Tag: antisemitism

They no longer even try to hide their Jew hatred

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Free Palestine

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The many faces of Jew hatred

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Since October 7th, I have been struggling with the violent antisemitism that occured then and that has continued to increase and occur. Having worked on a college campus for 15 years, it ripped my soul watching what happened on various college campuses across Canada and the United States. Seeing people attacked in the streets for being publicly Jewish broke my heart and watching the world stay silent about it infuriated me.

I watch some of our leaders excuse and defend this Jew hatred when they were publicly leaders against the hatred of other groups. What makes it ok to hate Jews? Why does the world not just permit it but celebrate it? Why is it ok to light the door of a synagogue on fire while Jews are inside praying, trying to kill them all? Why has it been ok to shoot Jewish schools?

This past week on the Fresh and Fit Podcast, a group of young people actually blamed the Jews for the Nazi’s committing Genocide. Listen to them speak and understand their hatred. Understand that we have now made it ok for people to openly hate, lie, and spew prejudice. They may as well be wearing white sheets and be the Klu Klux Klan. Except the Klan wore their sheets to hide from public scrutiny. They show their faces proudly as they spew their hatred. Watch the man, the supposed adult, smile with joy as the Jew hatred is shared. This is the world we live in today.

It gets worse. This week, a group of 50 Jewish children were returning from summer camp on a Vueling flight from Spain to France. These children were speaking Hebrew, joking, and signing songs in Hebrew. Totally appropriate teen behavior. Yet the crew, saying that Israel is a terrorist state, called the police and had them forcibly removed from the plane. For being Jewish. For speaking Hebrew. In America, this is equivilant to ‘Driving while black’, when African American people are pulled over and arrested or harrassed just because they black. This is what happens when we allow hatred to grow unchallenged. Watch the video below as the Director of the Camp, trying to understand what is happening and why they have been targeted and are being removed, is thrown to the ground, beaten, handcuffed and arrested. Not for being violent. Not for being a terrorist. Not for making threatening statements or causing a problem with other passengers. Simply for being Jewish.

The police knew they were in trouble for their behavior immdiately. They took the phones from the children and made them delete the video of what happened. They wanted no proof of their Jew hatred. The lies in the media began as soon as the story broke. Claims that the children were singing songs about killing Arabs. That they were behaving aggressively. The media does this with Jews regularly. Spin the lies fast and furious and the Jew hatred takes over. This time however, passengers on the plane spoke up. The passengers were clear that the children did nothing wrong and that it was the crew who wanted them removed once they realized they were Jews.

Then there is the issue of the ‘mass starvation and famine” in Gaza. The claims that Israel is starving the people of Gaza. The talk about the IDF shooting Gazan people who are trying to get food. While I’m sure accidents happen like in any war, it has been clear that it is Hamas who is shooting and killing the Gazan people who are trying to get food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Why would Hamas do this? Hamas has been stealing the food and aid since the beginning and using it to feed themselves and sell the rest on the black market to fund their purchase of rockets and weapons to kill Israelis. The complaint from the Gazan people, before the GHF began delivering food directly to them, was that ‘the food is too expensive’. The food that is provided for free is too expensive. I’ve heard the stories of Gazan people, coming to get food from the GHF double and triple checking that the food was actually free. In Daniel Gordis’s Israel from the Inside, the shared this video of a mob of Gazan people running towards an overturned food truck (how it got overturned isn’t clear or shown). The IDF is there as this mob runs towards them. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to see a mob this size running towards you, but I can imagine it is frightening. The commander instructs them not to shoot, not to fire on the people and they don’t. At the end, an extraordinary thing happens – the Gazan people stand and applaud and cheer the IDF soldiers. Forget what you are shown on the news – this is raw footage of the Gazan people appreciating the IDF. Perhaps the narrative you are being fed isn’t accurate.

A mob in Gaza rushing to an overturned food truck – there is no violence and what a remarkable end.

What is factual? The UN has over 950 trucks of food and aid sitting inside Gaza waiting to be delivered. The UN refuses to deliver it unless they are escorted by Hamas for protection. The IDF has offered to provide the protection so the food gets to the people who are hungry, not the terrorists. The UN would rather lt the food sit, undelivered, and have the people of Gaza go hungry that ensure that Hamas doesn’t steal the food and keep it from the people. Watch the video and see all this food, waiting to be delivered, while the UN refuses to deliver it and blames Israel for starving the people of Gaza. The UN has committed so many human rights violations since October 7th and the world refuses to hold them accountable. It’s better to blame the Jews and encourage Jew hatred.

Then there is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. They are delivering over 2 million meals per day directly to the people of Gaza. Hamas hates this, as they can’t steal the food and use the black market revenue to pay their terrorists and fund their terror. The UN hates this because it highlights how corrupt they are. The media likes to highlight the Gazan people being killed by Hamas waiting for food and blame Israel for their deaths. Yet the facts show something entirely different.

The UN and the other NGOs refuse to work with the GHF because it gets food directly to the people of Gaza and does not go through Hamas. When food goes through Hamas it ends up in the tunnels, feeding Hamas, and it goes to the black market where the money funds Hamas’s terror and efforts to kill every Jew. The complaints by the people of Gaza have been that ‘the food is too expensive.’ The free food that is being provided is too expensive! When the GHF began distributing food directly to the people of Gaza, they kept getting asked over and over again, “Are you sure this food is really free.”

