The lies continue to grow and get more absurd. The newest one is that Israel has trained dogs to rape Palestinian women. In 2018 it was that Israel sent lizards to spy on the Iranian nuclear program.
The lie of genocide is particularly appalling. People use it because it is easy to say, a powerful word, and a way to get people to hate Israel and Jews. They like accusing Israel of it while ignoring the real genocide that occurred in Syria and what is currently happening in Sudan and to the Uyghurs in China. These are real genocides but don’t involve Jews. Gil Troy addressed this lie powerfully, writing:
Genocide means trying to wipe out a nation. For years, Gaza averaged a growth rate of 1.99 percent, 39th in the world. Having started this war, Hamas is 100% responsible for every death, especially because its terrorists hide behind Gazans and Israeli hostages. Still, Israel has minimized civilian deaths in its just war of self-defense. Urban warfare, atop hundreds of tunnels, is treacherous. A U.S.-led coalition killed 10,000 innocents to defeat ISIS in Mosul. After Oct. 7, when Israel needed to protect its civilians from Hamas, and deter others from massacring innocents, what else could Israel have done?
In fact, Jewish population in Arab countries decreased from 1948 to 2023 by 99.83%. At the same time, Arab population in Israel increased by 1,296%. That is not a genocide. When the war is over, the facts will show that it was anything but a genocide. In the meantime, we fight the lie that continues to be told over and over again.
ISRAEL IS AN APARTHEID STATE
Israel gets wrongly accused of being an Apartheid State because it’s an easy word to use, people know it is not a good thing, and most people don’t understand what it means. It’s easy to repeat, easy to write on a sign, easy to post on social media. Similar to the use of the word Genocide, it gets wrongly used by people who don’t know what they are talking about to convince other people who don’t know what it means to agree. Gil Troy explains it well when he writes:
South Africa’s racist Apartheid Regime enacted 148 laws defining people as “white,” “mixed” and “colored.” No Israeli law ever defined anyone based on race or skin color. Israeli-Arabs enjoy equal rights. In the disputed territories, Palestinians and Israelis are often kept apart based on security and/or mutual preference. But apartness is not Apartheid. The Apartheid libel tries racializing the Israeli-Palestinian national conflict. Israel’s enemies want to demonize and Nazify Israel, finding it guilty of biological racism. This charge deems Israel evil and worthy of the international death penalty, rather than a country in a complicated, painful border dispute.
Knowing this information is important to combat this lie. The facts are on Israel’s side. Too many people prefer the easy language than learning what the facts and definition are for what they are saying.
ISRAEL IS A COLONIALIST EMPIRE
Gil Troy also addressed the issue of Israel being branded a colonialist empire. He wrote:
“Colonialism” means settling a far-away land, to extract resources or extend power. Calling Israel “colonialist” negates Jews’ indigenous ties to their homeland, while rejecting Christianity too. Jesus emerged in a deeply-Jewish land of Israel also called Judea. Jews are the original aboriginal people. They put the “in” in indigenous, being tied to the same land, praying to the same God, maintaining the same traditions and culture for millennia. Whether you’re religious and believe the Bible, or historically-oriented and trust archaeological evidence – or both! — “Eretz Yisrael,” the land of Israel, has always been central to “Am Yisrael,” the Jewish people.
Archeology proves the Jews were in the land thousands of years ago. Just this week, a 3,300 year old shipwreck was found off the coast of Israel. This was a Canaanite ship – the people in the land of Israel when the Jews arrived from Egypt. That was 3,300 years ago!
The archeological finds show the history of the Jews in Israel goes back thousands of years, not just to 1948. The City of David, built by King David, has been excavated. You can see the underground original city of Jerusalem from King David’s time at various locations in Jerusalem. The Crusader capital city of Akko has been excavated and you see what things looked like in the 1100-1200s. The Tombs of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs in Hebron go back even before the Canaanites to the time of Abraham. In Rome, they have the painting on the Arch of Titus showing the Romans coming back after sacking Jerusalem, carrying the great menorah from the Temple. Yet the lies continue.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said the silver coin shows the obverse face with the chalice in the center, and above it the letter “Aleph” marking Year 1 of the outbreak of the revolt, and the inscription “half-shekel,” the value of the coin. (Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority.)
ISRAEL IS CREATING A FAMINE IN GAZA
Israel continues to be blamed for the food crisis in Gaza despite the antisemitic UN saying there is more than enough food coming into Gaza. The problem remains UNRWA giving the food to Hamas instead of the people. Yet the media refuses to cover it and the Jew haters continue to state the lie over and over again. You can read the UN report here.
There isn’t a question that the people of Gaza are not getting food. It is not because of Israel not sending food and aid nor is it because Israel is blocking the aid from entering Gaza. There are plenty of pictures of the aid piled up, waiting for UNRWA to pick it up and distribute it. The food stays there for days. The food and supplies end up with Hamas. As Israel clears the tunnels and other military encampments in schools and other places, they find more and more of the stolen aid. The people of Gaza have commented that the food and aid is too expensive for them to buy. This FREE aid is being sold on the black market instead of going to the people. This is Hamas and UNRWA, yet the blame is put on Israel.
Mike Fegelman, the Executive Director of Honest Reporting Canada, wrote a great article about the famine lie in the National Post. In it he states, “Not only is there a paucity of evidence to suggest there is an ongoing famine in Gaza, there is an overwhelming amount of data showing precisely the opposite: in addition to locally produced food, huge amounts of humanitarian aid enters the territory on a daily basis, thanks to Israel.”
ISRAEL IS KILLING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Every day, you will see new reports that are not cited nor documented by any facts, about more Gazan civilians being killed by Israel with almost all of them reported to be women and children. This is another big lie. The Gazan health ministry is run by Hamas, and they say whatever they want for the headlines. People make up facts.
In this BBC article, they report that on May 6, 2024, the UN reported 34,735 deaths – of which there were 9,500 women and 14,500 children, citing the Government Ministry Office (GMO) as its source. Two days later, the UN released a further report, switching its sourcing to the health ministry. The result of this was that although the overall recorded death toll was almost unchanged (34,844), the number of registered deaths of women (4.959) and children (7,797) had both fallen nearly 50%. They consider children anybody under 18, so any Hamas terrorists who were 16 or 17 are not being counted as terrorists but as children.
I chose to cite the BBC article and its statistics because they are not a fan of Israel. They are typically anti-Israel so the facts really stand out.
The death tolls being reported include NO Hamas terrorist numbers. They include every natural death, and everybody murdered by Hamas. The data is unreliable and has been proven to be unreliable. Each time more research is done, the death toll changes, just like the famine issue was changed. It is important to know the lie and to be able to address it. The lie gets front page news, the correction and the truth gets buried on page 10 inside.
In a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1910, Teddy Roosevelt spoke strongly about leadership. He talked about those who actually get in the ring and fight. Those who take action and those who take risks. If you want to end the lies, you must get in the arena and challenge them. You must be the person Teddy Roosevelt talked about when he said:
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt at the Sorbonne giving the historic speech
Are you willing to get in the arena? Are you willing to fight? To strive valiently for a worthy cause? I am. Come join me.
***Gil Troy’s full article about 12 Tough Questions and Simple Answers About Israel can be found here.
The amount of lies, misstatements, and falsehoods I have seen since October 7th are truly amazing. I had stopped watching most major media news because of their agendas a while ago. I now see their ‘highlights’ on social media and it disgusts me even more. Critical analysis is to be expected. Factual and fair discussions are to be expected. Disagreements on policy is to be expected. None of that is what we are getting.
What we are getting is truly unethical journalism. It’s agenda based, largely focused on Jew hatred. What we are getting is completely unanalyzed propaganda being spread as fact. I remember going through Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum, the first few times and wondering how that type of crazy propaganda actually worked. We are now seeing it in real life, in real time.
I watch somebody like Piers Morgan go for ratings instead of the facts. I listen to him say the most ridiculous things to get views and clicks on social media. When faced with the facts, he chooses to bulldoze over people and shout them down unless they push back powerfully and argue with him. Which then gets him more views, more clicks, and more ratings. He is now the news version of Jerry Springer. Watch his interaction with Fleur Hassan-Nahoum. He could have asked, “Why don’t Palestinians have the same rights as Americans?” When caught, he quickly shuts down the conversation.
What do the Palestinians want exactly ? Ignorance and hypocrisy in one short clip. Do they want a one state or a two state solution? Even @PiersUncensored is confused 🤦🏽♀️ pic.twitter.com/ZtyohRmE5v
— פלר חסן נחום Fleur Hassan-Nahoum (@FleurHassanN) June 6, 2024
I listen to what Christiane Amanpour says regularly and it makes me sick. A once respected journalist is a shill for terrorists and those who hate Jews. When interviewing people from the UN, UNRWA or UNICEF, she never bothers to ask why Hamas terrorists are being found in their schools and medical clinics. She doesn’t seem to wonder why the entrance to Hamas tunnels are found near the UNRWA schools and clinics. She is happy to highlight that the people near the schools and clinics are in danger but leaves out the reason why – the connection to Hamas. She is happy to report on the Israeli people being unhappy with Netanyahu but neglects to discuss that there is an electoral process that will enable them to choose somebody else. She fails to discuss how Abbas is now in year 20 of a 5 year term or how Hamas has been in power since 2005 with no opportunity for the people to select another form of government.
The lies I see in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal or told on the nightly national news make my stomach turn. I’ve been to Israel since October 7th and am going back in a few weeks. I see the pain and struggle of the Israeli people. I see the impact of the war and how everybody wants it to end as soon as possible. The hostages are on the minds of everybody, and their return is felt throughout the country. Other than far right extremists, nobody is talking about taking Gaza in a land grab. They are talking about a military grab of the hostages. They are talking about eliminating Hamas and their leadership as a risk to Israel.
On my last trip I went to both Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the site of the Nova music festival. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. At Kfar Aza I saw what Hamas did. I had seen it on the 47-minute Hamas video and other clips. I saw it in the Sheryl Sandberg documentary, “Screams of Silence”. Yet standing there, listening to the story of each family at each house, burned my insides. Seeing the street of young people where EVERY SINGLE PERSON was either killed or taken hostage was brutal and I’m not sure I will ever truly recover from that. Walking up to the back gate where the Hamas terrorists came through followed by the second and third wave of ‘innocent Gazans’ who came to rob the people they had become friends with and ate lunch and dinner with regularly, was infuriating. Seeing how close Jabaliyah was (less than a mile from the gate, less than half a mile from the back of the Kibbutz) was a bit shocking. Knowing I could walk to Jabaliyah in 10 minutes or less from the Kibbutz was a reality check. These are the things the media doesn’t show to the masses.
