Every day I wake up and the war between Hamas and Israel is continuing.  The hostages remain in the tunnels in captivity.  Some are dead, some being sexually abused, some being physically abused.  None getting needed medication.  Iran continues to provide resources to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi’s in Yemen. 

I never thought I would say this, but I wish the world was silent about all of this.  “Why?” you may ask.  Because rather than condemn the terrorists of Hamas who still have American hostages among those they kidnapped, instead of condemning Iran, instead of demanding that the Houthi’s and Hezbollah stop firing rockets at Israel, the world condemns Israel for fighting for survival. 

I wish I could say it was just the non-Jewish world.  Our history as a people, for thousands of years, has us as our own worst enemies.  Facing persecution, facing death, facing evil, we have a history of defending those who persecute and kill us, those who are evil, all while condemning ourselves.  I don’t know why we do this.  I wish I knew.  I wish I could figure out a way to stop it.  Just like in Germany, we defend those who hate us all the way into the gas chambers.

I am amazed at those who call this war genocide.  The definition of genocide is, “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.”  It is clear that is not what Israel is doing.  How do we know this?  First because according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the Palestinian population has increased about 10 times since the War of Independence in 1948.  Even more recently, according to the PCBS, displacement of more than 200,000 Palestinians, with the majority of them to the Palestinian country of Jordan, after the 1967 war, the Palestinian world population was 14 million by the end of 2022.  This means that the number of Palestinians in the world has doubled since 1967.  That goes against the definition of genocide.   Secondly, during this current war, if Israel wanted to destroy the Palestinian people in Gaza, they could have just bombed the entire country and killed all the people there in a matter of days.  Instead, they have chosen to be more surgical in their efforts, doing their best to avoid civilian casualties whenever possible.   Once again, you do not attempt destroy a nation or group of people by doing all you can to save civilians.

The other thing that amazes me is when people talk about this being the worst loss of civilian life in conflict. The facts simply don’t back that up.  According to the UN and the Red Cross, there are usually 9 civilians killed in armed conflict for every military person killed.  That means 90% of all deaths in armed conflict are civilians.  Iraq Body Count figures from 2003 to 2013 indicate that 77% of casualties were civilians. So how does the war between Hamas and Israel compare?  If we use the statistics provided by Hamas, which nobody really believes is accurate, the ratio is somewhere between 1:1 and 1.2:1.  That means Israel is 8-9 times BETTER than the world average and 7 times better than the US in Iraq.  And that’s using the numbers provided by Hamas!

Just this week, Israel tragically and accidentally bombed trucks from the World Central Kitchen, killing 7 of the aid workers.  It is a horrible tragedy.  There is no excuse for it.  And Israel hasn’t made any excuses.  Israel admitted it was a mistake and they were in the wrong.  They did an investigation, identified what happened, held those accountable whose actions resulted in the bombing and these deaths, and vowed to learn from this mistake.  Listen to an interview by friend Fleur Hassan- Nahoum, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. She, and Israel, isn’t hiding from what happened or how awful it is.

In October of 2015, the US initiated an airstrike against a Doctors Without Borders trauma center and killed at least 42 people including 14 hospital staff members and at least 24 patients.  The investigation found that human errors, fatigue, process, and equipment failures were at fault in the deadly airstrike.  US Central command said that, “These factors contributed to the ‘fog of war,’ which is the uncertainty often encountered during combat operations.”

In August of 2021, the US made a mistake and fired a hellfire missile in Kabul, accidentally killing 10 civilians, 7 of which were children.  When I was attending the Israel-American Council Summit in Austin, Texas last year, my Uber driver had recently gotten out of the military.  He was in Afghanistan during this time and during the botched withdrawal of the troops there.  The stories he told me were horrible.  The mistakes and errors made turned my stomach.  I felt terrible about how we, America, treated the people who served in Afghanistan and those who were our allies in Afghanistan.  It was understood that we messed up and made mistakes and that this happens in war. 

