Tag: gaza

Teachings from the Nova Music Festival

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

There are many dates that are significant in people’s lives.  December 7, 1941.  May 14, 1948.  November 22, 1963.  April 4, 1968.  June 6, 1968.  July 20, 1969.  March 28, 1979.  April 20, 1999.   September 11, 2001.  December 14, 2012.  February 14, 2018.  In Seattle, it was July 28, 2006. 

All the dates above are significant ones.  All have meaning in my life.  However, for me, October 7, 2023, is a date that changed who I am as a person.  Israel has always been an important part of my life and my identity.  I remember the stories of my grandparents listening on the transistor radio on November 25, 1947, as the UN voted on the partition plan to create a Jewish state.  My grandparents were passionate Zionists, and both sets of them went to visit Israel.  I am the rare American Jew who is the 3rd generation to visit Israel.  My first trip was the summer of 1989 and I have been a total of 20 times so far with my 21st planned for this year and hopefully my 22nd and 23rd as well. 

As I sat in my living room on October 7, 2023, watching the horrors on television and sending WhatsApp messages to my family and friends in Israel to check on them, I knew that I was different as a result.  I could tell that I was changed as a result of what was happening.  I will never forget the image shown over and over on television of a minivan on the side of the road.  The father was the driver and had been murdered, his head laying against the steering wheel.  His young daughter was laying on top of him, also murdered.  This was one vehicle among many that were shown. As more information and video came out, the horror increased.  I sat in my chair watching the reports and getting live info via WhatsApp from friends.  My friend Maor, the consul general from Israel to Florida reached out to check on me and told me to stop watching the news because it was bad for my mental health.  But I couldn’t.  Senator Rick Scott called me to check on how I was doing.  I was both shocked and grateful that he called.  I worked with some friends to put together a community gathering to express our pain and anger, to give the community an opportunity to grieve together and hopefully a chance to begin to heal.  We had US Representatives there, Florida Representatives there, members of the US Senate sent aides and so did members of the US Senate.  Mayor Jerry Demings and his wife, Representative Val Demings came.  I don’t remember what I said when I spoke but I remember is was passionate, direct, and was filled with emotion.

When it was announced there would be a rally in Washington, DC, on the mall, I knew I had to be there.  I knew that both for my own soul and to be able to answer with integrity what I did after October 7th by my future grandchildren, I had to show up.  Being there with 300,000 other people was an amazing experience.  We sang Hatikvah together, heard from amazing speakers, carried our signs, chanted “Bring them home” about the hostages.  It was a feeling I will never forget. 

Riding the Metro to the rally when we broke into song. Am Yisrael Chai!

As time moved on, I learned of 4 friends that had family members taken hostage.  Six people taken on October 7th by Hamas.  Ultimately, four of them have been released.  One turned 13 the day after she was released.  Her mom was released day after her birthday.  My friends and I put together a campaign to get her birthday and Hanukkah presidents.  The video of her with the presents is priceless.  It made my heart sign.  Even today, watching it brings joy to my heart and soul.  This precious child was kidnapped, held as a hostage, kept in tunnels, and was traumatized.  To see her smile with these presents warms my being.

I worked with the Israel consulate to host a showing of the 47-minute Hamas video for politicians, law enforcement, and some members of the community.  Many told me that they couldn’t watch it.  Many told me that I shouldn’t watch it.  It was painful to see but for me, bearing witness was essential.  There are images I saw that I will never forget.  The cries of two little boys after their father was murdered in front of them, one having lost the sight in one eye.  Their mother coming to site hours later and seeing her husband lying dead in the doorway of the safe room.  Beheadings.  Blood smeared all over a room where people were executed.  Terrorists calling their parents to brag about how many Jews they killed and hearing the excitement not just in their voice but the voice of their parents.  It was the same type of pride I felt with my children when they graduated high school and college except this pride was for the murder of Jews.  It was horrifying to see and yet, I can’t imagine having not seen what the terrorists of Hamas did to my Jewish mishpacha (family). 