The world wants to blame Israel and say that Israel is starving the Gazan people and the children in Gaza. There is no doubt that there is food insecurity in Gaza but the blame is not on Israel. It’s on the world. The world would rather blame Israel than ensure the food is properly distributed. The world would rather invest in Jew hatred than fill the stomach’s of the people in Gaza. The world would rather see starving and dead Gazans than see Israel exist. In his Israel from the Inside blog today, Daniel Gordis addresses the food issue. He shares this video which clearly addresses the problem – food distribution. This is entirely solvable by the world if they wanted to. They don’t. They’d rather blame Israel

From Daniel Gordis’s Israel from the Inside. If you don’t subscribe and read it, you should.

So here is the real question. Do you care about the people of Gaza, the children of Gaza, or do you hate Jews and Israel? If you truly care about the people and the children, you’ll fight against the UN and the NGOs that refuse to deliver the food unless it goes through Gaza. If you care about the people and the children, you won’t tolerate the media slandering the GHF and will hold them accountable for reporting the reality that the food distribution by the UN and other NGO’s has been the problem. If you care about the people and the children, you will hold Hamas accountable and not demand any ceasefire until they release the hostages and leave power. If you really just hate Jews and Israel, keep on blaming Israel, supporting the UN and Hamas. It will be clear if you are a humanitarian or a Jew hater by your choice.

To Life, To Life, L’Chaim. L’Chaim, L’Chaim, To Life.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Ever since October 7, 2023, I have been writing this blog very regularly. Over the past month, that has slowed to a crawl. I’m not sure if it is fatigue, frustration, anger, sadness, or some other emotion. I just know that writing has been very difficult as the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah-Iran-Houthis war continues and the rise in antisemitism around the world and in the United States continues to grow.

I write when I am moved emotionally or intellectually. My emotions have been muted and the rise and acceptance of Jew hatred has made me wonder about the intelligence of the people in this country and the world. I wasn’t sure what to write or if I would find something that moved to me to write.

Then I read this post by Jon Polin, the father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The power of his words hit me deeply. The price of this war hit me deeply. Read Jon’s words and let them wash over you, sink into your soul, and see if you are not changed.

I respectfully ask that the Office of The Prime Minister of IsraelBenjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו stop claiming that “his forceful application of combined military and diplomatic pressure has so far achieved the release of 205 hostages out of a total of 255.”

This insensitive claim whitewashes the lives of the 20% of the 205 who were taken into Gaza alive, survived a period of torture, and were then killed in captivity, including my son Hersh.

In August 2024, a negotiated deal was possible to release a number of hostages, including Hersh and at least three others of the five with whom he was held (together “the Beautiful Six”). Instead of completing this deal, and despite finding a live Israeli hostage in close proximity to where the Beautiful Six would be executed just two days later, a decision was made to continue with the risky military operation in Rafah. This decision led the Beautiful Six to be executed. Ironically, the deal that could have saved them was finally completed in January 2025 under pressure from President Trump.

Please do not take credit for “achieving the release” of Hersh. This is offensive to Hersh and to our family.

As I began to write this, deeply impacted by Jon’s words, the price paid by Rachel and Jon and so many others in Israel, dealing with my own feelings about not being able to go to Israel since September and plans to go in October, the graduation from college of my younger son and the career success of my older son, while so many in Israel have lost their children and loved ones because of the war and, I came across this piece in Daniel Gordis’s “Israel from the Inside” substack. He posted this piece written by Hagai Luber, an actor, playwright, theater director, acting teacher, and the founder and artistic director of the “Aspaklaria” theater and acting school. The translation is below. It captures my feelings beautifully.

Please, please,  
On the panels in the TV studios,  
On social media and in tweets,  
In the Knesset, in committees, and in speeches.  
And in the war cabinet, in the heat of discussions,  
Do not use the dead soldiers as proof of your righteousness!  
Do not say—"See? We must achieve a decisive victory."  
And do not say—"This is the proof that it is time to end the war."  
And do not prove with a victorious shout that if only there were more fighters, the disaster would have been avoided.  
And do not passionately criticize the methods of fighting and the security doctrine.  
And do not say—not today at least—  
That we must...  
That now...  
That the time has come...  
That we warned long ago...  
(And never, ever dare to say "They fell for politics and in vain")  
Just take a moment,  
Or a day,  
Or a year.  
And quietly look at these beautiful ones, in the picture.  
And think about the wondrous fact,  
That regardless of taking a stand or having an opinion,  
They were willing to die for you (f.) and for you (m.).  
And when they heard over the radio that soldiers hit explosives,  
The rescue forces rushed there to save lives,  
And took fire and continued, gritting their teeth, in evacuating them.  
And they didn’t check which sector they belonged to.  
And whether they are "secular" or "ultra-Orthodox,"  
And what their opinion is about the situation and what exactly they think.  
And this unconditional connection is the rock of our existence.  
And it is stronger and more steadfast than all our follies.  
And it is the secret of our strength.  
And it is the light and the good in our lives.  
We will grieve together.  
We will be comforted together.  
And we will rise together.

Haggai Lober

Maybe this hit me so hard today because I watched a former student who became a friend, bury his wife, another former student who became a friend, in Israel today. As I watched the funeral, I was struck by a number of things. First, her desire to be buried in Israel. How much that meant to her. Secondly, how as people talked about her, I could see her face, hear her voice, her laughter, and her passion for life. Third, how grateful I was that I got to see her last fall when I was in Atlanta and that I got to give her a big hug then. I only wished I’d spent more time with her that day.

