October 7, 2023 was a terrible day. I sat in my living room, captivated and horrified by what I was seeing on television. Hamas terrorists had attacked Israel and murdered innocent civilians. Women, children, infants, teens, seniors, Jewish and non-Jewish, it didn’t matter. They were bloodthirsty and out to murder. The reports came in about the rapes and the kidnappings. The taking of hostages. I remember 1978 and 1979 and the Iranian hostage crisis. I remembered how I felt as an American when they were taken and held as hostages for 444 days. I was angry at our government. I was angry at President Carter. I stayed up as an 11 and 12 year old boy to watch the new TV show, Nightline, that updated us every day on the hostage crisis. I hoped every night to hear something positive but didn’t.

On October 7th, my friend Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, who is also the Consul General for Israel to Florida (and other states) called me, begging me to turn off the TV as it wasn’t healthy to keep watching this horror. I told him I couldn’t. October 8th, Florida Senator Rick Scott called me to check on me and make sure I was doing ok. I wasn’t and told him so. He asked what he could do to help and I didn’t have an answer for him at that time, only thanks for calling. He posts on social media about the hostages every single day. Every day. Without fail.

Since October 7th, the hostages have been on my mind daily. I can’t imagine what they are going through. A friend of mine had two cousins that were hostages. The daughter was released the day before she turned 13 and we made sure to get her birthday and Hanukkah presents. It mattered. The videos of her getting them are priceless. The other was released two days after her daughter.

I have been to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. I have been to the Hostage Center in Tel Aviv and heard two fathers speak about their sons who were, and are, hostages. I have heard Rachel Goldberg Polin speak in Washington DC at the rally on the National Mall in October 2023. I have twice visited both the Nova site and K’far Aza where hostages were taken. I say the Acheinu prayer for the hostages every day. They are never out of my mind. So when I read this piece by Jon Polin, it hit home. We all need to remember the hostages every day. Read his thoughts and I hope you take action.

Below is the op-ed written by Jon Polin, Hersh Goldberg Polin’s father, published last week in Makor Rishon.

An Appeal to My Religious Zionist Brothers by Jonathan Polin

Two years ago, my son Hersh told my wife Rachel and me that he respects us very much, but  he was not going to be observing Shabbat as we do. Despite this, every time he was home, he continued to come with me to synagogue, both on Shabbat evening and morning.

Last summer, shortly before he was kidnapped on October 7, Rachel asked Hersh, “Why do you keep going to synagogue if Shabbat is not speaking to you at this time?” and he answered, “I don’t want Dad to sit alone.”

It has been 308 days, and now Hersh, the son who didn’t want me to sit alone in synagogue, sits alone, held captive, in Gaza. It has been 308 days that Rachel and I fight, day after day, minute after minute, so that Hersh will no longer be alone, and he will come home to us. As Rabbi Kook said, I am writing here, on the eve of Shabbat Hazon [the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av], not because I have the strength to write, but because I no longer have the strength to stand.

It is not only Hersh who is alone. In a way, we, his parents, also feel alone. True, the people of Israel embrace us, love us and support us. They send messages and letters. They stop us in the street to say “We are with you.” This love gives us enormous strength and the ability to endure this terrible year. But the gap between the support and the voices heard from all over the country and the world, in contrast to the silence coming specifically from large parts of the national religious public, is challenging.

These are people like me, who are close to me, with a knitted kippa on their head. They send their children to the same institutions and the same youth movements; they recite the same prayers, and yet, when the subject is Hersh and the other hostages, the conversation is complicated. People are silent, and we find ourselves alone. How can that be? How is it that our value-based sector is silent in the face of this terrible moral injustice?

I understand that people are hesitant to write about the hostages. I have met with people who  sat with me, promising to do everything, but in action, they hesitate to do anything. And those from the religious sector who write about the hostages—mostly write only against a deal, without even knowing its details. I see that people don’t talk about the issue of these innocent human souls being held hostage, as if it doesn’t exist. There is war, there are reserves, there is Lebanon and there is Iran. The hostages? “It’s complicated,” and they choose not to speak. Even people I know, who support us personally. They hug us. Maybe they read tehillim [psalms] at home. We are grateful to them for their quiet prayers. But this is a silent support that disappears. Dissolves. In public, people are afraid to talk about the hostages.

For varying reasons, the hostages have become a matter of right and left. As if they are part of the package you get when you choose a political identity. Together with the basket of values ​​and opinions we have regarding the economy and leadership, there is suddenly a line determining what we would want to happen here if our citizens are taken hostage.

But the value of life, arvut hadadit [mutual responsibility], ransom of captives, or in the lexicon of today – the “chatufim (kidnapped)” are not a political issue and they never were. They are not about the division into right and left; the hostages are part of us. They are real people, men and women, young and old, with faces and families, people who worked and fought and dreamed and loved together with us and you, shoulder to shoulder. Part of this great thing called the nation and state of Israel.

I am Hersh’s father. We are already 308 days into this nightmare. I am calling for a deal, because I, personally, feel that beyond my desire as a father to save my son and bring him home, the price of NOT returning them will be an unbearable blow to our national identity and will tear Israeli society apart from the inside.

But you, the readers, are not Hersh’s father. You may have different opinions than me. You clearly don’t have to support everything I say, but I expect, and ask, that you speak up. You don’t need to take a public stance for or against, you do not need to yell. But you need to stop denying the existence of the hostages. It is impossible to talk about the war without talking about the hostages. You can’t talk about victory without talking about the hostages.

This framing, as if the “return of the hostages” is somehow in opposition to “victory in the war”, is wrong. There really is no victory without the return of the hostages. Imagine it for yourself: can you declare victory when more than a hundred people are still in Gaza? Will you be able to celebrate in the streets when the war is over? Continue your life as if things are behind us? Certainly not. “The flesh of your flesh” is not here. You will not be able to ignore it. What will you say after your 120 years in this world, when you face your maker and are asked, “Where were you when your brother’s blood cried out to you from the ground?” Where were all of us?

I beseech you: speak. At the Shabbat table or on the steps outside the synagogue. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old. Even now, as you read this article on the sofa, say to the person next to you, ‘Jon, Hersh’s father, asked us to talk about the hostages.’ Write on social networks. Talk. Are you rabbis? Public leaders? Talk about it. Come and learn mishnayot with us. Sit and read tehillim.

It matters less how, it matters more what. Show your presence. Don’t be afraid.

Like my son, Hersh, who came with me to the synagogue even though he no longer observed Shabbat. He did not come with me to the synagogue because he agreed with me, and he did not come with me to the synagogue to pray; he came with me to the synagogue so that I would not be alone. Please don’t be silent. Let your voice be heard! Speak up!