Jabaliya from the back of Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The fence is halfway to the back. It’s less than 1 mile away.All those killed or taken hostage at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th.
I listen to the cries for a cease fire, and I wonder what these people are thinking. A cease fire with people who say they will do what they did on October 7th over and over and over again until all the Jews are dead? How do you have a cease fire with that type of person? You certainly can’t trust them to keep their word. You know that it’s only temporary and the end result will be even more people killed. It seems that the long-standing complaints about our education system are finally showing themselves with so many people unable to do any critical thinking or analysis. Before September 11, 2001, I understood American’s lack of understanding about the risk of terrorism because we had not experienced it. After 9/11 I can’t understand the desire to defend terrorists, especially those who merely call Israel, “Little Satan” because the United States is the “Great Satan”. They openly call for our destruction and American’s still defend them. Who have we raised? Where is basic intelligence?
In the last week, I have begun to see the next wave of this propaganda. Israel is now going to take over Lebanon in the next land grab. The bombs Israel is dropping and the attacks they are involved with in Lebanon are somehow not related at all to Hezbollah sending rockets into Israel on a daily basis for the past month. The fact that Israeli’s who live in that northern area have been evacuated for months due to the bombing by Hezbollah is ignored. Israel fighting back to keep her citizens safe isn’t reported. Once again, it is framed as Israeli (Jewish) aggression and a land grab. They are denying that Arab nations kicked out Jews and that Jews left freely of their own will. They deny their own Judenfrei stated goals. The lies continue.
France has banned Israeli citizens and companies from attending a defense technology trade show.
The Maldives banned everybody with an Israeli passport from entering, now creating an issue for the Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Baha’i Israelis. That’s because the Maldives really only intended to ban Jews and is now trying to find a way to backtrack.
The tent cities are popping back up on college campuses, now not covered by the media because interest in that story has passed. Gabby Deutch highlighted in her X posting that, “The New Republic, a historic institution in American journalism, has a writer covering antisemitism who spent the morning of Oct. 7, after the crimes of Hamas were clear, calling the actions a “rebellion” & writing “good morning” above a picture of the attack.”
Just today, the Department of Education brought the first cases brought since October 7th to a close, finding that The University of Michigan and CUNY didn’t adequately investigate campus antisemitism and Islamophobia There are still more than 100 cases open. Think about that. 100 open cases on college campuses in the United States where they have not protected Jewish students from antisemitism.
This is the world we live in today. I know most people who read this know most of this already. The key is for those of us who know, to keep learning. For those of us who don’t know to learn. And for everybody to educate those who don’t know. There are plenty of people who hate Jews and do this intentionally. There are far more who simply know nothing and believe what they see or read because they don’t have a way to get information. This weekend, I spent time with some friends in Central Illinois. I had a long conversation with one of them who told me he really didn’t know. He didn’t believe what he was reading and seeing because it made no sense, but he didn’t know the history. He didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t know the basic facts. That’s our job. To educate. To challenge the lies. To show proof. When they claim there were no rapes, we need to shout them down and show the facts. When they claim Israel murdered the Israelis on October 7th, we need to shout them down and show the facts, the Hamas self taken videos.
As my friend said today, it’s time to play offense. As Jews, we have hidden or played defense for thousands of years. Playing defense is no longer acceptable. We need to play offense. We need to be educating those who don’t know. We need to be speaking out loudly about what is going on. We need to challenge the lies. We know from our many thousands of years of history that it never just goes away. We can’t hide and escape. Just as Israel is fighting back from the pogrom of October 7th, so must we, in the diaspora, fight back against the lies and hatred since October 7th. Never again is now. How will you answer your grandchildren when they ask what you did to protect the Jewish people after October 7th? This is your chance to choose your answer.
There hasn’t been a lot of joy since October 7th. Sure, there have been family simchas. There have been birthdays and anniversaries. Life continues which means meaningful events occur, but there hasn’t been much sheer joy. Briefly when the hostages were released in December after 50 days of captivity. There has been a lot of stress, a lot of grieving, a lot of worry about friends and family members serving in the IDF. Concern with the rise of antisemitism on campus and in our cities and towns.
This morning was joy. It was announced that four (4) of the hostages were rescued from the market in Nuseirat. They were being held captive in private homes by ‘civilians’. The same ‘civilians’ that participated on October 7th. The same ones that held hostages after October 7th. The same ones that hide guns and rockets in their children’s bedrooms, a baby’s crib, in the schools and in the hospitals.
Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir Jan (21), Andrey Kozlov (27) and Shalom Ziv (40) are free today. The IDF had a very detailed and daring rescue planned and got them out. They were being held in “civilian homes’.
Almog Jan spoke after being released and said that they were moved from house to house during the 8 months of captivity. When the media and other groups talk about the innocent people being killed, remember that the innocent people helped with October 7th. They were involved with the second and third waves of the attack. They turn their homes into military bases, even their children’s rooms and baby’s cribs. They hide hostages in their homes. The definition of ‘innocent’ seems to not fit very well.
The rescue of the hostages has reverberated throughout the Jewish world. Friends in Israel reached out with a joy I haven’t heard in a long time. Friends in the US shared their excitement and gratitude. It has been the topic of the day. These two videos are what it is all about. It’s the importance of Jewish community. They are why we want and need Israel. When I read that Noa Argamani said, ‘There was a knock on the door. A voice said, “It’s the IDF. We’ve come to take you home.’” I got chills.
Noa Argamani reuniting with her father. I cried watching this.
As wonderful as the news of the rescue of the hostages was, there was sad news as well. Arnon Zamora (z’l), an IDF soldier who was a part of the force that broke into the apartment where the hostages were being held, was severely injured during a battle, and later died in the hospital. This brave IDF soldier risked, and lost, his life for Israel, for the Jewish people, and for the hostages. Arnon left behind a wife and two children. On October 7th, he led the battle at the Yad Mordechai Junction, eliminating dozens of terrorists and preventing the terrorists from infiltrating northwards. He then went on to fight in the battle at Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Kibbutz Be’eri. Unlike America, who still does nothing to rescue the American hostages in Gaza, Israel takes action. Arnon knew the risks. He also understood that rescuing the hostages was far more than saving these four people. It was saving a nation. It was saving the Jewish people. What a hero. What a huge loss. What a lesson. What an inspiration.
Arnon Zamora (z’l), killed in the rescue of the four hostages. May the memory of this hero always be for a blessing.
Almog Meir, shown above with his grandfather, learned today that his father died today. When they went to notify Yossi Meir about his son, they found his body. Yossi died before learning his son was alive and had been rescued. I can’t think of much worse for a parent, not knowing if your child is alive or what type of abuse they are undergoing as a hostage. Almog celebrates his freedom by preparing for the funeral of his father a day later. I can’t imagine what he is going through. Hamas stole his time with his father and may even be the reason his father died, so worried about the fate of his son.
Those who hate Israel and Jews have already come out strong with criticism. They focus on the approximately 200 dead and 400 injured in Gaza during the rescue. They like to overlook the fact that the hostages were kept in personal homes. They like to forget that the market and the UNRWA camp had become Hamas military installations. They don’t like to admit that Hamas firing at the IDF killed many of the people. They call them ‘innocent civilians’ despite the fact that they participated in the keeping of the hostages, they allowed Hamas to have military bases inside their community, and were actively involved with Hamas.
They also use the pictures of Noa Argamani and claim that she wasn’t raped (we don’t know if she was or wasn’t on October 7th or since then) so there was no sexual violence or rape by Hamas and that she gained weight so was treated great and somehow got food when there is none available and Gazans are starving. In their rapid Jew hatred, they actually are proving that UNRWA is giving the food to Hamas and not the people. They are showing their Jew hatred because Noa isn’t pregnant which automatically means there was no rape or sexual violence by Hamas. The rabid antisemitism is unbearable to watch especially with the lies they spread.
They criticize the tactical approach Israel used which involved pretending to be humanitarian vehicles to get into the area. They neglect all the times Hamas has used ambulances, hospitals, schools, and mosques to attack Israel and Jews. It’s a very self-indulgent approach to attack Israel and the Jews. It is their pattern. We cannot allow it to continue. We must call out the lies every time we hear or read them. We must call out the Jew hatred and antisemitism when we see it.
The IDF showed us today the importance of fighting back. We each have that responsibility. We cannot allow the lies and half-truths to stand unchallenged. We cannot allow the facts to be manipulated and twisted. At my age, I can’t join the IDF to fight back but I can fight back with advocacy, with knowledge, and with relationships. I can stand up and speak out. I wear my Magen David everywhere. I wear my dogtags for ‘We will dance again’ and for ‘Bring then home now’. I wear my lapel pins, one for the hostages and one with the US and Israeli flag on it. I wear short sleeves to show off my ‘We will dance again’ and ‘Nova’ tattoos.
The world we live in is one filled with Jew hatred. We have a choice. We can fight back or we can try to hide. Throughout history, our attempts to fit in and hide have not worked. Fighting back has been the only way to ensure our safety. I choose to fight back. Just like the IDF rescuing the 4 hostages today by fighting back, so will I fight back. I refuse to run and hide. I refuse to pretend I am not Jewish and try to fit in, hoping that they will leave me alone. Those who side with evil because they hope they will be spared should look at history. It never works out that way.
Israel and the IDF showed us how we fight back today. They showed us how every Jew matters. They inspired us. Now it’s our turn to show them how we fight back. How every Jew matters to us. We need to inspire them. We fight back by speaking up. We fight back by writing to our legislators and holding them accountable. We fight back by voting and making sure the incumbants and challengers know that Israel matters to us. We insire our Israeli brothers and sisters by our actions. We visit Israel to show them we care and they matter. We visit the Kibbuzim that were devastated on October 7th, the Nova festival site, the displaced Israelis from the North and the South, and soldiers on bases to give them a hug and remind them that they matter to us. After my trip to Israel in May, it became clear how important just showing up was to Israelis. I’ll be back in July in part to do the same thing all over again.