That’s who we are as Jews. We love life. We cherish life. Our toast, L’Chaim, is literally saying “To Life”. Saving a life is as if we saved an entire world. We celebrate life throughout our lives. Even when somebody dies, we use shiva, the 7 day mourning period after burial, as a way to help the mourners deal with living their lives after losing their loved one. We tell stories about the person who died to celebrate their life and bring comfort to the lives of their loved ones. Everything is about life.

Beginning on October 7th, we have lived in an almost 2 year period of death. Death on October 7th. Death of hostages. Rise of antisemitism impacting our ability to live life. It only struck me today how un-Jewish this time period has been. I was reminded of this by words spoken by the daughter of my friend Yael (z’l) as she eulogized her mother. She had asked Yael (z’l) if she regretted anything in her life and she told her no. When pressed, Yael (z’l) told her daughter that she married a man she loved with all her heart, had parents who loved her, had 2 beautiful children that she loved more than anything, and had a fulfilling career. What was there to regret.

As I type and read those words, I can hear Yael’s voice saying them. Even in death, Yael (z’l) reminded her children, her family, and me the importance of living life. Jon Polin reminded us about how important living life is and just how powerful the loss of life is, through his son Hersh (z’l). Haggai Lober teaches us through his essay how important life is by the way we do whatever we can to save lives and how despite the incredible value of life, we are willing to risk our life to save others.

October 7th and the war that has followed has cost us too many lives to not honor their memories by living ours. Living them Jewishly, whatever that means to each of us. I have my Nova tattoo, my we will dance again tattoo, and my tattoo of the artwork by Moshe Shapira connecting released hostage Emily Damari’s hand with the priestly blessings. Moshe’s son Aner was murdered on October 7th as he repeatedly threw grenades out of the bomb shelter, trying to save others, until there was one he couldn’t get to in time and this tattoo reminds me of Aner, Emily, and Moshe. I wear my Star of David with Israel as the center of it proudly every day, outside my shirt. I got my Florida Stands with Israel license plate and display it proudly on my car.

Florida Stands With Israel License Plate
The art of Moshe Shapira plus We will dance again tattoo
Nova Tattoo
My special Magen David

I’m not the most religious person but I go to minyan when asked. I learn Jewishly every week through two different teachers and with a Rabbi friend when possible. I am proudly and outwardly Jewish. I refuse to hide it. I often think of my parents, who were outwardly proudly Jewish, my grandparents, who were outwardly proudly Jewish, and my Great-grandmother Rose, the only of my Great-grandparents that I knew, who was also outwardly proudly Jewish. I owe it to them and to my children to be proud of who I am, of my history, of my heritage, of my culture.

In memory of all those murdered on October 7th, who have died protecting Israel and the Jewish people, who were murdered by Hamas as hostages, I have one thing to say.

Oh what a strange world we live in

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I remember learning about the ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” When I heard it, I didn’t quite understand why it was a curse. Who wouldn’t want to live in interesting times? The opposite was boring times and that didn’t sound like much fun. The older I got, the more I understood why this was a curse. Today, we certainly living in interesting times. Challenging times. Frustrating times. Sometimes it feels like hopeless times.

People have always interested me. How they think, why they make the choices that they make, and often times, how self-destructive they can be. Over the past decade, I have seen and written about the rise of antisemitism, of Jew hatred. When I began writing about and calling it Jew hatred, it was a controversial term. It no longer is controversial. Since October 7, 2023, the amount of public Jew hatred has been astounding. I always knew there were people who simply hated Jews and I met plenty of them. They always kept it quiet though. Nobody came out publicly with their Jew hatred, it was kept behind closed doors. Today, they wear it publicly like a badge of honor.

I just learned about a former employee, somebody that most of us who worked with not only liked but thought liked us, posted on social media, “zionist unfriend me silently challenge (impossible).” It was shocking to see, in part because I knew her differently that this post and also because I only saw it when a friend shared it with me because this person had unfriended me, likely because of my pro-Israel posts and advocacy. I was forwarded some of the interaction and it was sad to read. This person that I had known was clearly not the same. Her Jew hatred was clear and public. When asked about what happened to make her like this, her reply was that she had always felt this way, she just had to keep quiet “for a paycheck.” This made me even sadder, because if true, she sold out her integrity for a paycheck, lied and pretended to be friends with people she despised.

I’m not sure why it amazes me that people just believe what they are told. The amount of lies that get retold, over and over again as truth, just because somebody said it on social media or on TV is shocking. It doesn’t even take much investigation to find out that they are lies, yet people today can’t be bothered with that. They’d rather believe the lies. They’d rather feed the hate. Unlike the far right, which allows all hate, the one hate that is allowed by the progressive far left movement is Jew hatred. The rest is not permitted – say it about any group other than the Jews and you get cancelled. You become a pariah. But say it about the Jews and they make you a hero. A righteous fighter for the underdog no matter how heinous their behavior. It disgusts me.

For about a five (5) year period, from approximately 2018 – 2023, I was often interviewed on the TV news, public radio, or for the newspaper about the rise of antisemitism. I would always start by saying that we must speak out against ALL HATE. I would say how whatever group was facing the hatred today, it would eventually move on to another group and one day it would be your group facing the hate. That’s why we needed to stand up and speak out against all hate. I still believe that today, despite the fact that when it comes to Jew hatred, we often stand alone.