A friend of mine in Israel was recalled into the IDF and was the head of operations in Gaza.  He told me about what he did on October 7th to try to save people.  He spent 120 days in Gaza, coordinating the efforts to eliminate Hamas and free the hostages.  I got occasional messages and worried about his safety every day.  After 4 months of service, he was released from service temporarily to decompress.  He came to the United States for work related projects and happened to be in Orlando.  We had a chance to get together and during that time he shared a bit of what it was like during those 120 days.  How many times he was nearly killed.  He told me that the flight from Israel to America was incredibly difficult for him because it was the first time he had experienced quiet in 120 days, and he finally had a chance to process what happened.  I showed him the video of the little girl opening her birthday and Hanukkah presents after being a hostage.  The look on his face is one I will never forget.  It’s why he does everything he does. 

I attended the AIPAC Policy Summit in Washington, DC, just a few weeks ago.  We heard from parents of a current hostage.  We heard from a young woman whose parents were murdered while her brother hid under the bed, lying in their blood and urine for hours.  We heard from a survivor from the Nova Music Festival.  It’s always powerful to hear from our national politicians however it was nothing compared to hearing from those who were impacted by October 7th.  On the last morning on the Summit, we learned that a US citizen who was taken hostage was murdered by Hamas.  We all gasped at the news and the room was filled with sorrow.

Later that day, I finally went to get the tattoos I had wanted for a few months.  One is the words of Mia Schem, a hostage taken from the Nova Music Festival.  She said, and then got tattooed on her arm, “We will dance again.  7.10.23”.  I proudly have that on the inside of my right forearm.  The other one is a tree and under the roots it says NOVA  7.10.23.  They are constant reminders to me of the horrors of October 7th, of the rise of antisemitism, how we will always be Jews first and foremost, and that there is no need to hide being Jewish, my pride in my Jewish identity, and the importance of Israel to me.

I felt like I had been through the ringer since October 7th.  Powerful emotions, loss, fear, concern, anger, frustration – you name it, I have felt it.  I have wanted to go to Israel since October 7th however my family has not wanted me to go yet, so I have waited.  It’s been incredibly difficult for me not to go, not to be there, not to take action to do my part for Israel and the Israeli people.  The concept of Shalom Bayit (peace in the home) has been more important however it hasn’t been easy.  Initially I was going in March 2024 that was postponed until May 2024.  That date may even be changed.

So having been through the ringer, when there was a showing this week of the new documentary about the Nova music festival, I wanted to go.  I had no expectations about the movie or the speaker afterwards.  I think that was good because if I had expected the experience to have the impact that it did, I may not have gone. 

The documentary was shown through the eyes of those who were attending the music festival.  It’s not what I expected.  I didn’t expect it to be quite so ‘first person’ view.  You could hear the music, see the dancing, and celebrate with joy the fun those who were there enjoyed.  It reminded me of many things I used to do with my friends at that age.  When the rockets started at sunrise, it was strange hearing them talk about ‘fireworks’ because we already know they were rockets, but those at the festival didn’t at first.  Then they saw Iron Dome taking them out and they still had no idea what was coming.  As somebody who knew what terror was about to happen, it was hard to watch them in real time, make assumptions that we all would have made at that time.  You begin to see the terrorists arrive on bikes, trucks, and gliders.  You hear their joy and excitement because they are about to murder and rape and kidnap Jews.  I saw that in the Hamas video, but this one was different as it contrasted with those attending the festival.  Flipping back and forth between the arriving terrorists and the festival goers who didn’t know what was happening truly felt like a horror movie. 

As they began to run and hide, the videos shown were more from those hiding.  You could feel their anxiety as they recorded messages.  Some send goodbye messages to their families.  Some spoke to their parents who begged them to hide, play dead, do anything to survive.  The one thing that really hit home was their expectation that the army and the police would come rescue them.  As Ambassador Michael Oren has said, it was part of the covenant between the State of Israel and the people.  The army, the IDF, would always be there to protect them.  On October 7th, they weren’t.  Not only could you feel the loss of trust from those hiding, I felt it personally.  I always had incredible support and admiration for the IDF.  High expectations.  We don’t know what happened or why they were so unprepared on October 7th but the reality is they were unprepared.  They weren’t there when they were needed.  That loss of trust is palpable.  It doesn’t surprise me that over 300,000 reservists returned to duty after October 7th, more than were recalled and far more than were expected. 