Today was a great day as 4 hostages were rescued. There are 120 more to get home. The leadership of Hamas must be stopped. There is a lot left to do. One of the famous sayings in Pirke Avot, the Ethics of our Fathers, is, “You are not required to finish your work, yet neither are you permitted to desist from it.” This holds true with the war in Gaza. We must engage. We must fight back. The world thinks they can bully us and as the IDF showed today, they are wrong. Let’s make sure they see it from all of us.
Every day, I find myself getting more and more frustrated at the lack of leadership in our Jewish communities, in our country, and around the world. The rise of Jew hatred is not just what we see on college campuses. It’s not just the ICC and the charges from South Africa that other countries are now joining. It’s not just the shooting at Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal or a synagogue in Vancouver. There is a systemic effort going on to make us think we are safe while the walls close around us. We are once again putting our heads in the sand and failing to see what is actually happening. This scares me.
As things in the north of Israel are now literally on fire, we have reached a new point in both the war and the Jew hatred around the world. Israel has been attacked from the south and many people are no longer living there while the war in Gaza continues. Evacuations from the north are well known but not appreciated. Kiryat Shemona, where I have visited numerous times, now has only 8 houses left standing because of the bombing. Iran has said any offensive by Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon will result in a full war with Iran. And yet the United States continues to kowtow to Iran and its role as the number one sponsor of state terror in the world. Israel is literally being squeezed from three sides (the third is the Mediterranean Sea). How much longer before the terrorists get an uprising in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria to squeeze Israel on all four sides while the United States plays games with Iran and our upcoming election? This chalkboard image describes a scary future.
My great-grandfather told us that once, we could go traveling in Syria.
My grandma told that once, we used to be able to travel in Lebanon.
Mom tells me that once we could travel in the Galilee.
And yet, as Jews in the diaspora we continue to fight with each other. We continue to ignore the existential threat to ourselves and work to defend those who openly declare their hatred and desire to murder us. The Jewish apologists in the diaspora, specifically in America make me physically ill. Their efforts not only undermine Israel, they put every Jew in America at risk. They encourage the hatred of Jews by legitimizing it. The encourage attacks on Jews by legitimizing it.
Former Staff member of the US Department of the Interior, Lily Greenberg Call, was quoted as saying,
Instead of fighting for peace and the end of Hamas, true evil, her ‘Jewish values’ requires her to sacrifice the lives of Jews. Instead of being a Queen Esther, a Hannah Senesh, a Golda Meir, she gives up the ability to save Jewish lives. This is the same thinking in Spain prior to 1492 and in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. It is what led to the destruction of the 2nd Temple by the Romans in 70 and our 2,000-year exile. We refuse to learn. We refuse to stand up for ourselves and fight back. Thankfully we have Israel now who fights back. Israel inspires many of us in the diaspora to also fight back and not put our heads in the sand. Lily Greenberg Call represents a generation that would have Jews eliminated because of their sense of fairness. They, like generations before them, believe that if they stand with those who hate Jews, they will treated as if they aren’t Jews. That never works out. History has shown us that a Jew is a Jew is a Jew.
Somebody I follow on Twitter posted this.
I would add to the bottom, “Don’t defend their actions.” the Lily Greenberg Calls of the world excuse this behavior and blame the victim. The wouldn’t do this for any other group, just for Jews. It is amazing how quickly the world has forgotten the horrors of October 7th. Of the videos made by Hamas of what they were doing that day. I’ll never forget the joy in the voice of the Hamas man who was telling his parents that he personally murdered 10 ‘Yehuds’ (Jews). The joy in his father’s voice. How proud his mother was of him. I’ll never forget watching a terrorist behead a Jewish man on October 7th. Of the father jumping on a grenade to save his children who, traumatized, are taken to their kitchen by the terrorist while he gets a drink. The pain in their voices will never leave my mind. I’ll never forget walking through Kibbutz Kfar Aza and seeing the destruction from not just Hamas, but the second and third wave of Gazan civilians who came in and did more damage, robbed and mutilated Jewish bodies. These were people who the day before had sat together, talking peace, sharing a meal, hoping for a better future. A day later, these Gazans had no problem mutilating them. My friend from the trip, Mikey, posted this on Instagram that captures the feeling of being in Kfar Aza better than I have.
I haven’t given up on the many Palestinian people I have met who do want peace. Who want to live next door to Israel. Unfortunately I am giving up on the world who would rather support terrorists that want them dead than those who want peace. Iran and their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah have been clear that they want a Caliphate. They want the world to be their type of muslim and sharia law to be the law of the world. No more England, France, or Spain. No United States, Canada, or Mexico. No China or Russia. Everywhere must follow their version of Islam and live under sharia law. It won’t take too much longer for the first of these countries to experience this impact. Some are struggling with it again. It continues to be a self-inflicted wound.
I can only hope that our American leaders wake up to the threat. That they decide it is more important to lead than it is to plan for the next election. That being a leader means you do what is needed for the benefit of the country, not what is needed for you to be re-elected. That the threat of Iran, almost a nuclear Iran, is so great that action must be taken. That the corruption of the UN, UNRWA, and the Palestinian Authority is so great than none deserve to survive. That the Abraham Accords, bringing never before seen peace in the region, are a good things and worth investing in. Saudia Arabia and Indonesia were ready to normalize relations with Israel prior to October 7th. The world was changing.
Today we have UNRWA turning their schools in Gaza into military institutions. Tunnels with openings inside or next to the schools. Weapons stored and fired from the schools. These are UNRWA schools, funded by the UN and by the world.
Tunnel opening inside the clinic, weapons in the UNRWA school. Documentation of combat team activity
In response to the anti-tank fire from the UNRWA school towards the troops, the combat team intervened in the school compound, which is also near the mosque and… pic.twitter.com/82QQcZZXP3
We have Hamas using homes as militiary bases and the world cries when these homes/bases are destroyed. The picture below was from a child’s bedroom in Gaza.
The world wants to be social justice warriors and ignore the realities. I am fearful for the future of not just the United States but the world as a whole. What happens when Europe falls? When mass casualty events are occuring in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and around the world? Are we really that far away from the post-apocalyptic world of the Mad Max movies? I’ve been watching the new TV show Fallout on Prime with my kids. Is that our near future?
I am also amazed at the power of the protesters who know nothing. They attend Ivy League universities. The attend top academic institutions and yet show their indoctrination and lack of knowledge every time they open their mouths. We all saw the Columbia woman who wanted food delivered to their illegally occupied building at Columbia. We have seen many interviews of people who don’t know what river it is nor do they know what sea it is. This woman might be the worst of them all, self proclaiming she spent a semester in Israel/Palestine yet not knowing anything when asked. She even thinks Israel is a muslim country!
I returned from Israel two weeks ago. I go back to Israel in four weeks. Just as I wasn’t sure what Israel I was going to in May, I’m not sure what Israel I will be returning to in July. Will the hostages, or at least some of them, be freed? Will there be a ceasefire? Will Hamas leadership still be in place? Will there be a full war in the north? Can we go further north than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem? What will my second visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the Nova site feel like? How will the world have changed in just the 6 weeks between visits?
Since my return from Israel, I have dug deeper into what is going on and it makes me sick the more I dig. The systemic hate. The lies that are told. Some of our ‘leaders’ who are filled with hatred and misinformation. I am usually a very optimistic person. I usually can find the good in any situation. I’m known for finding a pathway through challenges to a better place. As I sit here today, I am at a loss. As a world traveler, there are few places other than Israel that I would visit today. As an American, I don’t want to visit many of our states. Part of me thinks the only solution is what some of my Israeli friends have told me – to make Aliyah, to move to Israel where I will be safe. Yet I also know that running from the fight for security isn’t the answer either. The fight is here. There is no escaping it. Leaving it to people like the woman in the video who knows nothing isn’t acceptable. Abandoning people like Mikey who are fighting the fight here isn’t acceptable. Leaving it to apologists like Lily Greenberg Call is doing self harm and not acceptable. So I will stay and fight. I will urge you to join me. The future of the Jewish people is at stake. The future of the United States is at stake. The future of the world is at stake. Don’t sit by idly. Don’t stay uninformed or be quiet because you are afraid of the consequences of speaking out. I promise you, the price of your silences is far worse than the price of using your voice.
The words of Elie Weisel are more important now than ever.
We are the ones suffering and being humiliated. The people of Gaza are suffering and being humiliated because of Hamas, Iran, and those who would sacrifice them on the idol of Jew hatred. We cannot be silent. We cannot be neutral. We are the tormented. And we refuse to the victim once again.
Having been to Israel so many times, I know what is reported in the media isn’t true. I know they exaggerate and like to say and show what they think will draw eyes and clicks. It used to not bother me that much because it was so obviously not the truth and people would ask me about it. It used to be like that.
Since October 7th, the media’s coverage of Israel has been worse than ever. The big difference is now people believe what they are being fed is true and don’t bother asking questions. They see something on social media and that becomes the truth. A perfect example is the recent fire that occurred in Rafa after Israel dropped a bomb on Hamas terrorist leaders. The bomb was a smaller caliber one, targeted to hit an exact spot, which it did, to eliminate the terrorists (which it did). However, the terrorists had additional weapons with them that created a secondary explosion that started the fire that killed civilians.
The media was all over the fact that Israel bombed a civilian area. That Israel attacked a safe zone. That Israel was burning civilians alive. That the explosions beheaded babies. The “blame Israel” narrative from the media and on social media has been brutal. Now that Israel is responding to the daily massive rocket attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, the “blame Israel” narrative is growing. The tent cities are returning on campuses. There were shootings at Jewish Day Schools in Toronto and Montreal and a synagogue in Vancouver (luckily nobody was there when they happened so there were no injuries). Yet the media stays quiet. Since returning from Israel, what I have noticed the most is the combination of silence in defending Israel and the massive attacks on Israel and Jews from all over the place, including Jews.
I understand well-meaning Jews who care about morals and ethics having issues with the Israeli government’s decisions with the war. I don’t understand those who haven’t been to Israel or at least those who haven’t been since October 7th leading the charge against Israel. Being at Kibbutz Kfar Aza was an unbelievably powerful experience. Hearing the stories, seeing the devastation, and seeing Jabaliya so close, there was clarity in the war and the need to eliminate Hamas. Standing at the site of the Nova Music Festival, sitting in front of the pictures of those murdered or kidnapped brought clarity of the evil of Hamas. Stopping to visit the bomb shelter where Lee Sasi hid and survived while so many others died was deeply moving. When I see Jews defending Hamas or using terms like ‘genocide’ for what’s going on, I am reminded of an old joke.