I am so appreciative of my non-Jewish friends and those in public positions who speak out against Jew hatred. They take a big risk and do so proudly and with honor. I am appreciative of my friends, Jewish and not-Jewish, who don’t know things and ask, begin conversations, and are willing to dig deep. Often they will apologize when asking a question and I stop them, thank them for asking, and encourage them to never fear a true and honest question. This past weekend, I was hanging out with a bunch of friends. I was engaged in a great conversation with one of them who told me that he never really knew anything about Israel, never really paid attention to anything, until he learned about my connection and my passion. He’d follow me on social media when I travel to Israel, began reading things to learn more, and asked some great questions. We had a really positive conversation where he opened up and asked questions he may have been afraid to ask before. I answered honestly, even when the answer was that Israel had done something wrong. It made me wonder what might have been different with the other person if she had been willing to engage in dialogue, learn, listen, and ask the hard questions instead of posting her offensive comment. I’ll never know the answer but I also know that I will never stop trying to have those real conversations. No matter how difficult or challenging they may be.

People don’t understand the difference between Israel attacking Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, or Iranian military targets and military leaders and how Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran attack civilians. They don’t understand the difference between Israel doing all they can to protect the civilians and how the others do all they can to attack and kill civilians.

Video of ballastic missile landing in Ramat Gan – clearly not a military target

I’m tired of the Americans (and others but mainly the Americans) who believe the lies. Who spread the lies. Who use them to express their Jew hatred. The true civilians in Gaza thank Israel and want freedom from Hamas. The Iranian people support Israel and want freedom from the Iranian regime. The lies only make it more difficult for them and help keep them living under tyranny. These ‘people’ who say they want to help by bashing Israel are doing exactly the opposite of helping. They are the ones who despite seeing the emperor having no clothes, rave out the outfit. They are the monkeys who ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ They are the ones who embolden and empower evil.

The rest of us need to speak out and speak out loudly. We cannot sit back and be quiet and think they are showing how stupid they are, how bigoted they are. The longer we stay silent, the more they spread the lies and hate. I urge you to speak up. The cost of being quiet is too high.

The living dead

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I use a lot of sources to keep up to date on the news. Unlike the days of Walter Cronkite on CBS news, there is no single trusted source in today’s media. One of the people that I read is Danny Gordis. His “Israel from the Inside” substack posts are filled with a great deal of facts, stories, opinions, and thoughtful pieces. Today’s post was extremely powerful and hit me deeply, bringing tears to my eyes. Having been to Israel 3 times last year (May, July, and September), and working with many different organizations in Israel with daily contact with Israeli’s, it hit home. It’s what I have seen, heard and felt. While on a zoom with one of my partners last week, she let us know that she may have to leave in a few minutes because she got the “10 minute alert” that the Houthi’s had fired a ballistic missile at Israel. Sure enough, a few minutes later she said, “I have to go” and off she went to her safe room. The rest of us stayed and talked until she returned a few minutes later.

I urge you to read this story from Danny Gordis’s “Israel from the Inside”. It is an English translation of a Facebook Post (in Hebrew)from yesterday. And if you subscribe (paid or free), you won’t regret it.

I died on the 120th day of the war, but I didn’t tell anyone

I was killed on the 120th day of the war, but I didn’t tell anyone. The battles were raging and I didn’t want to hurt the guys’ morale. At the end of the month, I got leave.

My wife Talia picked me up from the train and hugged me tight, as if she were drowning in a frozen sea and I was a wooden door. So of course I didn’t tell her I was dead; everything had already fallen on her shoulders these past months. The moment I entered the apartment, Romi, my four-year-old daughter, came running from the neighbors, jumped on me and refused to let go—so I didn’t tell her either that Daddy was dead. Why break her heart?

After Romi fell asleep, Talia waited for me in bed with white wine. “I missed you,” she wrapped her warm thighs around my cold body. We made love. Not because I wanted to (the dead don’t need sex), but just to make her happy. It didn’t work; she stayed distant (or was it me?), and when she asked what I’d been through—I stayed silent (no reason to bring horrors into bed).

A few days later I went back to the battlefield, and two weeks after that I saved five soldiers from death.
“You’ve got balls of steel!” the battalion commander slapped my back. I wanted to say I was dead, so I hadn’t really risked anything, but since my actions had revived the unit’s spirit, which still hadn’t recovered from the death of Gilad the platoon commander, I replied, “Thank you, sir.”

At some point I was sent home, back to “normal life,” but between me and it stood a transparent, impassable border, behind which I watched them like a fish in an aquarium. And the world that once excited me—turned faded; work at the computer store no longer interested me, nor did poker games with friends, and at home, with Talia and Romi, I felt like an invading germ.

Until… One Saturday, Romi fell in the living room. “Daddyyyy!” she cried and I froze, hypnotized by the sight of blood trickling down her forehead, the clear tears dripping from her eyes, the yellowish urine that escaped her, and I thought about how many shades of fluid are in the human body, and remembered Sergei and the bullet he took to the head. That night, after we got back from the ER, Talia said I had to get help, that she couldn’t reach me, that she was out of strength. But all I heard was blah-blah from someone who doesn’t understand how the world works and how bloody and stinking and monstrous it is.
Better she doesn’t know. Let her put on an avocado mask and go to sleep.

But she kept nagging, so I went to the living room and stared at the sidewalk, seven floors down, and wanted to jump, because I felt like a foreign body that life had rejected. The window wouldn’t open. Turns out the frame was bent by a rocket that fell nearby. So I gave up and went to bed.