There is a saying in the Talmud, “Kol Arevim Ze LaZeh (or BaZeh depending)”.  It means “All of Israel (or all of the Jewish community) is responsible for each other.”  It’s commonly said by Rabbis during a sermon urging us to do a little bit more.  On October 7th, it showed me what it really means.  We are all one.  What happens to one of us happens to all of us.  If we don’t stand together to take care of each other, nobody will stand with us and we will all fall.  It’s why I have struggled with not going to Israel since October 7th.  In my heart, in my soul, I need to be there helping in any way that I can.  I also need to be here with my family.  It’s my own internal struggle that I face and deal with on a daily basis. 

The end of the movie is when the IDF does finally show up, approximately 7 hours after the attack began.  I have seen this footage before and in the movie, they chose to blur out the dead bodies lying around the festival.  The footage I saw showed the bodies.  It was horrific. You could hear the urgency in the IDF soldiers voices as they cried to out for any survivors.  Is there anybody alive?  And reporting to everybody else that everybody they found is dead.  It’s a sobering sight.  It reminded me of the pictures from US soldiers discovering the Nazi death camps but now in real time for me.  The first time I saw that footage, I was struck by the number of people who were murdered, who were lying there dead only because they were Jews.  This time it was the voices of the IDF soldiers, devastated that by the time they arrived, there was nobody to save.  I felt their failure through their voices.  The breaking of that covenant.  The change occurring for all Israelis and Jews in the diaspora.   The need to look deep within and ask, “What am I doing?  How can I help?  What’s my obligation?” 

WARNING – The video below is GRAPHIC. You may not want to watch it.

THIS IS GRAPHIC – THE IDF ARRIVES AT THE NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL TO FIND EVERYBODY DEAD

The movie ended, the lights turned on, blinding us for a moment.  I think we needed that moment of blindness to return us from the horrors occurring at the Nova Festival on October 7th to the current day. 

Lee Sasi, a young woman from Los Angeles, who is a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre, took the podium and began to speak to us. 

Here is a video interview she did with Jake Tapper of CNN on October 11th.  The story she told us was similar to what she shares here, only with more detail.  The way Jake Tapper is stunned and doesn’t know what to say is how we felt listening to her months later.    Her pain, expressed days later, was no different when she spoke to us.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/11/the-lead-lee-sasi-jake-tapper-live.cnn

Here is her interview with Chris Cuomo.  It is hard to watch without tears coming to my eyes.  The brutality of Hamas.  The sacrifice of her uncle. 

https://www.newsnationnow.com/video/survivor-of-israel-festival-attack-was-saved-by-uncle-%e2%80%98he%e2%80%99s-a-legend%e2%80%99-cuomo/9075461

I get angry when I hear about Israel’s ‘indiscriminate killing’ of Gazan citizens, because it’s not true.  The data, even using the numbers provided by Hamas, shows that the civilian to military casualty rate is approximately 1:1, one of the lowest ever.  The UN reports that the normal rate is 9:1, meaning 90% of all casualties in war are civilians.  This means that Israel is 9 times better than the accepted ratio by the world.  War is awful and innocent people die.  It’s why we need to try to avoid war at all costs.  But when we can’t, we have to fight the evil.  Hamas is the evil that is involved with indiscriminate killings.  Listen to Lee’s description of how the terrorists fired into the bunker of civilians.  How they threw grenades into a mass of civilians.  How they executed a man in front of the bunker as he yelled to them in Arabic, “I am an Arab, I am an Arab.”