You cannot ignore it because “it is complex”, or because “my political camp does not support it.”

I ask you now, do not leave us alone.

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There are many ways to remember the hostages. Here are two easy ones.

At your Shabbat table, when you say Kiddush, or even anytime you drink wine, use the wine from the Wines of Hope Collection that is done in partnership with the families of hostages. You are inviting the hostages and their families into your home whether they know it or not.

When I was in Israel in July, I met with the parents of a Itamar, IDF medic who was murdered leaving Gaza. His father, Asaf, said that when he says kiddush each week, it is no longer for his family. It is now for the hostages and will be until they are released. You can do that too.

The other thing you can do is say the Acheinu prayer. It’s very simple and you can say it in English or Hebrew. It’s a reminder of the hostages. It does what Jon asked and helps us with our humanity.

The one thing we cannot do is forget the hostages. They are family. They are mishpacha. They were stolen away and must be returned. I think of the Bibas kids often. Kfir has now spent most of his life as a hostage. How, as a society, we tolerate that is unaccepatable. It was unacceptable to an 11 and 12 year old me in 1978-80 and it remains unacceptable to me as a 55-56 year old man today. I held President Carter in contempt back then and President Biden in contempt today. If whoever wins the election in November doesn’t take action, I will hold them in contempt as well. These are people. Human beings. They did nothing wrong and we have done very little right to get them home. We must Bring Them Home Now.

Today is day 317 of the hostages captivity. 317 days of horror, of abuse, of terror. Most of them have now celebrated a birthday in captivity. For those who are married they may have celebrated their anniversary in captivity. Those with children have missed their birthdays. The horror of Hamas and the hostages is real. Yet the Red Cross still has not visited the hostages once. The UN and UNRWA have not visited the hostages once (unless you count the UNRWA employees who helped take the hostages and hid/housed the hostages).

Back in November/December, I helped get birthday and Hanukkah presents for a 13 year old girl who was released as part of the ceasefire and otherwise would not have had any. The Jewish world stepped up and she knew she was remembered and loved by the entire Jewish world. I wonder what the hostages that are still alive think about the Jewish world and the world in general. Do they have any idea how present they are in many of our daily lives? Can they imagine that most of the world doesn’t think or talk about them?

The horror of the hostages and the world’s failure to address them is startling. The hostages are not all Jewish. There are still 8 American hostages taken by Hamas.There are Thai hostages. There are Druze hostages. There are muslim hostages. It shows the evil of Hamas – whoever they could take, they took. Yet the world remains silent about the hostages except when they choose to attack Israel for not agreeing to deals with Hamas that would be like commiting suicide.

It amazes me how so many people choose to criticize Israel for her actions that have never been to the region. Who know nothing about the realities on the ground. Who think that it is a simple solution – Palestinian statehood – and then the hatred and violence goes away. They don’t know the history of the peace deals offered and the opportunities that have been available for a Palestinian state that were rejected because as my friend Fleur Hassan Nahoum says, “The problem of the conflict is not that there isn’t a Palestinian State. The problem of the conflict is that there IS a Jewish State.”

I have been to Israel twice this summer and am going back again next month. It is a different country than before October 7th. My two trips this summer have been very different than the 20 that came before then. I was there during the first intifada. I was there during the second intifada. I was there just before the country reopened because of Covid and the worldwide pandemic. I have been there in some of the most challenging times yet nothing like what it is like after October 7th.

People are in and out of the reserves. They try to plan their lives and then they get called up and everything goes on hold. The rockets continue to be fired by Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south. Fewer from Hamas with the IDF winning the war but more from Hezbollah. On my last trip we went to the lower Galillee but couldn’t go to the upper Galillee. One of my favorite places in Israel, Tzfat, is too far north to visit in groups. Hostage Square is powerful to visit and listening to the family members of hostages speak is heartbreaking. In Hostage Square, they have a mock tunnel that I walked through. It was hard to walk through it. I can’t imagine living in one for 317 days. Perhaps these leaders who don’t hold Hamas accountable should have to live in the mock tunnel in Hostage Square for a week with the ends covered so it’s dark and there is no natural light. Maybe then they would change their minds and speak out.

My friend Adam Bellos started The Israel Innovation Fund (TIIF) a few years back. One of the things they do is work with vineyards in Israel and promote Israeli wine. After October 7th, he began working the families of hostages to create Wines of Hope, a special collection of wines where different bottles of wine are dedicated to different hostages. When a hostage is released, their date of freedom is added to the label. When we learn that one has been murdered, it becomes a memorial bottle. It’s a beautiful tribute and reminder of the hostages and those we lost. On my last trip, we stopped at the grave of a friend of one of our partipants. He was a medic who was murdered leaving Gaza when a rocket landed on their emergency vehicle. The media doesn’t cover this because it was Jewish lives that were lost. After visiting his grave, we went to meet his parents who spoke to us about their amazing son and the state of Israel. I’ll never forget his father telling us that every Friday night when he says Kiddush, he is not saying it for his family. He is saying it for the hostages. It’s a reminder that we must remember the hostages. Consider buying some of this wine, supporting Israeli vineyards and the families of the hostages. Use it in your home to remind you, your family, and your friends, of the hostages.

As we get closer and closer to the 1 year anniversary of October 7th, we have a chance to remember who and what we lost that day. I have been struck by a few stories recently and wanted to share them.

Margarita Gusak dreamed of becoming a doctor. She studied day and night and promised everyone that she would be one.

She went to the tests and they told her, “You will get an answer in a week.”

Margarita bit her nails, counted the minutes until she receivd the answer, and when she could no longer wait, she went to the Nova music festival and was murdered there.

Two days later, the test results arrived. She didn’t get to find out that she got the grade needed to get into medical school.

I think of my sons. My oldest, waiting to hear if he got the college football coaching job he wanted. There were plenty of places he went and things he did before he got the answer he was hoping and work towards. He was not different than Margarita Gusak, except he didn’t have to deal with bloodthirsty terrorists who killed him before he found out he got his dream. Margarita did. My youngest, working hard to get the internship he wanted to hopefully open doors after he graduates college in May. He was waiting and waiting. He also went lots of places and did lots of things while he waited. Like his brother, he didn’t have to deal with bloodthirsty terrorists who wanted him dead before he found out he achieved his dream. Margarita wasn’t that lucky. The only thing different between my children and Margarita was bloodthirsty terrorists. We need to remember that it could be our children. It could be us.