Throughout our history, we continue to make the same mistake over and over and over again. We forget that we will always be Jews first. We think we are Americans. We thought we were Germans. Polish. Austrian. We aren’t. We are always Jews. So those who forget this often times are at the front line of our persecution and then are shocked when they find themselves facing the hatred they denied existed or fought to defend. When I see these Jews posting on social media or being used as props in demonstrations, it makes me sick. We know the ending as we have seen it repeatedly over the past 3,000 years.
Since I have been back from Israel, the other thing I have noticed is the pressure being put on Israel to unilaterally solve the problem without the answer being war and defeating Hamas. It’s as if Hamas never videoed the events of October 7th for the world to see. Or that they didn’t publicly state that there will be many more October 7th events in the future. UNRWA is treated as a legitimite agency despite the proof that their employees participated on October 7th, were involved in hiding the hostages, and their schools and hospitals not only store weapons for Hamas, not only are the base for tunnels built by Hamas, but Hamas uses them to fire rockets at Israel. UNRWA gets the aid coming into Gaza and somehow it ends up in the hands of Hamas instead of the people. This is the agency people are listening to about humanitarian issues – one that behaves as anything other than a humanitarian agency.
Tunnels found under an UNRWA school – they were filled with weapons.
We have a leadership crisis. In the Jewish world. In America. Around the world. In Israel. Our leaders are determined to continue doing what has failed. The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, dies in a plane crash. Raisi, The Butcher of Tehran, is then eulogized at the UN, in the US Congress. A man who murdered tens of thousands of people in Iran is treated as a great leader. Our lack of leadership is appalling and yet we do nothing about it. One of my favorite movies, The American President, addresses leadership incredibly well.
Lewis Rothschild: People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they’ll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They’re so thirsty for it they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.
President Andrew Shepherd: Lewis, we’ve had presidents who were beloved, who couldn’t find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty. They drink the sand because they don’t know the difference.
The quote begins at the 2:44 mark but the whole scene is amazing
We often get hung up on our elected leaders and think that they are the only ones who can be leaders. I’m reminded of Rami Davidian, the farmer who lives near the Nova music festival site. Rami is a farmer. A regular guy. Nobody special. Elected to nothing. And yet on October 7th, he rescued 750 people from the Nova festival while Hamas was trying to murder them. We can all be Rami. We can all step up to lead when it is our turn, elected or not. We can speak out and speak up. We can change our small part of the world which changes the entire world. We can get educated and confront those who lie and spread lies.
As Spain recognizes a Palestinian State and calls the war genocide, they quickly backtrack when they realize that by doing this they make every person in Gaza a political refugee able to enter Spain on a humanitarian visa. They quickly stopped being public about either because they realized their words and actions had consequences.
As the Maldives now refuses to allow anybody with an Israeli passport to enter the country, they will see the impact as people with resources and morals refuse to visit the Maldives and pick other options instead, hurting tourism, their top industry.
As politicians lose their seats in the upcoming election because they tell lies and support terrorists, our leaders will shift what they say and what they do.
All of this happens because we take action. We lead by our example. We stand up and speak out when we hear people telling lies about Israel and about Jews. We refuse to be silent and refuse to stand by and allow others to attack us. For generations we were visitors in other countries and so we tried to fit in and keep quiet. We wanted to stay under the radar until it was impossible and then, too late. Today, with the modern state of Israel, we have a homeland. We don’t need to stay under the radar and quiet. Yet too many of us do. Too many of us remain convinced we are Americans first. Too many of us are afraid to lose what we have by standing up and speaking out when history tells us time and time again, if we don’t stand up and speak out, we are guarnteed to lose what we have. We each get to choose if want to be lambs to the slaugher or fight back. We have our examples. Abraham argued with God about Sodom and Gemmorrah. Queen Esther risked everything for the Jewish people. Moses gave up the chance to be Pharoah and rule Egypt to serve God and the Jewish people. King David took on Goliath. Hannah Senesh risked it all and paid the ultimate price for the Jewish people. The list goes on and on.
Hannah Senesh sacrificed her life for the Jewish people
So in these crazy times that we live in, who are you going to be? Are you going to be Nachson, who bravely walked into the Red Sea until it was over his head before God parted it to save the Jewish people or are you going to be the one who served the Egyptians and the Nazis to harm the Jewish people? Are you going to speak up for Israel and the Jewish people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did or are you going to be Mark Ruffalo who constantly criticizes Israel for existing and posts his own antisemitic digs at Jews?
I choose to be Dr. King. I choose light over darkness. I choose love over hate. I choose peace over war. I choose hope over despair. I choose being Jewish over hiding who I am. I choose good over evil. I choose action over inaction. I choose speaking up over being silent. Like our historical ancestors, I choose risk to flourish over safety to hide and eventually lose everything.
We each have to make our own choice. I hope you choose wisely.
The wise choice will give you life but the wrong choice will take it from you
Processing my recent trip to Israel has been a challenge. This is my 21st trip yet the first since October 7th. In many ways, this makes it my first trip to Israel. Rather than being able to sum up the trip in one blog post, I am going to take bits and pieces and talk about them. Take bites out of this experience and share them. As I was talking to somebody this morning about the trip, we discussed how it really was an overwhelming experience filled with emotion. I’m going to begin by writing about three things.
In 2021 I participated in my first Momentum trip. One of the people on our trip was an Israeli man named Alex Malayev. While we didn’t become close friends on the trip, we did get to know each other. Throughout the years after the trip, we kept in touch through our WhatsApp group. He shared with us in the group that his son Yoav was in the IDF and killed fighting Hamas on October 7th. It was devastating to hear this news and my heart broke for him. On the trip, he talked about his son and shared what Yoav wrote, after he was mortally injured and was dying.
Yoav Malayev z”l with his father Alex and mother Maya
“The best 20 minutes of my life, we crawled up to here. I got injured, and there’s a barrage now. I’m thinking about you, and I’ll be thinking about you the whole journey. I love you.”
It brought tears to my eyes then and brings tears to my eyes now. As this 19 year old boy was injured and dying, his thoughts were on defending Israel, defending the Jewish people, and how much he loved his family. He was proud of his effort to defend the Jewish people and the Jewish homeland. The best 20 minutes of his life. What bravery. What inspiration. When I first heard it from Alex and read it on the page, I felt like I was being slapped in the face. He was willing to sacrifice his life for the Jewish people and the Jewish homeland. What am I willing to do? What am I willing to risk? How important is it to me? As I sit on my comfortable couch back in America, I continue to ask myself that question. I thought I did enough before this trip. After hearing Yoav’s story, I know I am not. I have to do more. I have to advocate for Israel. I have to advocate for the Jewish people. I can’t be silent because I am worried about my safety. He didn’t worry about his safety.
Alex’s son Yoav may have died but he didn’t die in vain. Not only did he help protect Israel and the Jewish people, his life and death is an inspiration to us all to do more. To give more. To take bigger risks. To represent being Jewish in a public way. We have a collective responsibility. When Israel called, 350,000 reservists answered right away. More than were expected. The Jewish people are calling. Israel is calling. We need to respond. I know that I will. The next few weeks will be figuring out exactly how. I urge you, if inspired by Yoav, to do the same.
The second thing I want to talk about is when we went to the Shura army base. When we arrived, we got there just as the body of Nachman Vaknin z”l was being loaded into the van to be taken to Eilat for burial. Nachman had been killed in battle a few days earlier. It was incredibly powerful watching his coffin being loaded into the van. Then, the doors were kept open so one of our group, who was saying mourners kaddish for his mother, could say kaddish there for both him other and for Nachman. When he finished, we were given the honor of escorting Nachman out of the parking lot and on his final journey home, where he would be buried later that day.
Nachman Vaknin z”l
None of us had known Nachman yet all of us felt we lost somebody close to us. This 20 year old boy was defending us. He was defending Israel. He was defending the Jewish people. On Thursday, we had been in Kfar Aza, less than a mile from Jabaliya. Before that, we had been working on a farm in the Gaza envelope where we could see Khan Yunis. After Kfar Aza we went to the site of the Nova music festival. Both Kibbutzim and the Nova festival were attacked on October 7th and suffered losses. Two of the three also had hostages taken. In the middle of the war, we knew that we could have been attacked at any time at those sites. Nachman was killed on Saturday, just two days after we were in the area. I think all of this combined to make him feel like an additional son to all of us.
We were incredibly moved by being there for Nachman as he was put into the van and driven away. It made us think about life. Earlier on the trip, Saul, our trip leader, had talked to us about what we would die for determining what we would live for. I know that as I stood there with Nachman’s body, I knew what he would die for and so I knew what he lived for. It continued the spin in my head. What would I die for? Because I know that determines what I live for. Now that I am home, that spin in my head hasn’t stopped. Yoav and Nachman both knew. My head still spins. They were 19 and 20 yet they knew. I am 56 about to be 57 and I am not sure. My family is one thing that I would die for. I know that and have known that for a long time. What ideals? What values? It goes to my core which is what makes it so difficult. A core value of mine is honesty but would I die rather than tell a lie? I don’t think so. Where that line is a challenge for all of us to ask of ourselves. This trip has truly highlighted it for me and I want to be like Yoav and Nachman and know to my core what I would die for. Then I know what I truly live for.
The final thing I want to write about also is from the Shura army base. After we said l’hitraot to Nachman on his final trip, we were introduced to Noa, who talked to us about the forensic center located at the base. Noa has 8 children and on October 7th, 7 of their family were called up from reserves. This includes both her and her husband. This means 7 of 10 people in her family have been active duty in the war since October 7th. It makes the story in Saving Private Ryan seem tame as he was one of 4 brothers and these are 5 siblings and 2 parents. Her job at the forensic center was to prepare the bodies of those who were murdered on October 7th for burial. One of the beautiful things she said that she always believes that the neshama, the soul, of the person who died is in the room with her. You can listen to her talk in this first video.
Noa speaking to us and introducing herself and the base.