Listening to Lee speak about what happened at the Nova festival and the horrors and evil of Hamas impacted me deeply.  It became more personal than before.  It reinforced how essential it is that we fight against evil because if we don’t eliminate evil, if we allow evil to live, it will grow.  And evil will destroy all of us, just like Hamas executed the Bedouin man outside the shelter who was yelling to them that he was an Arab.  Evil doesn’t care. 

We see this in our own country as people are choosing to attack Jews in the name of Palestinian freedom.  How does a synagogue being attacked help the people of Gaza?  How does protesting a Jewish actor just for being Jewish, not for any statement or action, help get food to the people of Gaza?  How does blocking streets in America help stop the corruption of UNRWA who isn’t delivering the humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and instead is giving it to Hamas who is keeping it or selling it on the back market?  Listen to what the people of Gaza are saying.  The humanitarian aid costs too much to buy.  IT’S FREE unless Hamas is stealing it.  The food packages don’t include any meat or protein.  That’s because HAMAS IS STEALING IT. 

I worry about not just the future of Israel but the future of the United States, of Europe and of the world.  We are allowing evil to win.  Hearing Lee Sasi share her story forces me to increase my efforts to fight evil.  After coming home from the event, I reached out to friends of mine who are Palestinians in Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Beit Jala.  I wanted to check on them, reaffirm our friendship, and set up a time for us to talk about what the future may look like and what we can do together, to fight evil and change the world.  I urge you to do the same with your friends, wherever they are.  Start in your local community.  Reach out to people who are different than you and get a cup of coffee.  Have a conversation.  Begin by agreeing that you want a better world and perhaps you disagree on how to get there.  Start the process.

We owe it to Lee Sasi, her uncle who sacrificed his life to save hers and others, and all those murdered on October 7th to make the world a better place.  We owe it to all those who have lost their lives as a result of the evil of Hamas to not let their deaths be in vain.  We can change the world but it takes our effort, our commitment, and our dedication to make it happen.  We need all of us to do our part. 

Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and the 4 sons from the Seder.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I do a lot of reading these days to find both accurate and interesting information.  I use a lot of sources and enjoy reading differing viewpoints as I can always learn more.  One of the people I enjoy reading is former NBA all-star and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  While I don’t agree with every position he takes and think he misses many things in some of his analyses, he also makes me think and I would enjoy sitting down with him over a meal to discuss where we differ and why.

In his message today, he highlighted a quote by the great Muhammad Ali that resonated with me.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

As Kareem Abdul Jabbar wrote, “That’s how he lived his whole life: Ignoring personal consequences to help others. He inspired millions across the world.  I was one of those millions.”

As a child, I loved watching Ali fight.  He was a master class in showmanship.  More than watching him fight, I loved listening to him talk and especially his interviews with the great sports journalist, Howard Cosell.  I could listen to them talk with each other for hours, if they would have continued that long.  Ali was a poet who fought.  Cosell was a brilliant foil doing sports journalism.  Together they defined sports in the 1970s. 

Howard Cosell roasting Muhammad Ali in 1974.  Their love and respect for each other is clear as they smile and laugh through the comments about each other

Some of the great highlights of Ali and Cosell during different interviews.  Two very different people from very different backgrounds who found common ground, respected each other, became friends, and appreciated their differences.

Despite having incredible relationships with Howard Cosell and Billy Crystal, Ali also had a challenging relationship with the Jewish community.  He had no problem speaking out loudly against Jewish promoters and slamming “Zionist control of the world”, but he also had a Jewish grandson and attended his bar mitzvah, allowing his grandson to show him the Torah and explore it together.  He went to Israel and lobbying for the release of terrorists yet also publicly appealed to Muslim extremists to release Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl and attended Pearl’s funeral. 

This imitation of Ali by Billy Crystal always makes me smile, both because of the talent of Crystal but also because I could imagine Ali laughing at it and wishing he had come up with the idea first.  When Ali turned 50, he had Crystal perform at his birthday party.

In 1996, before lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Muhammad Ali publicly stated:

“My mother was a Baptist. She believed Jesus was the son of God, and I don’t believe that. But even though my mother had a religion different from me, I believe that, on Judgment Day, my mother will be in heaven.