In Judaism we don’t celebrate Valentines Day (spoiler alert, we do in my house). For Jews, the day we celebrate is called Tu B’Av, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. Tu B’Av, the Jewish Day of Love, is a beautiful holiday and a great opportunity to focus on those in our lives who we love and who are important to us. I spent time today on the phone with my mom, we talked about my dad (z’). I get to spend tonight with my wife and youngest son and his girlfriend. I’ll call my oldest son to check on him. Yet this year Tu B’Av is also different. Many people lost the love of their life on October 7th or in the war that has followed. There are people who’s loved ones are still hostages and they don’t know if they are alive or dead.

I saw this online and it broke my heart. In Israel, everybody knows this feeling of loss. So as this beautiful Israeli woman sits alone at her romantic dinner with a picture of her fiance, a hostage in Gaza, on the chair across from her, she gets hugs and love from strangers because in Israel, everybody is family.

I saw some posts online that used pictures of Israeli’s at the beach or living their lives. The people posting them were critical, claiming that they didn’t care about what is happening in Gaza (they used words I won’t repeat). It is clear they don’t know what they are talking about and don’t know the Israeli spirit. Israeli’s of all religions – Jews, Druze, Christians, Arabs, B’hai, etc. all know the pain of loss. They choose to live rather than be consumed by it. They choose life and joy even when it is the hardest and most difficult. When we visited the grave of the IDF medic, his parents requested we meet with them. Despite all the pain they are dealing with, they wanted to talk to us. They even brought us food. We share our sorrow and we share our joy. Judaism is always about choosing life which is what makes what is happening in Gaza that much more difficult.

Daniel Lubitzky, the founder of KIND Snacks, posted this picture of his father, his brother and himself with the following story.

Laughter helped my father survive the Dachau concentration camp.

A long time ago, I was on a date and we were watching the movie Life is Beautiful. if you’ve never seen the movie, it’s about a family using humor to endure a concentration camp. The whole movie, I couldn’t stop laughing … which led to me feeling really guilty. I told my date that I needed to go call my dad.

When he picked up, I said, “It never crossed my mind that when you were in those barracks in Dachau, did you laugh?”

My father said, “Not only did I laugh it is what helped me survive.”

My father would tell jokes to the inmates to make them laugh AND to the soldiers to make them see the humanity of the prisoners.

When my dad was rescued, he was 6 ft tall and weighed 70 pounds. The prisoners didn’t look human, but, through humor, my dad tried to build those bonds of humanity.

Every day, I remember my father’s attempts at bringing light to those around him. We all need to do the same. We need to related to each other – human to human.

The story and the picture reminded me that as Jews, we chose life. We choose humanity. We choose laughter. Yes, life is difficult. Yes there is plenty of sadness in life. In the immortal words of the prophet Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.” Notice he said chocolates – something sweet. Something that brings joy. Think about the Jewish comedians – why are Jews overrepresented in comedy? It is because we always try to find the light in life. We always try to find the humor. It’s about living. After October 7th, the Israeli sketch comedy/satire TV show Eretz Nehederet, struggled with what to do. After a short period of time, they began doing what they do best. If you haven’t seen these, they are worth watching. I’d say enjoy but………

I’m going back to Israel in September to work with a client. I’m excited to go again. I am arriving early so I dont’t have to deal with jetlag before spending 4 days working. I can’t wait to spend some time on the beach in Tel Aviv. I’m having Shabbat dinner with friends in Modi’in. Another friend happens to be coming at the same time and we are on the same flight. He is joining us. Yet another friend from college will be there volunteering with his wife for the third time since October 7th. He had never been to Israel before October 7th. We will overlap for a few days and get together.

In the middle of a war, with rockets coming from the north and the south, with an ongoing threat from Iran, I’m not the only one going to Israel. Like my friend who is now going for his third time since October 7th, this is my 3rd time since May. My 23rd trip overall. There are a lot of arguments about Jews. Are we a race? Are we a religion? Are we a culture? Are we white? Are we European? Are we indiginous to the Levant? The answer to all of this is yes, because what we really are is a Mishpacha, a family. We are 12 tribes created by 12 siblings, the sons of our patriarch Jacob and our matriarchs Leah and Rachel. We were disbursed among the nations, so we have European/Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews (from Spain and Portugal), Mizrahi Jews (from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia), and Ethiopian Jews (obviously from Ethiopia). Those who hate us want to make us whatever they need for them to hate. Don’t let them define us. We are Mishapacha, family, with family members who spent two centuries or more living in various parts of the world. It is why we remember Margarita – she is our daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin. It’s why we remember the hostages – they are our brothers and our sisters. It is why we remember those lost in the Holocaust – they are our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It is why when you go to Israel you will be invited to Shabbat dinner at the homes of random people that you just met. They may have just met you, but you are their family.

These are challnenging times and most expect the challenges to increase in the short term. It is ok. Why? Because we are all family. We are all mishpacha. Together we have surivived for over 3,000 years and we aren’t going anywhere now. Our family is strong because we stand together.

Who knew Sister Sledge was really singing about the Jewish people?

Am Yisrael Chai (The people of Israel live).

Ever since my dream the other night when I was being castigated by victims of the Holocaust about nothing mattering if you aren’t living, I have been struggling with my emotions and waking up in the middle of the night as a result. It was a powerful dream that deeply impacted me. Yes, there are many things that matter in terms of behavior, in terms of how we treat others, in terms of values, ethics, and morals. These only matter when you are among the living. As a country and as a Jewish community, we have gotten so far away from Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs that it is scary. We forget the commandment that we are to “Live By Them, Not Die By Them”. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg wrote a great piece on this. We forget that all the laws of the Torah apply AFTER saving a life. Health concerns mean you don’t have to fast. Or keep Pesach. Or keep Shabbat. Being alive is THE most important thing

I have friends all over the political spectrum. Some are far left. Some are left. Some are center. Some are center right. Some are far right. They are my friends because of who they are as people and we have managed to stay friends even though most of them differ from me politically. Most of us still can talk about politics because we value our friendship more than dogma. We understand that by and large, we want the same things, it is more about how to get there. I’ve been ok with this for many, many years. This dream is changing that for me. I am not ok with any political stance that puts my life at risk. That has become my top priority – making sure that as a Jew I am not at risk of being killed. Many people may say that I am overreacting. Yet on Saturday in New York, outside a Chabad, a Jewish man was stabbed multiple times while his attacker was yelling, “Free Palestine”.

We see the Jew hatred and call to kill Jews not just from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. This video is from a mosque and Imam in New Jersey. Watch and listen as he praises dying a shahid (martyr). I am not condemning Islam as many do. I am condemning extremism. This extremism threatens our lives here in the United States. Just as the Jewish man was stabbed on Shabbat outside Chabad in New York, it could happen to any of us wherever we live. Here in the United States, extremists are advocating for the death of Jews. We can’t ignore this and focus on other issues when our lives are literally at risk and being threatened.