The next day, Assi, who’d been with me in high school and in the unit, came into the store. Since it was already noon, we went to the hummus place, gossiping about Victor who learned to jump with his new leg, about Barry who got a better hand than the one he lost, and about Udi who finally proposed.
At some point, there was silence and I asked if Talia had asked him to come talk to me. Assi nodded, because there’s no bullshit between us.

“So why is she worried?” he asked.
“It’s hard for her to accept that I’m dead,” I answered honestly, because I no longer had the strength to hide it.
Assi wasn’t fazed and speared a pickle from the plate. “Remember when you died?”
“The day Sergei was shot.”
“Mmm… half a year.” He bit into the pickle. “And what’s the hardest part about being dead?”
“That I don’t feel anything.”
“Really?” He looked at me, picked up a fork and stabbed my hand.
“Ow!” I jumped, “Are you nuts?!”
“Turns out there are some things you do feel,” he grinned, like a kid who just egged the principal.
I glared at him. Really? Seriously?! That’s your reaction to my death?! Seven years of psychology studies for this?! I got so angry I threw an olive at his eye.
“You son of a—” he flung pita at me.
So I threw a shish kebab at him.
A wave of stupid laughter took over and we kept pelting each other with fries and falafel until the owner lost it and kicked us out.

“What if…” Assi wondered as we walked back to the store, “it’s not that you don’t feel, but that… you’re afraid to feel?”
“Afraid to feel what?” I asked, and immediately thought of Ortal, Sergei’s wife, who after years of fertility treatments finally got pregnant, and how he came back from leave beaming and showed us the ultrasound of the boy. “Check out this mega-penis! Just like his dad!!!”

48 hours later, he took a sniper’s bullet. A bullet that wasn’t even meant for him. I was supposed to go to the window, but I was breaking a record on a dusty Game Boy I’d found, so I asked him to go instead and… I started to cry, because he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t.

“Now I know you’re alive,” Assi said, “Know why?”
“Why?”
“Because dead men don’t cry.”

He put a comforting hand on me and suddenly there was wild gunfire, fighter jets tearing through the sky, which stank of smoke, of decay, someone cried “Yama! Yama!!” Or maybe it was “Mama! Mama!!” And my hands searched for a weapon, but I was in civilian clothes, in the middle of Bialik Boulevard—

“I’m losing my mind,” I told Assi.
“You’re not, bro! You’re feeling, don’t run from it, don’t run!” And he hugged me tight and didn’t let me fall.

That evening I went to Talia, who was folding clothes, and said I wanted, like before, to read Romi a bedtime story. “Not sure that’s a good idea,” she refused to look at me. So I pinched her butt, like we used to do to annoy each other when we were dating. It surprised her, even confused her.

“Assi came to visit me at the store,” I said.
“And…” she glanced at me.
“He stabbed me with a fork.”
“Too bad it wasn’t a pitchfork,” she looked at me for a few seconds and must have seen something that changed her mind, because she picked up a book from the couch and handed it to me.

I read Romi a story about a turtle who wanted to be a butterfly, and the night lamp painted colorful animals on the walls. She fell asleep before the end, where the turtle, drawn in black and white the whole book, suddenly glowed with colors. And even though it was a predictable and silly ending, I teared up, and stroked her tiny, sweet fingers, moving with the rhythm of her dreams, and I couldn’t understand how in the same world horror and love could live side by side.

And I thought of Sergei, of his wife, of the baby in her belly, of corpses and kisses, screams and butterflies, and everything inside me stormed and raged and cried… and I didn’t run from it… I didn’t run. I didn’t run.

I know far too many people like this brave man. Far too many Israeli friends that have been through hell and back since October 7th. Rami Davidian, the farmer who saved 750 people from the Nova Festival on October 7th – the look in his eyes as he told us how he untied dead women from the trees he was looking at, their bodies abused, to give them dignity, is something I will never forget.

I have heard stories from my friend Yaron about October 7th, the first four months of the war in Gaza, and the most recent hostage release during the last ceasefire, that I will never forget. There are more that he cannot share. My friend Tal goes back into reserves in what seems like every other week. I’ve been to army bases, had barbecues with IDF soldiers and families from Kibbutz Alumim. Hearing the members of Kibbutz Alumim who fought the terrorists on October 7th is something I will never forget. As one member pointed out the 3 places he was shot that day, the places where bullets still remain in his body, I often wonder how, or if, they will ever recover.

Then I think about the work Dror Israel is doing with children and families in Israel. I think about Hapoel Jerusalem Football Club and the work they are doing with Trauma Soccer and their neighborhood leagues which get Jewish and Arab children in Jerusalem to play and learn together. I think about Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z’l), one of the leaders of their fan club and how much a future of peace and healing mattered to him. I think about Israel Volunteer Corp-Sword of Iron, mobilizing a community of over 44,000 people who want to volunteer in Israel to help rebuild both the physical and emotional state of the country. I think about what I do and what else I could do, to make a difference.

The Jewish people and the citizens of Israel have a long road ahead of us – first to win this war against evil and get the hostages back, and secondly to recover from what we have seen and what we face on a daily basis. It won’t be easy but we can do it together.

My question to you is what will you do? Will you be like Talia and Assi and do the difficult thing to help? Will you stand by while the author of that piece and so many others suffer in silence? Will you shake your head in sadness at the murder of ​Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left a Jewish communal event or at the firebombing in Boulder during a peaceful march to have the hostages in Gaza returned or will you take action and do your part.