“There are Jewish people who lead good lives. When they die, I believe they’re going to heaven. It doesn’t matter what religion you are if you’re a good person you’ll receive God’s blessing. Muslims, Christians, and Jews all serve the same God. We just serve him in different ways.

“Anyone who believes in One God should also believe that all people are part of one family. God created us all. And all people have to work to get along.”

We live in very challenging times.  Ali did as well, as a black man who converted to Islam, refused the draft, spoke his mind, lost everything, and earned it back based on his beliefs.  Despite his challenges with the Jewish community, there is much we can learn from Muhammad Ali in how we choose to speak, act, and behave in our own challenging times of today.

The attacks on October 7th in Israel have fundamentally altered who I am as a person.  I don’t live in Israel so how can it have done this?  I have always been a passionate Zionist.  Since there is so much confusion about what this means, I am going to be clearer and define this.  It means I believe that the Jewish people have a right to a homeland.  I believe the Jewish people have a right to self-determination.  I believe that Judea and Samaria are the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.  And I believe that no matter your religion or lack of religion, if you want to be a citizen of Israel, you should be allowed to pursue citizenship.  I love that there are Arab-Israelis and Druze-Israelis.  It’s wonderful to visit the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa and learn about the Baha’i Israelis and their community and beliefs.  There are Christian-Israelis and Bedouin Israelis.  There are Ethiopian-Israelis and Palestinian-Israelis.  The common thing they all have in common is that they are Israeli.

Since October 7th, I have seen an incredible amount of antisemitism and hate in the world.  It fascinates me in so many ways.  In many ways, the 4 sons/children from the Passover Seder can be an appropriate analogy.  There are those who always have been antisemites and now don’t have to pretend.  These are the wicked son/child. They are easy to see and identify.  They are the ones who demand proof of Hamas raping women when they spoke out against Brett Cavanaugh.  They stood chanting ‘believe all women’ and then don’t believe Jewish women.  They present a challenge as I’m not sure there is anything anybody can do to about them.  The slight hope that I have for these people goes back to my experience with Combatants for Peace.  I became aware of them in 2019 during a trip to Israel where I spent 4 days meeting with leaders of Palestinian civil society.  The members I met were across the spectrum in terms of where they came from and where they were at that time.  All had begun from a place of hate.  Hatred of Palestinians or hatred of Jews.  All were on a quest to leave hate behind.  Some were more successful than others.  All were trying.  For those who live in hate and recent times are enabling them to express it freely, I can only hope that at some point they decide that perhaps there is a different way to live and are willing to try to find that path.

It is sad but true that Jewish women don’t count to those people

There are a larger group of people who are behaving as antisemites, but I don’t think really are.  They often begin from an honorable place, such as I don’t to see civilians die.  I have some friends who are like this.  As a result, they call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to stop civilians dying in war.  However, they miss the entire context.  They don’t assign responsibility to Hamas, who not only began the war but also uses civilians as human shields, turns hospitals, schools, mosques, and homes into military targets.  They don’t listen to the people in the north of Gaza, finally free of Hamas, who encourage Israel to finish the war by destroying Hamas.  They cite the starvation and need for humanitarian aid without realizing that the aid is coming in, however UNRWA makes sure that Hamas gets it and Hamas then keeps what they need and put the rest of the black market at exorbitant prices.  I have from people on the ground in Gaza who acknowledge there is plenty of food there, it’s just either in the tunnels with Hamas or so grossly overpriced on the black market that the ordinary people can’t afford it.  Sending in more aid won’t solve this problem and this group of people simply isn’t looking at facts while leading with their heart.  We all want the war to end.  We all want the death to stop.  We all want peace.  It cannot and will not happen until the hostages are released and Hamas leadership surrenders.  Those who call for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ or an” Immediate and permanent ceasefire” or “an immediate 2 state solution” miss the basic facts that:

  1. A ceasefire has to be on both sides and Hamas has already said they will do more October 7th massacres.  Hamas has also violated every ceasefire that Israel has been agreed to with them.  
  2. Hamas will not agree to, nor will they adhere to a permanent cease fire.  They have said this publicly and many times.  Why would Israel agree to something that would only be binding on them?
  3. There can be no ceasefire, nor can there be anything permanent while the hostages remain in Gaza.  Their release must occur for any ceasefire to be considered. 
  4. If Hamas remains in power, the Palestinian people in Gaza, those that these people profess to care about, will suffer greatly.  The Gazans in the northern part, who are now free of Hamas, are crying for Israel to finish the job, eliminate Hamas, and grant them freedom. 
  5. You can’t give people who call for your destruction, who commit actual genocide, who are supported by Iran, who don’t respect borders, who are known to be corrupt and steal from their people, their own state as a reward for committing genocide. 

These people are the simple son/child, who does not know.  They are so ignorant they don’t even realize they don’t know.  They use words like genocide and apartheid without knowing the meaning and when they clearly don’t apply.  They say things like, “Ceasefire now, Intifada” not realizing that they are telling Israel to put down their weapons while telling the terrorists to pick their up and kill Jews.  They chant “from the River to the Sea” without knowing what river, what sea, or that what they are advocating for is the elimination of Israel.  They accuse Israel of genocide while they, themselves, are actually advocating for genocide!  If they are truly antisemitic, it’s often because this is the new, cool, hip thing their friends are doing.  They aren’t filled with hate; they are filled with stupidity.  If they are willing to learn, there is a chance for them to understand.  If they aren’t willing to learn, it is more likely they will end up like the wicked son/child. 

They are so simple that they don’t even realize that Hamas would throw them from the roof of a building to their death for being in drag or being gay.

At the Seder table, we talk about the son/child who doesn’t know how to ask.  I remember thinking to myself for years, ‘how is this different from the simple son/child?’  What’s happened since October 7th has shown me the difference.  While the simple child doesn’t know enough to question what they are told and believe whatever they are old, the one who doesn’t know how to ask is oblivious to what’s going on around them.  These are the people who don’t say anything at all about the atrocities committed by Hamas.  They don’t comment or say anything about the incredible antisemitism we are seeing on college campuses or in major cities.  A hospital protested and vandalized because it has a Jewish name doesn’t raise their ire nor does it result in a comment.  People assaulted because they are Jewish or are wearing a kippah or a Jewish symbol isn’t even considered by them.  They live in a world where things like this don’t exist.  They aren’t antisemitic, they are totally disconnected from the reality of Jew hatred.  These are the people where we have the responsibility to show them what is happening, to engage them in conversation to educate them.  If we allow them to live in lala land, then we are responsible.  The actress and comedienne Tiffany Haddish who discovered she was Jewish later in life has taken an active role in this.  She isn’t afraid to talk about being Jewish and even publicly went to Israel recently to see and learn for herself.  She even had her own ‘Black Mitzvah’. She is the example to people who don’t even know how to ask about what they can do.  If she can do it, they can do it.

Since discovering that her mother was actually Jewish, Tiffany Haddish has embraced this part of her.

The final child is the wise one. This child asks for specific details about how to observe the holiday.  In the post October 7th world, these are the people that continue to seek truth and challenge what they are told.  They aren’t afraid to learn.  They understand the difference between Jews and the Israeli government.  They don’t take words like genocide, apartheid, and occupation at face value.  I want to be clear that this doesn’t mean they defend Israel no matter what.  They question.  They challenge.  They want to learn.  I urge us all to strive to be the wise child.  Don’t just believe what you hear or read.  Be open to conversations.  I had this happen regarding something it was reported that Turkish President Erdogan said.  A friend, who is actually in Turkey right now, let me know that this was a translation error/issue and that he would explain in detail this week.  I look forward to having him explain to me the translation issue and put it in another context. 