If you want to see what happens when you teach hate, listen to these children. Hate isn’t born, hate is taught. This is the evil we face. When children talk about not just Jihad but martyrdom, there is a serious problem.

The lies that are being told about the war in Gaza with Hamas have gotten worse. Per the UN/Hamas/Gaza Ministry of Health (they are all the same but I use all their names) there have been approximately 40,000 people killed. This includes those from natural causes and terrorists. In the same period of time, they state that 50,000 babies were born. So anybody who calls it a genocide is doing so when the population is INCREASING. The Lancet article, written by an anti-Israel, Jew hater, stated that the end result of the war could be 186,000 dead. People cite this as the real number without reading the article because they believe the lies. The article is including all sorts of hypotheticals and long term impact, not the actual number. Even just the other day, Israel bombed a terrorist headquarters in a former school. Instantly the report was 100 or more killed and mostly civilians. Hamas quickly reduced the number to 40 killed but no media covered it. Israel has now documented at least 36 of those killed were terrorists and shares their names publicly. No apology. No retraction. No correction.

I often tell people that they need to listen to what the people of Gaza are saying, now that they feel safe enough to say it publicly. They hate Hamas. They actually want Israel to finish the job and free them from Hamas. Instead of listening to the people of Gaza, the Jew haters in the US and Europe think they know best. Here are two videos of people speaking out in Gaza. Unfortunately, they were not safe from Hamas and both were quickly found by Hamas and murdered. Their words are powerful and we need to listen to them to honor their willingness to speak out.

Since that dream, I have been filled with an overwhelming desire to be in Israel right now. Despite the risks, despite the stress, it’s a deep feeling that I need to be with my people. I have friends in the IDF reserves who have been called up. I have friends who have children in the IDF. When I talk to my friends in Israel, the topic of what they are putting in their safe room always comes up. The country is different since October 7 and it continues to change every day. My connection with Israel is strong, and while I won’t go there today because of my family, the desire is strong. They are struggling on so many levels and I want to be there with them, struggling with them, being a part of the Jewish people in Israel.

Daniel Gordis, a wonderful educator and Rabbi, put out this video blog yesterday. With it being Tisha B’Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, it was very poignent and powerful. It is hard to listen to him talk about the current state of affairs. I think what really got me was when he said, “This country is broken”. It’s about 3 minutes and worth watching and listening to.

Israel is the heart of the Jewish people. We pray towards Jerusalem. We end the Passover Seder by saying, “Next year in Jerusalem”. It is a literal history of the Jews, from the graves of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel to King David to the first and second temples, to today. My desire to be there, with my people, is because I feel that connection in my kishkas (yiddish for intestines and used as my insides). It is core to who I am as a person and as a Jew. As Jews, we are a mishpacha, a family. When the Vietnamese, Buddist Bachelorette, Jenn Tran, used the word mishpacha with the Jewish guy this week, I smiled. She got that it means far more than biological family.

I read Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s substack and am a paid subscriber to it. While I disagree with many things he writes, they are thought provoking and worth reading. He usually includes some inspirational video. This one made me think of Israel and the IDF soldiers. Every time they come home safely, I imagine this happening. Every time somebody in the reserves is released and goes back to their regular life, I imagine this happening. I imagine the sadness and longing every time they are recalled to the reserves or for those in the IDF, each time they must go into Gaza or defend the north. I was on a zoom call with somebody last week who’s daughter is an IDF soldier that lives in a bunker underground in the north, right near Kiryat Shmona. It’s not safe to live above ground because of the rockets and bombs from Hezbollah. It sounds like a movie but it is real life. I knew what the end of this video was going to be and yet it still brought tears to my eyes.

These are challenging times to be Jewish in the world. The Jew hatred is real and growing. People are not afraid to say things that are incredibly offensive and not long ago would have them as pariahs. This man, in London, praises Hitler.

In these challenging times, the only way out is through. The only way to stay safe is to stick together. We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves. It is ok to have different views on many issues. Arguing is the nature of Jewish learning. What we can’t argue about is our survival. What we can’t argue about is that survival, life, is the most important. If we are dead, none of the other things matter. We must remember the immortal words of the prophet Benjamin Franklin.

The Jewish people are not monolithic. We have many different views about social and economic issues. We pray in many different ways, from Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewel, Just Jewish, meditative, JewBu’s (Jewish buddists), and many more. At the end of the day, we are all Jews. At the end of the day, they will kill all of us. We must remember the joke about the Zionist and Anti-Zionist because at the end of the day, the world just sees us as Jews. And when they want to see dead Jews, they don’t care what type of Jew you are. Just that you are a Jew.

The future is scary. Jews are being attacked all over the world just for being Jewish. Jewish buildings are being vandalized. We are being called colonialists, supporters of Genocide, and much more. The old blood libels are returning. I wish that I was filled with optimism. I wish that the victims of the Holocaust weren’t visiting me in my dreams to remind me what happens if we don’t fight back and if we don’t prioritize our lives. What I do know is that Israel is always there and always will be there. My spiritual home. A part of my being. Am Yisrael Chai.

I spent close to 2 hours the other day talking with a candidate for elected office.  We discussed his positions on many things including education, vocational education, student loans and student loan debt, the rising cost of college, the stock market and how that only helps those who have the funds to invest and how most people are struggling with the high cost of food and gas, as well as the housing concerns with the cost of rent and buying a house.  When we got to the topic of Israel, he was supportive of State of Israel and believes that Israel has the right to defend herself, but he didn’t know much about the history or the facts of what is going on since October 7^th,

I had an opportunity to give him real information about Israel. About the history of Israel. About the politics in Israel in the past and currently. I could discuss with him the many challenges related to the conflict and various things that have been tried to resolve it and unfortunately not worked. I had a chance to share information with him about October 7th, about the war with Hamas in Gaza, about Hezbollah attacking in the north, the Houthi’s, and how it’s all coming from Iran. We discussed the Abraham Accords and the future opportunities for peace.

It’s why education about Israel is so important.  Not just Hasbarah.  Not just the talking points.  Real Israel education.  Knowledge of the history.  Knowledge of the geography.  Knowledge of how the government works, the fact that Israel does not have a constitution, and how Israel is a democracy but isn’t exactly the same at the US in how things are run. If all I knew was the talking points, if all I knew was hasbarah, the conversation would have been short and he would have known that I only knew the talking points. It’s why finding sources of real information is so critical, especially in a time when getting real information is challenging and not easy.

Knowledge and education about the history of both ancient and modern Israel is critical. But where can you find reliable information? Information that you can depend on? Information that has citations and source documents? Information that isn’t filled with misinformation? In today’s world, it takes some real effort to identify those resources. I’ve done a lot of the work for myself so now I’m going to share it with you to make your life a little easier.