History is waiting to be written – the question is what will your role be. I hope that the writer of the piece in Danny Gordis’ “Israel from the Inside” inspires you to take action. I know it inspired me to do more.

If not now, when?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

This week, the bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, an Israeli who held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and her husband, Gad Haggai, 72, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, were recovered in Gaza and returned to Israel. Let that statement sink in. They were innocent civilians, murdered by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Murdering them wasn’t enough for Hamas. They had to take their dead bodies and bring them back to Gaza, further tormenting their families. Almost 20 months later, their bodies were found by the IDF and returned to Israel for burial.

This is outrageous. Murdering innocent senior citizens is horrific. Kidnapping their bodies to cause more emotional harm is inhuman. Yet the world wasn’t bothered by this. It was almost a non-story with no outrage. The fact that there remain 56 hostages in Gaza, 20 months later, and that 36 of them are dead bodies doesn’t cause the world any agita.

Judi Weinstein Haggai (z’l) and Gad Haggai (z’l). May their memories always be a blessing.

The United Nations security council, on the same day that the bodies of Judi and Gad were recovered, attempted to pass a resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza without linking it to the release of hostages. The United States veto stopped the other 14 other members of the council who voted in favor of the resolution from this bigoted resolution. The resolution described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory while not assessing any of the blame to the UN or Hamas. The UN doesn’t deliver the aid and Hamas steals the aid and sells it on the black market. The UN fails to support the efforts of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) who on its most recent day of operations distributed 1,441,440 meals and who over the 8 days of their operation have delivered approximately 8.48 million meals, all without the corruption of the UN or allowing Hamas to steal from them. How do we know that the GHF is actually working? Hamas and the UN are doing everything they can to shut it down. It’s a threat to their power. It’s a threat to their control. We see Hamas shooting those trying to get food from GHF.

Video of Hamas shooting and killing Gazans lining up to get food

With Hamas losing control and the people of Gaza believing they can speak their minds without the risk of being killed or having their family killed. As they speak out publicly, a different story is being told that what the media and the UN have been feeding the world. This is why you don’t see it on any media – it goes against their agenda. Watch and listen yourself.

Listen to the people of Gaza speak directly without the lies of the UN or the media

Despite the words of the people of Gaza, despite the proof of no famine and food getting directly to the people in Gaza through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, countries such as England, France, and Canada continue to blame Israel and try to force peace without the hostages being returned and without Hamas being removed from power. The antisemitism is coming from leadership of many countries along with people who need to have a cause to fight for because they have no meaning in their lives and need to find somebody to blame or need a cause to fight for, regardless of whether it is just or righteous. People like Greta Thunburg, who had her fifteen minutes of fame and needs to find a way to be back in the public eye. What better than to blame the Jews to become popular again? Why not take a small ship with enough food for those on it and a few people in Gaza, publicize it to the world, knowing you won’t make a difference but will get lots of media coverage. People like her care more about their own image and their own PR than the people of Gaza. They’d rather align themselves with Hamas, a terrorist organization, to get visibility and remain in the public eye.

Greta Thunburg once stood for something – now she’s just another Jew hater

Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national, was working in agriculture in the south of Israel on October 7th. He isn’t Jewish, isn’t Israeli, but was working in Israel which was enough for Hamas to kidnap and then murder him. This week, Israel recovered his body. That’s the evil of Hamas. They are born of hate. They feed on hate. If you are not part of Hamas or supporting Hamas in some way, you are a target of Hamas. Too many people don’t want to accept the truth. They want to find humanity where there is none. They’d rather see an underdog than true evil. They chant ‘Globalize the intifada’ and when it comes to them, to their city, to their neighborhood, and affects their lives, they will wonder what happened and try to find somebody else to blame.

Nattapong Pinta (z’l)

So we continue to fight. We fight Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran. We fight the Jew haters in the UN, France, and England. We fight those in Ireland and Australia who are terrorizing Jews under the guise of Israel. We don’t let people like Greta Thunberg, the members of the band Green Day, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandan, Kanye West, Cynthia Nixon, John Cusak, Roger Waters and others get away with their lies, hatred and bigotry. We wear our Stars of David, Chai’s, and Kippot proudly while ensuring we have a mezzuzah on our door to signal our pride. We thank our allies like Patricia Heaton, who has chosen to publicly support the Jewish community and created a movement of non-Jews who are putting a mezzuzah on their home to show their support publicly.

Actress Patricia Heaton putting a mezzuzahon her front door, showing her support of the Jewish community

And we both give money to help support Israel, Israelis, and our local Jewish communities while also going to Israel to volunteer and show our support. I’ve been to Israel 23 times and the last 3, all after October 7th, have not only been incredibly meaningful to me but have also been meaningful to Israelis. I will never forget all the thank you’s I received, the stunned Israeli’s who couldn’t believe I would come in the middle of a war, the leaders of the town of Shlomi, a small religious town in the north of Israel who had been relocated to a hotel in Jerusalem for well over a year who not only were inspired by seeing us in Israel but that we prayed, learned, and were proud to be Jewish.

If you have been fighting, keep fighting. If you haven’t begun fighting yet, it’s time to begin fighting. If you’ve been to Israel since October 7th, go back. If you haven’t been to Israel since October 7th, it’s time to go. As a friend of mine’s mother told her right after October 7th, “If you don’t go, you’ll never forgive yourself.” The time in now to fight for the Jewish people, for Israel, and for yourselves and your family. The words of Rabbi Hillel are often quoted and sometimes sound like a cliche. Today, they mean more to me than ever. I hope they inspire you. As he famously said, “If not now, when?”