Every other country in the world gets the grace of making mistakes in war.  Not Israel, the Jewish nation.  Once again, Israel is held to a different standard.  I have said repeatedly that war is terrible.  We should do everything we can to avoid war. When you can’t avoid war and you must take on evil, you must defeat it.  Otherwise, evil continues to grow.  Yet in today’s world, it appears there is a desire to have more evil than Jews. 

I listen to people like Bernie Sanders and even friends who are Jewish who unfairly criticize Israel.  Where was the outrage about the nearly 620,000 people killed in the Syrian civil war?  What about the more than 375,000 people killed in the Yemen civil war between 2015 and early 2022?  The 30,000 children killed by Assad in Syria. Israel is the target because it is the Jewish state and that is antisemitism and hate.

We need people like Representative Ritchie Torres, who is outspoken in his support of Israel, the need to remove Hamas, and holding Hamas responsible for this war. He speaks out against conditions of aid to Israel.

Senator Hakeem Jeffries has spoken out loudly and clearly in support of Israel. Senator John Fetterman has been one of the most vocal supporters of Israel. He speaks out publicly about the need to remove Hamas, the fact that Hamas hides behind human shields, and the need to support Israel unconditionally.

My own Senator, Rick Scott, has been vocal about his support for Israel. He tweets daily about the hostages, never letting them fall out of our thoughts.

So now that I’ve written all this, so what? Other than venting my frustrations, anger, and disappointment, what is the point? The point is that each of us have the ability to make a difference. Each of us can learn the truth. Each of us can speak out loudly. Each of us can challenge those we know when they are spewing venom at Israel that is simply wrong and unfair. Each of us can confront those who we hear are speaking untruths, talking points without substance, and spewing hate. If you want to see how it’s done and how it is done well, watch this clip of Douglas Murray during an interview with Al Jazeera. He doesn’t let the person interviewing him get away with the lies and antisemitic comments she makes.

We can support Israel and the hostages. Wear the dogtags that say “Bring them home now” or “We will dance again” or both. Get a yellow ribbon pin and wear it. Put a piece of masking tape on your shirt every day with the number of days the hostages have been in captivity. Buy things from Israel to support their economy. Be loud and proud. The people who hate us aren’t going away. They are going to be out there spewing Jew hatred in the context of Israel at synagogues, JCCs, in the streets, at people’s homes, wherever they can be. If we hide, they win.

When you are able, visit Israel. I have wanted to go since October 7th but have not because my family was worried about my safety. I love my family and was willing to wait so they felt better. I’m not willing to wait any longer. I’m going in May. You can join me if you want – it will be an amazing trip and very meaningful. I’m not sure how I will feel when I go to the site of the Nova music festival or one of the kibbutzim. I’m not sure what visiting Sderot will feel like this time – the police station, always a stop to see the rockets that were fired at them is no longer there. Being there for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut will be different this time. It will be the third time I’ve been in Israel for Israel’s memorial day and Independence Day. I already know this one will be different. I am arriving the night before the trip begins and staying two days after. I wish I could go earlier and stay even longer. I’m going on the Momentum men’s trip. Join me. If you are a woman and want to go, there is also a women’s trip and I can connect you to it so you can go.

Unlike the past, we are not powerless. We are not lambs being taken to slaughter. We have the IDF. We have Israel. We have voices and don’t have to allow the lies to be all that people hear. When people cry for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ remind them that Israel has already agreed to the ceasefire, it’s Hamas who hasn’t agreed. Don’t push Israel for a ceasefire, push Hamas. Push Qatar who houses the leaders of Hamas. And remind them that this war can end immediately if Hamas would release the hostages and surrender.

Write and call your member of Congress and your Senators. Your voice matters. Every member of Congress that I have spoken with, every Senator I have met, have said how much those calls, emails, and letters mean. You have a voice, use it. If you think it doesn’t matter or people don’t notice you are wrong. I get asked about the number on the tape or my dogtags all the time. Be inspired by Cincinnati Reds Assistant Pitching Coach Alon Leichman and his baseball glove for this season. He is making a powerful statement, “Bring them home NOW”. You can join in making that powerful statement of support and stand up to the Jew haters who want us all gone.

Don’t be silent. Don’t hide. Don’t allow them to win. We’ve been down that road before and it doesn’t end well for us.