The Center for Israel Education (CIE) is the premier source destination for reliable content about modern Israel. CIE’s robust website provides informed access through multiple innovative learning platforms to curriculum materials, online courses, workshops, source compilations, webinars, and curated readings. They are an organization I have been very involved with and for full transparency, I am also the Vice-President of their Board of Directors. I chose to do this because of the quality of the content they provide. It is not hasbara. They do not gloss over the challenges of the modern state of Israel. Rather, through the use of source documents, with an academic focus, they provide amazing resources. If you want to explore the website, you can get lost for hours in different sections. If you want information sent to your email to review, they offer emails that focus on the following areas:

• Today in Israeli History (weekly)
• Contemporary Readings (monthly)
• CIE Newsletter (quarterly)
• The Chalk (biweekly updates)
• The Israel-Hamas War 2023

In addition, they have all sorts of programs to teach Israel to different constituencies. From youth, teens, college students, adults, and seniors, CIE is the content provider for factual, accurate, and historic information. None of this is enough however. Because of this reality, CIE just created 6 online courses you can purchase.

• How Did the Zionists Create the State of Israel?
• How Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism
• Israel’s Democratic Origins and Its Pluralistic Political System
• Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Pre-State to 1973
• Arab-Israeli Conflict: Quest for Normalization, 1973-Present
• Israeli Identity and Society Through Music and Pop Culture

Although they are incredibly affordable, through the end of August 2024 there is a 30% discount!! If you want information, use the website, get the emails sent to you, think about the programs they offer and possibly even take the online course. You will learn. You will talk differently about Israel. People will notice and won’t be able to brush you off when they are lying and libeling Israel.

What about today’s war with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi’s and Iran? If you don’t think Israel is at war with all of them, you really need to both learn from CIE and sign up to get updates from the Bernie News Network (BNN). Using Whatsapp or Telegram, real time updates from Israel are shared. Videos of what’s going on. Facts in real time. I need to give a warning though – the information overload can be real. A lot is happening and BNN shares it all with you. You will get the good, the bad, and the ugly. Things that give you hope and things that scare you. It’s real information. You can also access information directly from the Israel Defense Force (IDF). The IDF has a Telegram account with realtime updates.

There are also some excellent podcasts where knowledgeable people have discussions. They even sometimes come from different points of view and still talk civilly! Here are some to check out:

• The Quad – Featuring Fleur Hassan-Nahoum (former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem), Emily Schrader (Activist and Journalist), Ashira Solomon (African American Jew & Global Moderator) and Vivian Bercovici. For transparancy, Fleur is a friend of mine but more importantly she is truly awesome and amazing.
• For Heavan’s Sake – by the Shalom Hartman Institute
• Honestly – by Bari Weiss and The Free Press. Not specifically Israel focused but when they are, it is a must watch.
• Middle East Focus – Discussion and analysis on U.S. foreign policy and contemporary political and social issues in the Middle East.

It takes effort to truly understand Israel and the Middle East. To understand the geopolitics. Even with all the knowledge I have, it took a trip I took in 2019 to meet with leaders of Palestinian Civil Society for me to really understand the complexities. I still talk to the people I met and befriended in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem. They still teach me. It’s dynamic and takes effort. It’s not easy. But it is well worth it.

Make the effort. Begin to really learn, not the hasbara and talking points but the deep answers. The deep questions. The challenging situations. Israel has not always been right. The history of Israel, like the history of every country, has situations that we look back on with shame. We can’t hide from them. We can learn from them and we can make sure nobody can use them against us because we know. We can discuss. We can cite history, documents, and much more. I was told early in life that education was the most valuable commodity you could ever have because nobody can take it away from you. So get start getting educated. It’ll make you rich!!

Today Ariel Bibas is 5 years old. He should be waking up early, filled with excitement. His brother Kfir, who turned 1 on January 18 is awake with him and they should be waking up their parents with giggles, laughter and screams of joy. Instead, the entire Bibas family remains hostages, nearly 10 months after being kidnapped by Hamas. Kfir celebrated his birthday in captivity and now, unfortunately, so does Ariel. I slept poorly last night, thinking about these beautiful children and this beautiful family and what they are enduring.

As the world waits with anticipation for a possible/probably attack by Iran on Israel, the possible start of World War III, I find myself thinking deeply about how we got here. Hindsight is always 20/20 although in this case, so much of how we got here was predictible at the time of the decisions being made.

The Iranian regime is evil. It has oppressed the Iranian people since the 1979 revolution. They took and held American hostages for 444 days. I remember following the news at that time hoping for some resolution every day. I remember hoping that the hostages would still be alive and would be released. I remember staying home from school on the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated because that was the day they were released. I remember tracking their progress as they left Iran through TV news (there was no internet to get real time reporting) and being so excited when they finally were free.

The Iranian regime has only gotten more powerful, more evil, and become a bigger global threat since then. When the JCPOA was approved, it gave Iran the ability to grow financially and fund more terror, all while breaking the agreement from day one. The flawed belief at that time was that the Iranian regime was like us. That they would keep their word. That they cared about their people and the future of the country. They proved us wrong.

Yet the Biden administration doubled down on this false belief in removing sanctions from Iran. Giving them access to billions of dollars allowed them to increase their funding of terror. Despite the constant promise that there will never be a nuclear Iran, Secretary of State Tony Blinken recently stated that Iran is only 1-2 weeks away from nuclear breakout to having nuclear bombs. While he blames us leaving the JCPOA for this situation, Iran was already violating the agreement without consequence.

When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and took hostages, there was immediate equivocation. Immediate excuses. Immediate denials of what happened. Hamas, like Iran, was treated as an entity that valued human life, that would want peace, and that would negotiate in good faith. Despite all proof to the contrary, that is how the United States and Europe treated them. The demands continued to be on Israel to do something rather than on Hamas to release the hostages. As a result, 303 days later, we still have hostages in Gaza. 304 days later, children like Arial and Kfir Bibas remain hostages. Kfir has now spent most of his life as a hostage in Gaza yet there is no outrage about this. No demand that these children, these babies, be returned.

The demand was that Israel minimize civilian casualties while Hamas worked to maximize civlian casualties. There was never a demand that Hamas change their ways, only that Israel does. The facts that the worldwide accepted civilian to combatant ratio is 9 civilians killed for every combatant and that Israel was below 1.5 civilian casualties for every combatant didn’t matter. The fact that Hamas uses schools, hospitals, medical clinics, and mosques as military bases didn’t matter. The fact that Hamas built terror tunnels longer than the NY subway didn’t matter. The US and the western world only held Israel accountable, allowing the terrorists to do more damage.