Noa was truly amazing and inspiring. She talked about how they got not just the bodies of soldiers but of civilians as well. Men, women, and children. They also got the bodies of terrorists. This made it challenging as many of their bodies were booby trapped with bombs and grenades. Imagine working to humanely treat the bodies of the dead and having to rush out because there is concern one of the bodies has a grenade or bomb that could go off. As she talks about how many bodies were there on October 7th in such matter of fact voice was chilling. She finishes talking about an injured soldier with a twin brother and how she can’t make a mistake in the identification.
Noa talking more about the base and what she does.
When we went inside the thing Noa talked about that stuck with me the most was how after all the horror she saw, after all the blood she described dealing with, after seeing the mutiliated and abused bodies, she finds that she must still look for the positive. She still has to think about how to make the family a more delicious dinner. How to be a better wife and mother and friend. After all the horrors, instead of being stuck in them, she looks for the beauty in life. She looks for ways to make life better not just for herself but for those she cares about and loves. What a beautiful concept.
After she talked about that, I found myself thinking about the things that I struggle with that keep me from focusing on the beauty of life. What things am I allowing to keep me from asking how I can be a better husband, father, and friend. What more delicious dinner should I make? What keeps me focused on the negative instead of the positive? And if Noa can do this after what she has seen, what stops me from doing it? It should be so much easier for me as I haven’t seen the gore she has. I haven’t dealt with the inhumanity that she has.
Now that I am back in the United States, far away from the active war, I want to do better. I want whatever comes to my life to only make me want to do more. To do better. I have seen religious people talk about this often in the past, regardless of their religion, and always questioned it. After October 7th, after meeting Noa, after seeing the sacrifice made by Yoav and Nachman, after being at Kfar Aza and the Nova music festival site, I feel like it is my obligation to find ways to bring more light to world. Not to allow the darkness we all face to win. Noa actively shoves the darkness away and doesn’t merely make room for the light, she is the light. She fills the room with light. We were all amazing by Noa. Who she is as a person. What she does for Israel, for those who die in service to Israel, and for their families. The type of mother, sister, and wife she is. Who she is as a human being.
Three amazing people to inspire me and hopefully inspire you. Yoav, who while giving his life for the state and people he loves not only celebrates the opportunity but shares his love for his family. Nachman, who paid the ultimate price to keep us all safe and while we didn’t know him, felt like a family member to us all, and Noa, who took care of those from October 7th and every female soldier since so they get treated with dignity and respect before burial. Who makes sure the families going through intense pain and loss know somebody was caring for their child until they are buried. All three knew what they’d die for. All 3 knew what they live for. While only one remains alive today, all three have full lives. All three have changed my life. I hope that over the rest of my life, I can live up to the standard they have set. I know I have work to do.
The last day of our trip was a powerful one on many levels. The amazing thing is that we only went three places and one of them was the restaurant for lunch!
We left about 30 minutes late which frustrated our staff. It ended up being perfect. Our first stop was at Shura Army base, a forensic center near Ramle where most of the victims from October 7th were brought to be identified. As we got there, they were loading the body of one of the IDF soldiers who was killed on Saturday in Gaza into the van to take him home to be buried. We go to watch them put him into the van, one of our group who was saying Kaddish for his mother said Kaddish, and we then escorted him out of the parking lot on his final journey. It was incredibly powerful and moving. To be able to do that type of honor for a soldier killed defending Israel and the Jewish people was overwhelming. These kids, and they are kids, put their lives at risk every day to protect Israel and the Jewish people. In America when I see a soldier, I always thank them for their service. In Israel, I want to begin doing that as well. It’s the very least I can do.
We met Noa, the woman who works to prepare the bodies for burial and for identification. Noa told us that she has 8 children and on October 7th, 7 of them, plus her husband and herself were drafted into the army. Think about what that must be like. It was yet another reminder that the Israeli people do not want this war. They do not want this war to go on indefinitely. They want the hostages returned. They want Hamas out of power and not able to kill Israelis any longer. They want peace and quiet on the border. They want to go back to living thir lives. They don’t want to worry about their children or their spouses in firefights. They want normalcy and that only comes with the return of the hostages and Hamas removed. They will deal with the emotions and fear to accomplish those goals. But it’s not what they want to do, despite what the media may tell you.
Noa speaking to us
We entered the base and came to the meeting room where we learned what they do here. After October 7th, this is where most of the bodies came for identification. They have a lab on the second floor to do DNA testing. They have DNA, dental records as well as fingerprint records for every IDF soldier . It made some of the identification easier but many of the bodies were burned or were just ashes. As we entered the actual area where they did this work, we were silent as the gravity of the work settled in each of us.
The meeting room in the base before you enter. Notice the pictures on the wall are all faces of those murdered on October 7.
In the room where they do the ritual preparation of the bodies, we heard what it was like after October 7th. I’m not sure that i can even try to describe what she was telling us. The condition of the bodies that came in. Some of the challenges identifying them. Some that were just ashes or parts of bodies. And the blood. That is the one thing that I will never forget. Her description of how much blood there was and they had to deal with. She told us about a Hassidic man who came in with bodies. He had been pulling dead bodies out of bomb shelters that Hamas attacked at Nova. He had blood halfway up his calf because to pull them out he had to step in pools of blood. The more stories she told us, the more horrified we were. Then she said something that has me thinking. She said that she can’t focus on how awful it was and what happened. Instead, she chooses to focus on the good in her life and what she can do to make the world better. She wants to cook a better dinner for her family. Be a better mother for her children. Be a better wife for her husband. Be a better friend, neighbor, and boss. It’s an incredible way to look at the world and an incredible attitude. It made me thing about what I am willing to do to deal with the anger and rage from Kfar Aza, Nova, and being at this base. Am I going to let the anger and rage consume me or am I going to turn it into something to make the world a better place. If Noa can do it after what she has seen, I know that I can as well.
We left the room and moved to the room where families have their chance to say their last goodbyes to their loved ones. It was hard sitting in that room, looking at the table where the body would be, knowing what families must be feeling and experiencing when their loved one is on that table. We were all quiet as we sat in the room and Noa talked to us. I think we were all grateful to have been in the room but even more grateful to leave it.
Listening to Noa talk about what she and her team have gone through since October 7th makes me think about all the people we normally don’t think about. They aren’t family members of those murdered or kidnapped. They haven’t lost family members who are serving in the IDF. Yet they are traumatized by what happened on October 7th and what has happened since October 7th. What is it like to have 7 of your 8 children drafted into the army to fight a war? What is it like to have both you and your spouse drafted into the army during a war, potentially leaving your chidren as orphans? What is it like to deal with that many dead bodies? With that many mutilated people? With remains that are just ashes? The entire country is dealing with PTSD and I’m not sure what it will mean long term.
Our last stop on the base was to visit the place where all the IDF Torahs that need repair or can’t be repaired are kept. It was incredible seeing how many Torahs they have there. As the Rabbi who is in charge told us, it’s the largest Aaron Kodesh (ark) in the world. He also told me that the IDF needs thousands of mezuzahs for their soldiers. They need them for the rooms where soldiers sleep in bases, outposts and bunkers both within Israel, along the borders (south and north) and in Judea and Samaria. They also need a few dozen at this point for buildings inside Gaza seized and used for headquartersWhen you watch this video I took, you will be amazed at what you see.
The IDF torahs in need of repair or that can’t be repairedThe sofer (scribe) repairing a Torah
As we left the base, we were all shaken by the experience. Like at Kfar Aza and Nova, we felt the death. We felt the overwhelming loss related to the murder of 1200 people on October 7th. As I think about how Israel has changed since October 7th, these feelings are a part of it. If I am feeling it after only 8 days, how powerful must it be for Israelis who have been feeling it for over 7 months?
We headed to our last stop of the trip, the Palmachim air force base. This is where they fly drones from. The base is highly secure, no pictures were allowed, and things were off the record. What I can tell you is that I was blown away by what we learned. I can tell you that the process Israel uses to actually have a drone drop a bomb is multi-leveled and requires multiple approvals. And I can tell you that the drone operator ALWAYS has the authority to abort the mission no matter what the supervisor says if they determine that there are civilians, women or children in the area and that it would not be appropriate to execute the mission. I can also tell you that this happens more often than you would expect. The drone operators are kids. Their support staff are 18-19 year olds. It’s always amazing to look at who comprises the Israeli military. It’s largely the 18-22 year old population. This is very different from the US military and not what most people think of when they think of an army. These are kids who are willing to do whatever is needed to defend their country and the Jewish people but really want to finish their service, travel, and then go to college and live their lives.
After the briefing, we had our final barbecue with the soliders on the base. These 18-25 year old men and women were so happy to have us there. We sat with them, talked, and got to know them. The DJ played great music, the food was good, and we had fun. After we ate, the DJ really got things moving and we got up and started dancing. The soldiers joined us as we danced and laughed and had a great time. As it got to be time for us to leave to take people to the airport, they had difficulty getting us to stop. We finally did, celebrating with the soldiers. Some of the guys on our trip were from Emek, a Jewish Day School in Los Angeles. They had some of their students write letters to the soldiers. The day after our visit, we got this note from the wife of one of the soldiers on the base. If you ever wonder if the letters you write, the visits you take to Israel, the support you provide really matter, I think this note proves how much they really do.
It was sad as some of the guys headed for Tel Aviv and then we dropped a bunch at Ben Gurion airport. The rest of us returned to Jerusalem and a few of us made plans for the next day. The trip was over but the experience will last a lifetime. There is so much for me to unpack from this trip. So much to understand about what it means to me to be a man, a husband, a father, and a Jew. What does it really mean to be a Zionist? what am I willing to die for that shows what I actually live for? Much much more. As I unpack it, I will share them.
I still have 2 days in Israel, two precious days in Israel. Two days to wake up in Jerusalem, smell the air, walk the streets. What a blessing that is. A day in Tel Aviv with meetings. Time to see friends. Israel is truly in my heart and in my soul. As my 21st trip approaches the end, I am already looking at possible trips 22, 23, 24, and 25 in the next year. I appreciate how lucky I am to get to go to Israel. How lucky I am to have the contacts and connections in Israel that I have. The Israeli friends that I have. An understand of the land, the history, the challenges, the struggles, and just how much it means to me as a Jew. If you haven’t been to Israel, I urge you to come, especially now. If you have been to Israel, I urge you to come back. I promise you will experience a different country and a have a different experience.