It’s not safe to be Jewish in public any longer

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have spent the last few years writing and talking about the rise of Jew hatred. I have called out the increasing bigotry and been very vocal about the violence that was going not come if this continued. We saw it happening in Europe and I wrote and said that it was going to come to here, to the United States. We saw it in Canada and I wrote and said that it was going to come here. We saw individual assaults that were played down by the media and many in the Jewish community as ‘isolated incidents’ and I warned that it was now here and was going to get worse.

On Wednesday May 21st, two Jews, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., after attending an American Jewish Committee (AJC) event. The media chose to call them “Israeli Embassy staffers” which is where they worked, but not why they were shot and murdered. That was because they were Jews.

Many people were suddenly shocked. They had been to AJC or other Jewish events and for the first time, they realized that it could have been them. Those of us who have been warning that this was coming took no joy in their sudden realization. Two Jews were murdered because of the lies of the media, of our politicians, of the UN, and many others. For the first time, the conversation began to shift, just a little. For the first time, Jews in America had been slapped in the face and came to recognize the danger they face just for being Jewish.

Yesterday, Sunday June 1st, a domestic terrorist, filled with hatred of Jews fueled by many of our leaders, our press, and other Jew haters, threw molotov cocktails into a peaceful rally to support freeing the hostages still held by Hamas for over 600 days. Eight victims, including a holocaust survivor, were injured with a number seriously injured. A few are in critical condition. Two to Eight in 2 weeks. Being publicly Jewish or Jewish in public has become a life threatening condition.

Yet the media continues to lie. Today’s front page of the Orlando Sentinel, above the fold, highlighted a debunked claim, an outright lie, about Israel. The claim was made by Hamas and was unsubstantiated, yet many news outlets ran with it. A day after it was debunked, it was front page of the Orlando Sentinel. What about the terrorist attack in Boulder? Molotov Cocktails being thrown into a Jewish crowd? Where was that coverage?

The proof of the lie is video evidence. It was released after the claims were made. One security footage shows what was happening at the time of the alleged Israeli attack on civilians. What was happening? People peacefully lining up to get food from the new Israel NGO, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been successfully getting food to the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza receiving the food from GHF were stunned that the food was free. Since humanitarian aid has been coming into Gaza since the war began, you may wonder why they are so stunned that the food was free. It’s because the UN has allowed Hamas to take the food and Hamas has been selling the food. The complaint from the Gazan people wasn’t that there was no food, it was that the food was too expensive. That’s the free food being given as humanitarian aid. Yet the world, the media, and many of our leaders, chose to ignore this. The Free Press had a powerful article about this. I urge you to read it.

Video of what things looked like in the location of the reported Israeli shooting at the time of the alleged shooting. One problem – it’s a peaceful group of people getting their food and no shooting.

A few hours later, more video evidence was provided. This time it was footage of the shooting of Gazan people. One small problem with the lies being told that it was the IDF that murdered Gazan people. The shooter is Hamas. Our wonderful media chose not to report that either. And we wonder why people beileve the lies? It’s because the media keeps telling them. Nobody holds them accountable. Even with video evidence shown above and the video evidence below.

Video evidence of Hamas shooting and killing Gazan people. The media prefers an unverified Hamas claim to video evidence.

Where do we go from here? I was talking with a friend of mine in Denver today who said there are conversations now about whether observant Jews should walk to synagogue on Shabbat due to safety concerns. Wearing a kippah and a suit or a nice dress or outfit while walking on Saturday morning or evening is a clear indicator that you are Jewish. It’s no longer safe to do that.

I have attended many Jewish events in my life and while there was security at the venue, I walked undisturbed to my car from the venue at the end of the event. The shooting at the AJC event in DC has no longer made that safe. Walking to your parked car after a Jewish event now makes you a target. Being Jewish in public makes you a target.

A few years ago, as the rise of Jew hatred was clearly moving towards violence, I reached out to somebody I know and trust to ask if when the time came, they would hide me and my family. When I shared that, people were shocked. That reality comes a little closer every single day. When people like Bernie Sanders rail against Israel and incite people to violence and then post things like this on social media after Boulder, it’s offensive.

Bernie helped create the monsters who killed the two Jews in DC and threw the molotov cocktails in Boulder. He takes no responsibility for his part. When US Representative Rashida Tlaib still keeps up a post that has been proven to be a lie for more than 20 months after the proof, we know we are in a battle for our lives.

I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday who is physician. He glumly said to me, “I guess I have to go get my conceal carry now.” That’s the world we live in. To be Jewish and feel safe, you have to consider carrying a gun. To be Jewish and feel safe, you need to consider being armed to walk to your car, to go to the grocery store, or be anywhere in public.

The question is what are you going to do about it? Our members of Congress have issued statements but what are they going to actually do? Are they going to stay in the partisan lanes, write posts on social media, and allow (and sometimes encourage) Jew hatred or are they doing to put aside their political differences to keep us safe? Are there going to be consequences for inciting hate or are we going to allow it until the violence kills more Jews? Have we had enough or do we need to wait for the mass shooting of Jews event that will be on the horizon if we don’t act.