When the death toll of women and children is reduced by the UN by half, the world remains silent, hoping nobody will notice. When Israel is told there is no way they safely evacuate the people in Rafa and they do it anyway, the world doesn’t take notice. The emboldening of Iran and the terrorists grows.

When Hezbollah fires thousands of rockets into the north of Israel, when more than 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from the north and have been living in hotels for nearly 10 months, the world is silent. I met some of these families in Jerusalem. They were from a religious community in the north. This means they are families of 7+ people, living in a single hotel room for almost 10 months.

Israel was required to provide food, water, medicine, power, internet and more to their enemy who was trying to kill them. Yet when UNRWA and Hamas steal the food, don’t deliver the food, and sell the food on the black market, the blame is put on Israel. When there is proof that more than enough food is getting in to Gaza yet the food crisis remains, the world is silent.

We don’t have to be silent. I choose not to and I encourage you to be a loud voice as well. In July, while in Israel, I began singing the Achinu prayer daily. I have continued to sing it every day. It’s not long and it both centers me, fills me with gratitude, and reminds me of the hostages who remain in captivity. I also long for the day when I no longer need to sing it every morning.

We don’t have to be silent about what is happening. We don’t have to accept what others say. The protests in the streets of Philadelphia, Seattle, Brooklyn, Manhatten, Middlesbrough UK, Montreal, London, Washington DC, and many other locations are turning violent. Chants of ‘Intifada Revolution’ are occuring in the US, Canada, and Europe. We can choose to accept this as the new normal, as many in Germany did with Kristalnacht, or we can fight back. We can hope it will go away and hide until is does or we can learn from history that it never goes away and that staying silent always ends poorly for us and choose to speak up and speak out.

As Jews we are taught to want the world to be better. We are taught that it is our responsibility to make the world better. We want a better world not just for our children and grandchildren but also for everybody who lives in the world. This often blows up in our faces as we do things to harm ourselves. We make assumptions about others that are false. In the recent debate on Is the Two State Solution Viable, my friend Fleur Hassan-Nahoum made two powerful statements about the desire for a two-state solution and an end to the conflict.

“The problem isn’t that there isn’t a Palestinian State. The problem is that there is a Jewish State.”

“It is not their dream. It is our dream”

I told Fleur I wasn’t sure which was more powerful to me. We often want things so much that we pretend the other side wants it as well. I remember talking with my friend Mahmoud in East Jerusalem in May. He talked mostly about a 1 state solution which would mean the cost of peace is that Israel isn’t a Jewish state any longer. I have thought long and hard about our conversation and hope to spend more time with him in September as I have so many new questions for him.

I am tired of our leaders lying about what’s going on. I’m tired of our leaders not standing by our allies. I’m tired of having leaders without morals and ethics, people who don’t follow what they say or agreements that they sign. I’m tired of the encouragement of hatred from the left and the right that divide our country and our world.

Our literature is filled with those who do whatever is necessary to defeat evil. Harry Potter uses the unforgivable curse, Avada Kadavra, to finally rid the world of the true evil of Lord Voldemort. In Lord of the Rings, the evil Sauron is finally destroyed. In Star Wars, the evil Emperor Palpatine had to be killed by Darth Vader. In real life, we see what happened when the evil of Adolph Hitler (11 million murdered in the Holocast), Joseph Stalin (6 million people murdered), and even today with Bashar Assad murdering over 500,000 people and still counting are allowed to do what they want without consequence. Iran is the evil we face today. Iran is the largest state sponsor of terror. Iran is responsible for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Iran funds hate. Should Iran actually get a nuclear bomb, they can be expected to use it. Yet we continue to appease them. We continue to think we can negotiate with them. We continue to think they share our values. We will continue to do this until they use a nuclear weapon in Europe or the United States. It’s time to fight the real evil and defeat it. It’s time to lead through action and do what is needed, even when it’s hard.

I’m tired of the hostages being in captivity and forgotten by our leaders. I’m tired of the mobs in the streets calling for intifada, revolution, also known as the elimination of the Jews. I’m tired of the rockets being fired at Israel and the people in the north having to be refugees. I’m tired of my friends being recalled to the IDF and put into harms way over and over again. My heart aches for those murdered on October 7th at the Nova Music Festival, Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Be’eri, and everywhere else.

I’m tired of our leaders not leading and I’m tired of them not clearly seeing that the evil and the problem is Iran. To paraphrase James Carville during the 1992 Clinton campaign for President, “It’s Iran, Stupid”. If our leaders wise up and get on track, they’ll realize that Iran is the cause of the world instability. The Iranian regime is core evil and needs to be eliminated. At all costs. During the hostage crisis in 1979-80, I remember a poster my cousin had in his room. It expressed our feelings then and expresses my feelings now.

Having been to Israel in May and July, having talked to my Israeli friends non-stop since October 7th, I know they are exhausted. Not just by what I am exhausted with but also with the nonstop bombs they face, the constant call ups to reserves, the funerals that seem to never end, the protests against the government, for the hostages, and to end the war. There is no end in sight. Yesterday all I wanted to do was to be back in Israel, with my Israeli brothers and sisters, knowing the war with Iran is coming yet knowing we were all together. As a passionate Zionist, a Jew who loves Israel and one who has Israel a permanent part of my soul, it’s hard not to be there at this time of need.

I write a lot about leadership and the lack of it. I write a lot about Israel and how important it is. I write a lot about my fears for the world. So, in summary, to all our leaders, I say once again, “It’s Iran, Stupid”. Bring them home now.

I’ve been very critical of our leaders for good reason. So I thought perhaps I should spend a few minutes talking about leaders who have truly inspired me. To show that there are leaders out there. There are people who are doing what is right not what is easy. People who are focused on making the world a better place, not just on making the world a better place for them. They may surprise you but they are truly amazing. Leaders are not elected although sometimes leaders get elected. Leadership is not a position but an action. These two people lead by example. They inspire. I can only hope (but doubt) that our elected officials will pay attention to them and what they are doing and choose to follow their example.

The first person I want to talk about is Flavor Flav (born William Jonathan Drayton Jr.). Yes, Flavor Flav, the rapper. This is the guy who dropped out of high school in the 11th grade, who as a kid was in and out of jail for robbery and burglary. The guy has had multiple issues with the law and with substance abuse. The man who was a founding member of the controversial rap group Public Enemy.