The events of October 7th have been widely circulated and publicized. Most people know what happened and even thought there are deniers, they are largely discredited. As sombody who sat in front of the TV all day on October 7th while sending WhatsApp messages to my Israeli friends and family to check on them, I have been more aware than most. In addition, I put together a viewing of the 47-minute Hamas video and I saw the Nova music festival documentary and heard a survivor speak afterwards. I have friends in the IDF reserves who gave me updates.
I thought I was prepared when we went to Hostage Square and heard from the fathers of two hostages earlier in the week. I wasn’t. Hostage Square was overwhelming and I want to go back and just sit there for hours with the family members to show support. Hearing the pleas of the fathers of two hostages was beyond painful. I’ve mainly processed the experience and while the hostages will be in my heart and mind until they are released, I figured out a way to cope with the experience.
Today, we went to the Gaza envelope. This was something I have looked forward to being able to do since October 7th. To volunteer with agriculture because the Kibbutzim and Moshavim are short workers. To visit Kfar Aza or Be’eri, the Kibbutzim that were brutally attacked. To be at the Nova music festival site and pay tribute to those murdered by Hamas terrorists while they were enjoying live music and their friends. It felt noble. It felt important. And it was.
The location of the farm where we worked on the lemon grove
Working on the lemon fields was rewarding. It wasn’t fun work. It wasn’t hard work. It was necessary work. We started by seeing the office area, using the bathroom, and getting a feel for where we were. We were about 2 miles from Gaza. They had a collection of rockets fired from Gaza in the front as well as some remnants from the Iron Dome rockets that shot them down. I got a chance to hold one of the Iron Dome rockets which was much lighter than I expected.
Holding an Iron Dome rocket used to shoot down a Hamas rocket
We then spent about an hour and a half cleaning the trees, cutting away excess branches that made it harder for them to properly water and nourish the trees. The lemons were big and delicious and I cut one up to squeeze into my water bottle. As we worked the fields, we found parts of rockets and Iron Dome rockets lying around. They couldn’t be bothered with cleaning up the smaller fragments from the grove.
Our guide from the kibbutz shared the challenges with having lost their workers from Thailand and all the workers that came daily from Gaza. The King of Thailand won’t allow them to come back to Israel but he was able to get some Thai workers back by having them go to Cypress and then pick them up there. They also added some workers from India but are still woefully short of labor. When we asked him if the Kibbutz lost any members on October 7th, his response was a bit surprising. “Yes, only 4”. I had to double and triple check that he understood I meant were any of them murdered by Hamas terrorists, not if they decided to leave the Kibbutz. He understood clearly as he told me they had 3 women and 1 man murdered. He said they got lucky. Some people climbed out of the window and ran to other houses, allowing the people coming from Gaza to just rob their homes. Others opened the door and told them to go away and they did. Nobody is sure why they got so lucky (as if having four people in your community murdered is lucky) but they were.
I think the most impactful think that he said to us was that they were planting because it gives them roots. They aren’t going anywhere. They aren’t leaving the land. They aren’t moving and they aren’t afraid. This is their home. It was a powerful statement and I thought to myself, “F them! I’ll move here. I’ll live here to show Hamas and others that we as Jews aren’t going anywhere!” Since my wife has already said I have the softest hands of anybody she knows, that feeling was really good for about 30 minutes and then reality set it. I’m not moving to be a farmer in the south of Israel. But it should did feel good for a while. Israel is our historic home and after 2,000 years, we aren’t giving it up and aren’t leaving.
On the way to Kfar Aza, one of the men on our bus asked if we could stop at the bus shelter near the Nova site to pay tribute to two of his friends who were murdered that day. As it turns out, one of the people was the uncle of the woman I heard speak in Orlando after the showing of the Nova documentary. Lee survived the massacre. Her story was brutal and gunwrenching. She had described the shelter she hid and and where she watched her uncle and others die. To see it in person and pay my respects both to her uncle and the others who perished but also to honor her survival, I wanted to get out and see it as well.
The exterior of the bomb shelter where Lee Sasi hid and her uncle and 11 others were murdered
I have been inside bomb shelters on prior visits to explore them. I knew what the size was like, the dark and dinginess. The feeling of being trapped even as the only one in there. For some reason I didn’t apply that when Lee told her story. As I stepped into the bunker, it all camp flowing back. I thought about 25 or more people cramped in this tiny space. I thought about being trapped with no way out as terrorists reached their guns around the corner and began firing randomly, guaranteeing to hit people based on both the small area and the concrete walls. I thought about what would happen each time a grenade was thrown into that small space by the terrorists. I thought about Lee, hiding underneath dead bodies to protect herself from the bullets and the grenades, using the dead bodies as shields from the explosions of the grenades. It became overwhelming and I quickly left.
Walking through the bomb shelter where Lee Sasi hid and 12 people, including her uncle, were murdered.
On the entrance and interior of the shelter there are plaques to commemorate the 12 who were murdered in this shelter. There were stickers to commemorate and remember each individual who was murdered here. It was a powerful thing to see. I’ll never forget Lee Sasi’s story nor will I forget seeing As we headed to Kfar Aza, I had no idea that this wasn’t even close to what I would experience.
Earlier I said I thought I was prepared for Hostage Square and wasn’t. I also thought I was prepared for our visit to Kfar Aza. I have a friend who is from Kfar Aza and I knew it was beautiful before October 7. When we pulled up, it looked like many other kibbutzim that I have been to. Beautiful trees, grass, and warm, welcoming feel.
Welcome to Kfar AzaBeautiful entrance to Kfar Aza
For those of you that don’t know, Kfar Aza is located in what is known as “The Gaza Envelope”. It is 1 mile west of Gaza and the city of Jabalyia. You can easily see Jabalyia from Kfar Aza. The people of Kfar Aza were peaceniks. They believed in peace and lived in peace. They had Gazans coming to work at the kibbutz and eat there as well. They’d sit as friends. On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists broke through the gate of the kibbutz, massacring the people in the kibbutz. 62 people were murdered with another 19 people taken hostage. Four of those people remain hostages today.
Jabalya in the distance. The back of the Kibbutz’s fields are only a few hundred feet from Gaza.
As I said earlier, I thought I was prepared for Kfar Aza. I thought I understood what happened there. After all, I had watched tv all day on October 7th, talked to friends of mine who live in Israel and serve in the IDF, talked with friends who live in the south, close to Gaza. I saw the 47-minute Hamas video. I watched the Nova documentary and heard a survivor speak afterwards. I talk with my friend who is a reserve commander in Gaza and one that is a reserve commander in the north. I’m very plugged in and get real information. And yet, I wasn’t close to being prepared for what I saw.
As we began to tour the area of the Kibbutz where the Hamas terrorists attacked, I was sad with what I initially saw. It was what I expected. Houses with their roof torn off.
House in Kfar Aza with the roof torn off House in Kfar Aza with their Sukkah still up 7 months later.
Then we moved deeper into the Kibbutz and our guide from the IDF started telling stories. Watch her tell the stories. They are powerful and painful. It is something I will never forget.
Outside one of the homes in Kfar Aza where the IDF soldier tells us the story of the family who was murdered by Hamas.
This was powerful. It was hard to hear. Hard to look at the house and know the story that went with it. Yet we were only beginning.
She walked a little bit, stopped at another house, and told us another story. I’m sure she has told these stories many times. It was clear to me that no matter how many times she tells the story of the people murdered in each house, it causes her great pain. My anger continued to grow. I could feel the rage growing in my body. We moved on to another home and another story.
By this time I was boiling over with rage. I began thinking about those who deny this happened. I was thinking about those who say and believe that these people deserved it. I was furious with those who say it is all Israel’s fault and Hamas was right to massacre the Jews. I began hearing bombs dropping in Jabalya and something strange happened that I didn’t really like and continue to struggle with. Instead of feeling fear, I felt relief. Each time I heard a bomb explode just a mile away from me, it made me feel better. I’m not proud to say this and I don’t want any innocent people to be harmed. Yet what Hamas and those Gazans who followed them and looted and raped did was so horrific, bombs became the salve for my soul. Part of me feels terrible for this. Part of me is glad that something soothed my soul. It’s incredibly conflicting and I don’t think I will come to any resolution for a long time. We began walking to the next home.
The next area of homes were the youth village. At Kfar Aza, when you turn 18, you move out of your parents home and into your own apartment in this part of the Kibbutz. She told us that this was filled with life. Music and dancing. Karaoke. Barbeques. Fun. It was the heart of the Kibbutz. This was the part that was hit the hardest by Hamas. As we walked down the street, we saw pictures of those murdered and kidnapped.
There were so many, I only took a few pictures. We reached an intersection and turned towards the gate that Hamas breached to enter the Kibbutz. You can see from the picture, Jabalya is just behind the Kibbutz. 1 mile away. Maybe a little less.
I went to the gate and recorded this video. As the bombs continued to fall, it made me feel good. I hate writing that and I hate admitting it. It is not the person I am nor the person I want to be. Hamas is that type of evil. As we experienced the impact of October 7 in this part of the Kibbutz, the need to eliminate Hamas was not only clear but became an imperative.
As we headed down that part of the Kibbutz, the IDF soldier asked us not to take any pictures of the houses on that street. Everybody who lived on that street was either murdered or kidnapped. Let me repeat that again. EVERYBODY WHO LIVED ON THAT STREET WAS EITHER MURDERED OR KIDNAPPED.
The bombs went off again and I hate to admit that my thought was, “They are not coming fast enough. We need more bombs in Jabalya. We need bombs in Rafah. We need them home.” I’m not proud of these thought but I want to be honest about the feelings that were occurring as I was seeing and hearing the horror of Hamas terrorists.
We headed to the final home we would learn about and visit. They had previously explained to us that the circle with the dot inside on the walls meant there was a dead Israeli inside. They explained all the other symbols as well but that was the one I looked for first. On this house, however, along with the circle with the dot inside, there was written in Hebrew that there were human remains on the couch. Watch and listen to her tell the story.
The couch no longer exists although some of the remains are outside the house. There are pictures of the couch inside. Here are pictures of not just the couch but also inside the house. Grenades were thrown in the house so what you are looking at are because of grenades, not bullets.
