be difficult as we watch terrorists and murderers released and wait anxiously for the release of the remaining 30 hostages in phase 1 of the deal. We don’t know how many are alive and how many are dead. We don’t know what will happen with the other 64 hostages and how many of them are alive and how many are dead. We know the Bibas family is on the list but are Kfir and Ariel still alive? Are their parents, Shiri and Yarden still alive? How will we react if it is only the bodies of these beautiful children are returned?

It’s a reminder of both who we are and what we are faced with. It is a reminder that whatever the cost in a deal to get our hostages back, we must remain vigilant fightng the evil of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Iranian regime.. There may be a ceasefire, but the war isn’t over because they simply want us all dead and will continue to do whatever they deem necessary to accomplish that goal. These political cartoons do a good job of showing what we face after the hostages are returned.

Peace is not easy. Peace is not free. Peace does not happen unilaterally. As we find hope in the faces of Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, the faces of their mothers and their families, we need look for the hope that may result in change. The Abraham Accords. The fall of Assad. The people of Iran fighting the regime. Perhaps there will be a new world order in which we can live in peace. We can work for it, hope for it, and pray for it. We cannot act as if it is a given and allow Hamas and Hezbollah to regroup, to rearm, and to attack once again. Lives are too precious to take that risk and leave things to chance. We did that once and got October 7th. Never again.