Why did I pick Flavor Flav? What makes him a leader? How has he inspired me and shown what a leadership really is? He signed a five-year sponsorship deal as the official hype man for the USA Water Polo Women’s and Men’s National Teams. Unlike most sponsorship deals, this doesn’t mean he gets paid for doing it. It means he will be paying and getting to do it. He chose to financially support the women’s US water polo teams so they are able to practice and attempt to win gold medals. He chose to support women’s athletics with his own money because they needed it, because he is a ‘girl dad’, this is a niche sport, and they have great athletes and need the help. He didn’t pick the most popular teams like men’s or women’s basketball or women’s gymnastics. He picked a niche sport that really needed his support. You see him on TV rooting them on at the olympics. This isn’t about his name or his personal fame or gain. This is about leading by example, using his wealth for good, and making a difference in the world.

This would enough to rank as a leader. But it isn’t enough for Flavor Flav. Just the other day, Olympic women’s discus athlete Veronica Fraley tweeted out that as she was about to begin competing in the Olympics, she couldn’t pay her rent. Her school only sent enough money for 75% of the rent and so as she was about to compete for her country, paying rent was a problem. Flavor Flav quickly responded, telling her he would take care of it immediately for her so she could compete the next day without worry.

Alexis Ohanian, Serena William’s husband and the founder of Reddit, joined Flavor Flav. While Flav covered the rent for the upcoming month, Ohanian paid the rent for the rest of the year. True leadership inspires others to join you. Flavor Flav has done that and is doing that. He stated his goal is for others to join him in supporting these athletes who only want to bring honor to America. We are now all rooting for Veronica Fraley and the US water polo teams to win, not just as American athletes but as human beings. We can all be inspired by Flavor Flav to do a little more. To make a difference in ways that we can. To do the right thing for the right reasons no matter what our past may be. We can all be an inspiration to others. Our actions can change lives and the lives we change can change the world.

The second leader who inspires me is Simone Biles. Yes, that Simone Biles, the Olympian and perhaps the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) gymnast. While her talent is truly amazing and watching her perform is spectacular, it’s not her athletic talent that inspires me. There are plenty of talented people who are amazing at what they do. That’s not leadership.

Leadership is what she did in 2021 at the Olympics. Not winning medals or competitions but winning at life. As she began strugging with mental health issues, feeling ‘the twisties’ and shaking due to the pressure she was feeling, Simone made the difficult choice to prioritize her mental health over winning at the Olympics. She took a lot of heat for that decision. When the women won the Silver medal instead of the Gold, she was criticized and she even said she felt responsible. She didn’t feel a part of the team and that she didn’t deserve the silver medal. Her teammates disagreed. She withdrew from all the remaining events so she could focus on her mental health.

It was a big risk for an athlete like Simone Biles to admit to having mental health struggles. She had enough courage to take care of herself and to publicly address it. She led and since then others have followed. Prioritizing mental health is now accepted by athletes and fans. It is because of Simone Biles and her courage. As I watch her compete in these Olympics, there is joy in her eyes. She is dominating the Olympics but more importantly, you can see she is dominating at life.

I saw a video of her throwing out the first pitch at an Astros games. The joy you see in her face, in her actions, warms my heart. Watch and be astounded, both with her incredible talent and the joy that exudes from her.

If that is all Simone Biles did, it would be enough to shine as a leader. But it’s not. When Larry Nassar was accused of molesting gymnasts, Simone was the 3rd person to announce publicly that he had abused her. She then took action, fighting back against the system that enabled the abuse. She advocated for change. She testified in front of Congress.

She held people accountable. Joined by fellow gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols, they described in detail what happened and how the system, including the legal system, failed not just them but the hundreds of female athletes that Nassar abused. She became the face of change in women’s gymnastics. How the system works. How the coaches treat the athletes. It is noticable to see the change. The joy in the gymnasts faces as they compete instead of the fear of failure. The way they hug and support each other. How the gymnasts used to be young and by 18 were seen as too old to competitors now being in their early and late 20s.

Simone isn’t done though. After winning a gold medal in these Olympics, her husband posted a picture of them together and kissing where he was wearing her gold medal. He posted:

He got terrible criticism because he was wearing the medal she won. This Tiktok video was enough for Simone to actively respond.

She wrote a comment saying:

“Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures. So don’t ever make assumptions.” She continued, “Like y’all are so f–ing miserable. Leave us alone.”

She wasn’t afraid to step up and say what she felt. She wasn’t afraid to take a public position even when it was criticizing her fans. She stood up for what was right and didn’t care about what blowback she might face. That’s leadership. She could have stayed quiet. She could have ignored it. She could have even publicly said that it was just a meaningless distraction. But she didn’t. She couldn’t ignore the hate he was getting. She couldn’t sit by idly and allow something wrong to continue. That’s leadership.

Being a leader isn’t easy. Both Flavor Flav and Simone Biles have been through tough times and chose to change the world. They chose to take risks, give of themselves, and take positions, often alone, because they believed in them. That’s what leaders do.

At this critical time in our world, I urge the leaders of America, of Canada, of the countries in Europe and around the world, in our Jewish communities and outside our Jewish communities, to look to these two amazing human beings for what leadership looks like. Take the unpopular position because it’s the right position. Stand up against evil and what’s wrong, speak up because it is the right thing to do, like Simone Biles, and make change, regardless of the potential personal cost. Don’t just support the popular but support what is needed, what is good, what matters, like Flavor Flav.

We desparately need our elected officials around the world, in the United States, and in our Jewish organizations and communities to follow their lead. I hope they can learn from true leaders what it means and change their behavior. The future of the world and the Jewish people depend on it.

I write a lot about leadership. I write a lot about Israel. I try to focus on indentifying challenges and problems and finding solutions. Complaining about challenges or problems doesn’t do anything good and if you can’t identify the challenge you have no way to identify a solution.

Today I find myself focused on how unbelievably bad our current world leadership is and concerned about the future not just for Jews but for our world. The leadership seems to simply not understand the basic difference between good and evil. Between right and wrong. Between leadership and a title. Between morals, ethics, and values and power.

In the past few days here are a few things we have seen that are of major concern to me.

Hezbollah shoots a rocket at Israeli Druze children playing soccer. 12 are murdered and hundreds injured. Our leaders are silent. The world is silent. The UN, UNICEF, Red Cross, and Amnesty International are silent. 12 beautiful children are dead with hundreds of more children injured by terrorists attacking civilians and the world remains silent.

Major terrorist leaders are assassinated. They are taken out in strategic attacks which don’t target civilians. The world is a better place without them in it and the message that is sent to those who follow them is that actions have consequences. That murdering civilians and taking hostages won’t be tolerated.