Picture of the couch with human remains on it. You are looking at the blood.The ceiling. These are from grenade explosionsMore damage to the ceiling from grenades. Imagine being in the room.More pictures of the horror inside this house
I was glad this was the last house. I was completely overwhelmed with anger, resentment, sadness, grief, and similar emotions. The horror documented in this house was beyond comprehension. I couldn’t speak for a bit as we walked down to the end of the road and met with one of the new leaders of the Kibbutz security team. The team is new because 7 of the 12 members were killed by Hamas and 3 were injured. Listen to his words and maybe you can understand what they faced and what it is like today not just in Kfar Aza but all of Israel.
We headed to the bus, all of us shaken by the experience. It was quiet and solemn. It was intense. We were all a little anxious as our next stop was the Nova music festival site. After what we just saw and experiened, would we be able to handle the Nova site? I really didn’t know.
We arrived at the Nova site about 20 minutes after leaving Kfar Aza. I needed the time on the bus to just have quiet and some peace. As we pulled in, it looked so peaceful and beautiful. I could imagine the festival happening and the joy of everybody in attendance. When we got off the bus, Saul Blinkoff, our amazing trip leader, showed us a picture of where we were standing from October 7, 2023. I took a picture on May 16, 2024. You can compare the two and see how much was left in haste compared to the emptiness now.
October 7, 2023 Nova Music FestivalMay 16, 2024 Nova Festival
I wandered around the site, letting everything seep into me. There was a sadness and a beauty to the site. It was also overwhelming at the sheer number of people that were memorialized at the Nova site.
The pictures of everbody who was murdered or taken hostage at the Nova music festival. Look closely as there are a lot pictures of people.
I wandered amongst the pictures and notes about each one of the victims. Looked each person’s picture in the face and said their name in my head. Remembering them as living people. Paying tribute to how they died. Praying for their safe return if they were taken hostage. It was amazing how many young lives were ended. It reminded me of Kfar Aza and how the young people were wiped out.
Walking through the Nova site
After wandering around looking at the images of those murdered or kidnapped and taken hostage, I found myself wanting to sit down in front of some of them and really look at the person. Spend some time with them, as if I was sitting at their grave. Treat it like I was going to the shiva house (house of mourning for the 7 days after burial). So I did. It was beautifully peaceful. It felt right. Investing time in remembering these beautiful, innocent people who were murdered by Hamas because of hate. As I sat for 5-10 minutes in front of various memorials, I found some peace. Kfar Aza was hard. Nova seemed different. Perhaps it was the lack of obvious violence at the site. Maybe it was the beautiful tribute to the souls lost or kidnapped on October 7. At both Hostage Square and Nova, I felt the same peace in my soul. Awful atrocities happened at Nova and Hostage Square is a remembrance of the kidnapping and murder of innocent people. Yet both seemed to have a soul calming effect for me.
In front of the Nova tribute. It’s beautiful and peaceful and sad.
While at Nova, we had the privilege of hearing directly from Rami Davidian, a true hero of October 7 and the Nova music festival. You will want to read about him here as I can’t do justice to his story, but I will tell you a bit of it and the impact and takeaways for me.
Rami is a farmer who lives in the Gaza envelope. At 6:45 am on October 7, he received a phone call from a friend, asking him to rescue his daughter, who was near a farm in the area. She had been at the Nova festival and managed to escape and was hiding from the terrorists. Rami not only saved her, he found others on the way to save her and got others to come pick them up. Since he was out saving people, his number was shared to those who had children at Nova and his WhatsApp was filled with requests to save people. He showed us the number of messages he received. It was unbelievable as scrolled and scrolled and scrolled.
The story he told us that made us all gasp was when he went to rescue a girl named Amit. He was able to figure out where she was and as he came up to rescue her, he saw that she was surrounded by 6 Hamas terrorists. Thinking quickly, he spoke to them in Arabic (he is fluent) and introduced himself as Abu Rami, a muslim. He told them that the IDF was closing in on them and they needed to run now to stay alive. As they began to move, he told them he would take the girl to his car and come around to pick them up. It would save them time and keep them safe. They believed him, gave him Amit, and ran. He took Amit back to the car and drove away.
Unfortunately, Rami also found many people who were murdered. He took them all to one spot where he laid them together. For each person he found dead, he would also say the Shema before he left them, saying the prayer for them in case they weren’t able to. There were people who reached out to him to save their children and Rami knew they were already dead. He didn’t feel it was his place to tell them this news so he would either lie that he couldn’t find them or ask them to pray to God for safety. Even during this crazy and horrific time, he thought with compassion.
Rami is a true hero. A regular man who took action when needed and saved 750 people. To put that into context, Oskar Schindler, famous for saving Jews in the Holocaust and highlighted in the Steven Spielberg movie, Schindler’s List, saved 1200 people. Rami is a role model. A hero. A regular man who did great things. He should inspire us all to do what we can to make the world a better place. There are generations that will exist because of Rami.
Standing with Rami, a true hero, at the Nova site. He rescuted 750 people that day.
We finished our time at Nova in an incredibly beautiful way. We had Anders, a musician, with us all day and at Nova, he gathered us together in a circle to play guitar and sing. Since we were at the site of a musical festival that was attacked by terrorists who committed horrific murders, rapes, and kidnappings, I couldn’t think of anything better as a tribute to those at the festival than to play music and sing. As he played the song and we joined in, our singing attracted others. A number of boys from Miami who were visiting the site joined us as we put our arms around each other, rocked back and forth, and sang loudly. It’s something I will never forget. While the impact of Kfar Aza remains and I have much more processing to do, the time at Nova was incredibly healing. It is a place I want to return to regularly, not just to pay tribute to those who lost their lives, were kidnapped, or who escaped, but also to heal my soul.
Anders leading us in song at the Nova site. It felt right to be singing and brining music to this site.
This was a heavy and hard day. Our trip leader told us that what we were doing was similar to visiting Auschwitz not long after it was liberated. I don’t like comparisons to the Holocaust as nothing does compare to it. 6 million Jews and 11 million people are not the same as the 1,200 people murdered and 250+ kidnapped on October 7. The thought behind it, however, was the same. True genocide. Not the made up word used by those who hate Israel and the Jews. Full intent to kill every Jew and Israeli they found. The goal was to eliminate the Jews. I think back to the joy in the voice of the Hamas terrorist telling his parents that he killed 10 Jews with his own hands. His celebration. He dad congratulating him. His mother being excited and elated that he killed 10 Jews.
It bothers and frustrates me that people think Hamas is the victiim. That those who support Hamas and their evil are the ones deserving of praise. When it’s a Jewish person, I shake my head, as they clearly don’t understand that these people want them dead. The media does a terrible job reporting on Israel, with tremendous bias and often times outright lies. After having been to both Kfar Aza and Nova, it is even clearer what a terrible job they have done. The horrors at Kfar Aza will remain with me. The feeling of standing on the grounds of the Nova festival will remain with me for life. Looking at the skyline of Jabalya, less than a mile away, will stay with me. Note that I said skyline – there are buildings, and plenty of them, in Jabalya.
This has been a pilgrimage for me in many ways. I needed to be in Israel for my own connection. I needed to be immersed in the culture and with the people. I needed to be here for Yom HaZikaron and share the sadness with my Israeli brothers and sisters. I needed to visit Kfar Aza to see and experience the horrors that happened there. I needed to put my feet on the ground at the Nova site, to walk around and pay my respects to those who were murdered and those who were kidnapped. I needed to sing while at Nova to honor the festival and heal my soul.
As somebody who has been to Israel 21 times now, I know not the believe the media reports. Too many others don’t. It isn’t the same Israel that I visited the first 20 times. There are questions about the hostages. Questions about Hezbollah and the north. Uncertainty about American policy. PTSD from October 7 and everything that has happened since. The hostages need to be returned. Hamas and the war in Gaza needs to be finished. Hezbollah and the north need to be stabilized. There are many existential issues facing Israel and Israelis. I’m glad to be here now and make my contribution, however small it may be.
At the end of the day, we can all do something. If you can come to Israel, please do. If you can’t, do what you can. Speak up. Speak loudly. Don’t hide. Learn the facts to address the lies. What we each choose to do now will not just shape the Jewish future, it will determine the Jewish future.
Today we went to Hostage Square and heard from the fathers of two hostages and the aunt of another. The videos say more than I can ever say. Watch, listen, and feel.
The replica Hamas Terror Tunnel at Hostage Square. It was tough to walk through. I can’t imagine being forced to live there for over 200 days already.
The father of one of the hostages
The father of another hostage
The aunt of Hersch Goldberg-Polin spoke to us
I hope you watch all the videos. They are incredibly powerful and moving. My heart broke listening to the fathers speak. Yours will too
Yom Ha’atzmaut continued today in such a subdued manner it was shocking. It was easy to forget that it was still Independence Day as so much was different than previous years. I am used to the beach being packed, barbecues happening, an undercurrent of joy, the planes flying over the beach in formation, and so much more. Last night, the port was empty as we went for dinner. In a normal year, it would have been packed with people, music, fireworks, and celebration. This year is different.
My friend, Dr. Debi Gilboa (also known as Dr. G) spoke to use this morning about courage and resilience. Debi is a wonderful person, doctor, friend, and speaker and today was no different. There were three things she talked about that really resonated for me.
Dr G, my friend Debi Gilboa, and me.
The first was about how in 1908, sixty-six (66) families left Jaffa and moved to Tel Aviv to create something. There was nothing there. I have seen the pictures at Independence Hall in Tel Aviv or what it looked line then. Huge sand dunes. That’s it. These pioneers and their families took and incredible risk moving to the middle of nowhere, on a sandy beach, with no drinking water, no housing in place, and no farming for food that was growing. Why would they do this? What could be their rationale?
The pioneers that created Tel Aviv in 1908. They had courage.
By moving to Tel Aviv, they had a chance at self-determination. They had a change to take control of their own destiny. They could build a city where they were in charge and could live the way they wanted to live, as Jews. I’m sure every one of them was scared and felt unsure at times. Yet they did it anywhere. The fear of where they were coming from along with the opportunity that presented itself was enough to help them fight through their fear to build the city of Tel Aviv.