If you keep your head in the sand, stick with your partisan beliefs, and don’t speak out, all you have done is made yourself an easier target. I’m going to stand up, speak out and not stay silent. I’m going to do all that I can to live in a country where we don’t tolerate hate, even against Jews, who remain the only group that it is ok to publicly hate. The title of Dara Horn’s 2021 book is no longer ironic. It’s no longer acceptable

Nor is the title of David Baddiel’s 2021 book allowed to be true. Jews do count and I hope you will join me, whether you are Jewish or not, in making sure that Jews do count, that violence against Jews is not tolerated, and that Jews can once again feel safe being in public.

It’s a sad day in America when American citizens don’t feel safe being in public because of hatred and bigotry. Because our leaders and the media incite hate and then, like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ihan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, vocal antisemites and Jew haters, try to distance themselves from the violence they helped create by issuing pithy statements on social media. It’s time to call them out. It’s time to call out the media for their lies. It’s time to stand against hate including antisemitism. Or find the person who will hide you and your family. The choice is yours.

Speaking out against Jew hatred

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

A college friend forwarded me this post on LinkedIn by a friend of hers from childhood. In her own words, “I grew up w Joel. He is the best in his profession. He composes music for ads & commercials. He wrote the music for 7 commercials that ran during this years Super Bowl. He is a giant in the industry.” When I read his post I was horrified and inspired. I was angry and I was proud. I could relate. It’s personal. For all of us.

Last year, I was honored to be named Jury President for Music & Sound Craft at the 2025 The One Club for Creativity. I’ve supported The One Club for decades as a sponsor, advocate, judge, and multi-award winner. JSM has earned dozens of One Show Pencils and topped the One Show Global Creative Rankings both globally and domestically.

Shortly after accepting, I received an email from the CEO and Board stating that my personal social media posts unapologetically condemning antisemitism and supporting the Jewish people were “too much” and “triggering” to some at the Club. They said such posts would not be “tolerated.” They objected specifically to my use of the word eradicate when describing what I hoped would happen to the terrorists of October 7. They didn’t like my post celebrating the IDF’s elimination of Sinwar, the architect of 10/7, who raped, mutilated, burned babies, and held hostages. My expression of joy in his demise, they said, was also “too much.”

I refused to accommodate and resigned.

They knew my nephew serves in the IDF. This isn’t theoretical. It’s personal. My values, my family, my identity, my people were under attack. Again.

In a follow-up call, TOCC leadership asked what they could do to keep me. I requested one simple thing: a specific, standalone statement condemning antisemitism—like they’ve done for BLM, LGBTQ+, AAPI, Ukraine, and others. Instead, they sent a vague, diluted message grouping antisemitism with racism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, etc., scheduled to run on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

I told them how tone-deaf and offensive that was. They refused to revise it. And then… said nothing. Complete silence. No statement at all. No support for Jewish creatives in our industry. No condemnation of antisemitism.

I also pointed out that only 1 of 42 board members is Jewish, despite generations of Jewish creatives who helped shape this industry. I can name at least 100 deserving Jewish creative leaders off the top of my head. That silence and lack of representation speaks volumes.

I formally cut all ties. I won’t support any organization, especially in my industry, that refuses to condemn antisemitism. This was a choice. And a refusal.

Many urged me to stay quiet. That going public might hurt the business I’ve built over 35 years.

I can’t.

I will not be silenced. Not now. Not ever. And certainly not by an ad awards show that acts as moral authority on every issue and condemns all forms of hate, except Jewish hate by consciously and purposely remaining silent while Jews are hunted, threatened, and murdered. Again.

I was a Jew before JSM. I’ll be a Jew after JSM.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Joel isn’t the only one who faces this type of Jew hatred, discrimination, and expectation to just accept it. It happens to most of us every day and we don’t even see it or realize it. Some of us even think it’s acceptable because we have ‘privilege’. We cannot stay quiet in the face of this hatred. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and hope that it will just go away or leave us alone. History has shown us that it never does. It comes for us all in the end. We must fight back. We must stand up and speak out. Staying quiet isn’t an option. Joel isn’t. Neither should any of us.

Britain suspended free trade talks with Israel and the EU said it will review whether Israel is violating the human rights clause of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. France, the U.K. and Canada threatened  sanctions against Israel. All because Israel refuses to let Hamas, a terrorist organization still holding Israeli hostages, stay in power to murder, rape, and kidnap more Israelis. They think we are the same Jews of the past who meekly hid and accepted our fate. They are 100% wrong. Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke up powerfully about this today.

“The world is telling us to end the war,” Netanyahu said, in the first press conference he has held in Israel since December. “I am prepared to end the war according to clear conditions: Hamas lays down its weapons, steps down from power, returns all the hostages, Gaza is demilitarized and we implement the Trump plan” to relocate residents of Gaza. Whoever is calling for us to end the war is calling for Hamas to stay in power,”

Love him or hate him, Bibi won’t just accept our fate as Jews to be that of victims. Neither should we. Joel showed us how to stand up and speak out. Bibi showed us how to do it. The question is, what will you do? Will you be like Joel and stand up and speak out despite the personal risk? Will you stand up to Jew hatred in the face of your ‘friends’ like Bibi is doing to the UK, France, Canada, and the EU or will you fold because they are your ‘friends’?

The choice is yours. Take the risk now or wait for the inevitable that has happened over and over again for thousands of years? I know what I am doing. I’m going to stand up and speak out. I’m going to fight Jew hatred publicly, no matter the personal cost.