What was the response to this? The Biden administration warned Bibi not to escalate again and that if they do, the US may not have Israel’s back. The administration continues to not send the military aid to Israel that the US Congress has authorized. The UK leadership vows to stop providing any weapons to Israel. Turkey’s President Erdogan has threatened to invade Israel. Turkey, a NATO ally, has faced no pushback from NATO about this. President Biden said that ‘it wasn’t helpful’ to reaching a ceasefire despite all evidence showing that Hamas only responds to strength. Vice President Harris, running for President, has yet to even comment on the murder of 12 Druze Israeli children by Hezbollah. Protests in support of the terrorist leaders who were eliminated are occuring around the world. The PA declares a national day of mourning for the terrorist leaders who murdered Americans as well as Israelis with no pushback from the world. The UN, Amnesty, UNICEF, and the Red Cross are silent about the murder of the Druze Israeli children playing soccer.

As Israel prepares to be attacked by Iran with a major offensive, the world remains silent. When Iran and Hezbollah openly state they will be attacking civilians and city centers, not military targets, the world remains silent. Where are our leaders? Where is the outrage? Where are the ceasefire now people? Where are the people concerned about children being murdered? Where are those concerned about innocent civilans dying? Because it is Jews, there is none. Because it is Jews, leaders either stay silent or take action that enables it to happen.

In the US, we are in an election year and a major election for President. Yet when the current Vice President and nominee chooses to remain silent, our Jewish communal leaders do as well. When the current President blames Israel for escalating and harming the opportunity for a cease fire that Hamas has refused to agree to, our Jewish communal leaders remain silent. When the former President who is the Republican nominee is also silent on the assassinations and the threat of attacking civilians in Israel, our Jewish communal leaders also remain silent. We need our leaders to have true relationships where they can be critical of our leaders for their actions without fear of being ostracized. I have a good relationship with my member of Congress. There are plenty of positions he has taken that I disagree with and I reach out to him and talk about it with him. I express my disagreement and am willing to publicly state that I have done so. It hasn’t harmed our relationship. Our relationship has grown because we both understand that neither of us are making personal attacks and instead are sharing important positions. I don’t have to agree with him, his positions, or his votes. He doesn’t have to agree with me or my positions. We do share why were believe what we do and why we take the positions and the actions that we do.

I have no problem criticizing what our leaders do or don’t do. It isn’t personal. It is about actions and statements. When celebrities take idiotic stands in support of terrorists and hate and the killing of Jews, I have no problem calling them out. I choose not to support their work and won’t watch their TV shows or movies, I won’t listen to their music, I won’t support anything they are involved with. I also make it public. Roger Waters, Mark Ruffalo, Bella and Gigi Hadid, Eric Clapton, Susan Sarandon, John Cusack, Cynthia Nixon, Kanye West, Billie Eilish, and Kyrie Irving are just some of those who I no longer support.

We see ‘leaders’ like Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro, who lost the election but continues to force the false narrative that he won, blame ‘the Zionist influence in the media and social media for the coup attempt in Venezuela.’ Once again it is the Jews fault. Yet no leader will call him out on this blatent antisemitism.

We see protesters in the streets in Washington, DC mourning the death of the evil terrorist Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, stating “We will honor all our martyrs. There is only one solution. Intifada Revolution.” The same chants were being made by a protesters in Seattle, Washington. An intifada is a violent uprising. On the streets of Washington DC they are advocating for violence against the Jews while praising a terrorist. And once again, our leaders are silent.

The north of Israel is currently under attack. Rockets launched by Hezbollah at civilians. Homes and towns being attacked. This isn’t attacking military sites, it is attacking civilians. Where is the outrage? Where are the ceasefire now people? Where are our leaders? They are silent once again. Thankfully, Israel has Iron Dome, despite the antisemitic attacks by US ‘leaders’ such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) who openly weeped when funding to save Jewish/Israeli lives was passed in Congress.

The terrorists openly tell us who they are. They have recorded the horrific violence on October 7th to show the world. They have vowed publicly on video that they will continue to create more violence like October 7th over and over and over again. Yet the West wants to excuse it. The West won’t accept what they say and will blame Israel and the Jews. Here is another video where they tell us point blank that they started the war for Allah and will sacrifice every life for Allah. They say it’s not about occupation. But our leaders in the West know better what it’s about than those who are doing it. Our own leaders arrogance and desire for power creates greater problems and no solutions. Listen to them and believe them.

So while the West thinks that they know better, those in the region are different. The King of Jordan has come out and stated that “We will not allow a single missile or drone to pass through our airspace towards Israel.” They understand the evil of Iran. They understand what terrorists do. They know that Israel is the canary in the coal mine and that they are next if Iran is successful. I never in my life thought I would be grateful to Jordan while being disgusted by the UK, France, and the West.

Many people think this is only about Israel and the Jews. They forget that to Iran and the terrorist, Israel is merely ‘little Satan’. The Great Satan is the United States and it is our way of life they want to end. In Philadelphia they damaged a WWI memorial with graffiti, supporting Hamas. We see it happening all over with Death to America chants at rallies IN AMERICA. Yet our leaders remain silent. They fail to take action. They hide with the help of the media.

Iran is threatening to start World War 3. The rockets from Hezbollah are falling this evening. Egypt is reported to have a trove of weapons waiting to supply Hamas if Israel were to leave the Philadelphi corridor. Turkey, a US NATO ally, has threatened to invade Israel. Iran has threatened to attack Israel civilian centers. The US has sent naval battalions to the region to help. Yet where are our leaders? We don’t see them on the news. They aren’t holding press conferences. They haven’t called Turkish President Urdogan and told him to shut up and back down. They aren’t holding Egypt accountable. Our President is taking the weekend off in Delaware. Our VP and the leader of the other party are busy on the campaign trail, ignoring this. The leaders of Congress are silent. Congress can’t even be unified to take a stand.

In May when I was in Israel, my Israeli friends and many people I met there made the same comment to me. “When are you moving to Israel?” they asked. When I told them no time soon, they responded, “I hope you come while you are still able to come.” I thought they were being a little over the top. When they said the same thing in July when I was in Israel, I took it a little more seriously. I thought the day may come when I would have to move to Israel but didn’t think it was anytime soon. Today, just a month to the day when I landed in Israel in July, I wonder if it will have to be sooner than I thought. I wonder when the uprisings in the streets in the US, Canada, and Europe will become violent like in Germany on Kristalnacht. I wonder if the time will come when I no longer can get out and get to Israel when I need to. I wonder not when but IF our leaders will stand up for good vs. evil. If they will act on what is right rather than what is wrong or not act at all. Are they really leaders or just power hungry? Would they rather be right or have the world right?

These are scary times. They have gone beyond ‘interesting times’. The future is uncertain. World War 3 could begin any day. I pray every day that we don’t have a mass casualty event in the US yet expect there may be one any day. We need our leaders to understand that leadership is an action, not a position. Will they? I hope they will but fear they won’t. I am the eternal optimist yet the future doesn’t look so wonderful right now.