The second was about courage. Courage is not feeling fear or being afraid. Courage is feeling fear and being afraid and getting through it anyway. The 66 families that started Tel Aviv in 1908 felt plenty of fear, yet they would not let that fear stop them from following through and building the city of Tel Aviv. We heard from and met people from Kibbutz Alumim today. The Kibbutz is 3 km from Gaza and was attacked on October 7. It is the only kibbutz that was attacked on October 7th, the terrorists got into the kibbutz, but did not get into the houses. Those on the kibbutz who hid in their safe rooms with their families and those who defended it were scared but they fought through the fear to survive. Courage looks different but always involves facing your fears and finding a way through them.
The third topic that resonated strongly with me was when she talked about how God told Abraham and Sarah, “Lech Lecha”. Translated this means ‘Go to yourself.” This is when they left where they were living, left Abraham’s father’s house, and followed God’s directions. Debi shared with us that it also means for each of us to be true to ourselves. That we must take care of ourselves. After October 7, Israelis are doing what they have to do to take care of themselves. It’s emotionally difficult and requires courage to do this. In the diaspora, we are struggling with this. How do we take care of ourselves in a world filled with rising antisemitism? How do we take care of ourselves when we see the hate on college campuses? How do we take care of ourselves when we see physical violence occurring just because somebody is Jewish? When Jewish speakers and events are cancelled because the venue ‘can’t ensure security’? During the day today, this became a topic of many conversations I had. The consensus seemed to be that we need to invest more in what being Jewish means to us. Each of us individually has the opportunity to ask that question of ourselves and our families. What does being Jewish mean to me? How do I express being Jewish in a meaningful way to me? Are there things I might want to do or that I like to do that I am not? If so, what are they. If not, maybe I want to explore what they could be. I have found myself doing this over the past few years and coming up with my own answers for me. I have found that I enjoy learning more about what being Jewish entails by spending time each week talking and learning some Torah with a Rabbi and how it applies to my life today. Can the lesson change my behavior and how I feel about things? Each week I learn a little bit more. I am not more religious. But I do feel more Jewish.
Debi’s talk, similar to when I am learning lessons from the Torah with my Rabbi, made me think a little deeper about issues. I have more to chew on and more questions to ask myself. Being on this trip, I have brothers to talk with and delve deeper together. That’s also part of being Jewish – having a community to be a part of so life is not lived alone.
We spent time at the Peres Center for Innovation and Peace. I’ve been there before and it is an amazing place, created by Shimon Peres, with an intentional incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea to inspire peacefulness. The main floor is an exhibition space and when I walked in, I was struck by the exhibit from October 7th that was there. It was truly unbelievable. There was a huge screen with a video documenting the events. There was a photo exhibit that was captivating. I videoed part of the video screen and noticed that the reflection of our group watching it was also seen in the recording. I thought that was appropriate as we are all a part of October 7 just like it is a part of us.
The video presentation at the Peres Center for Peace
I came out of the Peres Center with three takeaways this time. First, Israel has always been about peace. The Declaration of Independence explicitly offers peace and a welcome to the Arabs to join the new country. It was the Arabs that rejected that peace and went to war. Since 1948, Israel has offered peace many times and until the Abraham Accords only found peace partners with Egypt and Jordan. Neither is a warm peace, but both have held. Despite the media wanting to say that Israel is the problem, the colonizer, the oppressor, Israel’s actions since 1948 have shown them to be a willing partner for peace with whoever wants to engage with them about peace. When the war with Hamas in Gaza ends, and it will end, it is highly likely that the peace and normalization with both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia will be finalized. More and more Arab nations are coming to realize that they are better off being peaceful and partners with Israel than trying to eliminate them. That is both the narrative we need to be using and the future for the region.
Secondly, there was moment in the video about Shimon Peres where he says that he didn’t feel like he was really the Prime Minister until he “sat in the Old Man’s chair”. The Old Man is David Ben Gurion and it made me think about leadership. Israel has had some incredible leaders. Ben Gurion, Shimon Peres, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Golda Meir, Ariel Sharon, Chaim Weizmann, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Yigal Allon, Abba Eban, Levi Eshkol, Yitzhak Shamir, Yigael Yadin, and Ezer Weizman are like Israel’s version of our American Founding Fathers, only I remember almost of all them in my lifetime. Israel is a young country and with the loss of these key leaders, the question remains who is going to step up. There is no question that the current situation both in Israel and in the world is a result of leadership challenges. I found myself wondering who would be the next wave of leaders that will step up, both in Israel and the United States, to take us to the next level. Israel turned 76 this week. When the US was 76, it was 1852. We were 8 years away from Abraham Lincoln and his leadership. The US was about to enter a civil war. It was leadership that got us through those challenging times. Who will be both Israel and the United State’s Abraham Lincoln for this time period? Without that leadership, I fear for the future of the world.
The third takeaway was when Peres was summing up his own life near the end. He said, “I didn’t dream big enough” and he urged everybody to dream bigger. In today’s world, I think we need to listen to him and dream bigger. We need to think beyond what is possible and think what would be ideal. Then we work towards accomplishing the ideal. We may not reach ideal, but we will be far better off than if we just try to accomplish what is possible. It reminds me of the saying, “Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss, you will be among the stars.”
One of the highlights of the day was our visit to The Squadron, a flight simulator created by a high-ranking commander in the Israeli air force. The commander gave us a very high level briefing which was incredible. The pattern of three take-aways continued from his talk.
The Squadron let us wear flight uniforms and do the simulator. I always wanted to be Top Gun
When talking about October 7, he said that the country was already in a weakened position because of the civil unrest that was going on before then. The protests of the government policies and attempts to change key laws, the status of the Prime Minister and his legal issues, and the split in the country. It sounded far too familiar to what we are dealing with in the United States. He said to us, “When the body is weakened, the germs can get in and attack”. This is what happened on October 7. This is what we are seeing set up in the United States today. I found myself asking myself how far away are we in the US from our own version of October 7? Would it come from the far right? From the far left? From a terror attack funded by Iran? Are we getting ready for another 9/11 but on a much larger scale? Will we learn from Israel or continue to stick our heads in the sand?
He also said that he believes there will be no peace for at least 100 years because we have lost the youth. It made me think of the exodus from Egypt and how we had to wander for 40 years for the generations of slaves to die so that a new generation that didn’t know slavery could rise. Do we need to wait until the generations who have grown up with hate die off so we can have a new generation that doesn’t know hate rise? I hope we don’t need to wait 100 years or more. I hope we can make changes in our world now that shorter that time. The one thing that I do believe is that the instant gratification expectations of the US and Europe are not realistic and that this will take time. Can we shorten the 100 years to a decade? 2 decades? I don’t know but perhaps it is time that we change our expectations and begin the hard work to get there instead of hoping and praying that it will happen in 2024 or 2025.
The final takeaway was when he said that the only thing that will get us out of this is leadership. I agree with that 100%. As I wrote above and have written before, we have a serious lack of leadership in the world and in our Jewish communities. It is time to invest in leadership. We need to make hard choices and difficult decisions. We need to change the paradigm that we currently live in where leaders are determined by money. Our leaders need to lead, unafraid of the personal consequences because they are doing what is needed for the community, the nation, and the world. We need the courage Debi talked about. We need to dream bigger like Shimon Peres said. We need to allow the great leaders to rise and truly lead.
We then got to try their fight simulator. These were F-16 simulations and it was truly amazing. It gave me great admiration for the air force pilots and made me want to practice more and more.
Keith taking off in the flight simulator
Our final stop for the day was to meet with the people from Kibbutz Alumim. They have been relocated from their kibbutz near Gaza to a hotel in Netanya since October 7. We heard from two people at the kibbutz. Sarit, a young mother, hid in her safe room for 26 hours with her husband and 2-year-old daughter. Sarit’s husband was able to grab a little schnitzel for their daughter and one diaper for her before they entered their safe room for 26 hours. That’s not much in terms of food and one spare diaper for 26 hours isn’t nearly enough. Her descriptions were intense and thankfully the terrorists didn’t get into any of the houses on this kibbutz.
Sarit talking to us
The reason they didn’t get into any of the houses on this kibbutz was because of people like Eyal, the second speaker. This kibbutz had 15 members of their defense force that were trained and had access to guns in their armory to protect the kibbutz. Facing 150 or more terrorists invading the kibbutz, these 15 people fought them off. They ended up getting help from the IDF with a helicopter coming and helping shoot at the terrorists, killing many and driving them away after a full day of battle. Eyal ended up getting shot 4 times. Once on the side of his face, once in his back, once in his side, and once through his lung and out his scapula. He was rushed to the hospital where he was able to recover. The story of bravery on this kibbutz was not remarkable compared to the stories I have heard on other kibbutzim. What I took from it was the importance of being prepared and trained. Nobody wants to think that we have to be prepared to protect ourselves, but the reality is that we do. We can hope that we never have to use the training and that the practice is just that, but we need to be prepared. Whether it is in Israel or in the United States, a failure to prepare is preparing to fail. We no longer can afford that luxury.
Eyal talking to us
Outside the hotel, near the school they had created for their children, we had a huge barbecue and got to celebrate life with the members of the kibbutz. There was nothing like seeing the children fully engaged in life. Just as my grandparents used to say that looking at us, their grandchildren, was the proof that Hitler had lost, watching these children play and live life was proof that Hamas failed. Those who hate us failed. We survived once again and we will thrive again. Some of the little kids gave us gifts of vegetables from the kibbutz and seeing them warmed my heart. Then a few of the young boys came over to dance with us and that was the highlight of the day. It warmed my heart. We danced. We sang. We smiled. We laughed. We lived. I made sure to get a picture with them to remind myself that no matter what, we choose to live. And we choose to live freely as Jews. Authentic to ourselves.
The boys from the Kibbutz who came to dance with us
Dancing with the kids from the Kibbutz – it made the entire day.
Kids from the Kibbutz giving us gifts of vegetables from their Kibbutz. They were so adorable.
How can you not smile watching this toddler on his tricycle. 7 months ago he was hiding in a safe room as his parents hoped they wouldn’t be butchered by Hamas terrorists
I knew when I got on the plane to come this time that part of why I was coming was because October 7 and what has followed has ripped a hole in my soul. Watching the children, dancing with them and seeing them choosing life has begun to repair that hole. We need to listen to Dr. G and be courageous. We need to hear Shimon Peres and dream bigger. We need to pay attention to the lessons from the air force commander and demand real leadership and invest in leadership development. And most of all, we need to live authentically and with joy. Life is too short and too important to waste.
Kids at the barbecue back to life after the terror of October 7th. We must live life to the fullest.
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