Muhammad Ali changed his name to mark his significant change upon converting to Islam.  The man named Cassius Clay ceased to exist and all that was left was a man named Muhammad Ali.  The me that existed before October 7th no longer exists.  The horrors of that day and what has followed has created a different version of me.  In order to mark that transition, I haven’t changed my name.  But I have marked my body.  I have wanted to get something that would mark that change for me and for everybody who saw it.  So last week, while in DC, I went with a friend to her tattoo artist and got two very personal and very meaningful tattoos.  One is the quote from Mia Schem, a hostage taken from the Nova music festival and released after 55 days.  She said, and then got tattooed on her arm, the words I will never forget.  “We will dance again.”  I now have those words on my right forearm.  I also saw a design memorializing the Nova music festival.  I can imagine being there listening to bands that I love.  I can imagine my children being at that music festival as they love concerts and live music.  So on my left forearm I got a tree with the word Nova and the date, 7-10-23 (written the Israeli way) tattooed.  They are forever reminders to me and those who see them both the horrors of October and the resilience of the Jewish people.  We will not go away.  We will continue to be Jewish and continue to thrive.  I am reminded of that every time I look at my arms.  Am Yisrael Chai!

Finally, in order to add some light to the darkness, I saw this in Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s writings today and after watching it, felt I had to share it.  In the Netherlands, cows are kept inside for 6 months of the year to protect them from the harsh weather.  On the day they are released to the outside, crowds show up to witness the ‘Cow Dance’

Try hard not to smile.  I will bet you can’t.

The content of our character gets an F

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Terrorism is one of those things that as Americans, we have always thought of happening elsewhere.  Even when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred, it was by an American who many people made excuses for.  It didn’t feel like real terrorist.

September 11, 2001, was supposed to have changed everything.  Arab terrorists hijacked airplanes and flew two of them into the Twin Towers, one was crash landed in Shanksville, PA, and one crashed into the Pentagon.  Nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered that day by terrorists.  We felt what terrorism was like.  We engaged in a war in Iraq and then Afghanistan that lasted for 20 years.  But we were never hit again.  Despite the concern that more attacks were coming, the United States has been spared a second terrorist attack after 9/11.  And so, we have forgotten the horror of terrorism and terrorists.  We have forgotten the evil. 

Each September 11th, we remember in a lesser and lesser manner. It is not a national day of remembrance. It is not a sacred day. There isn’t a school assembly where all the names of the victims are read. Perhaps it’s the 20 years of war that came after that has us tired. Perhaps it is our lack of an attention span. Perhaps it is because we choose to get partisan and blame ‘the other party’ for either entering the war, not winning the war, or the way we finally exited the war. We paid a terrible price on September 11th and it’s a day that I will never forget. But as a country we remember it like we remember Pearl Harbor Day. “A day that will live in infamy” is no longer a recognizable quote to the millenial generation. I wonder if they would even recognize ‘Let’s Roll’ two decades after it was one of the most inspiring statements we heard.

Israel on the other hand, has had to deal with terrorist every day.  I have spoken with IDF leaders who have told me what they stop every single day.  And we see in the news what happens when a terrorist gets through.  The first and second intifada along with rockets from Gaza and Lebanon, stabbings, shootings, kidnappings, and more.

I’ve been in Israel for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Memorial Day and Israeli Independence Day) and they are days you won’t ever forget. The country shuts down on Yom HaZikaron. TV only shows stories of heroic soldiers. The sirens at 7 pm and then at 11 am are dramatic and unforgettable. The names of those lost are read in each community. It is a powerful experience. Yom Ha’atzmaut starts right at the end of Yom HaZikaron and the mood changes from sadness to joy in an instant. Freedom is celebrated, not sales on mattresses or appliances. You can literally join any party going on in the country whether you know the people there or not. Israel never forgets.

But even Israel never imagined the horrors of October 7, 2023.  Nobody, other than Hamas and Iran could imagined that occurring.  Having seen the 47-minute Hamas video from October 7th, it was horrifying.  And I know there is far worse that Israel has video of that they refuse to put into the public domain because of just how horrifying it is.  Rapes, murders of babies, women and the elderly.  Burning of people alive.  Cooking babies alive in the oven while their mother is forced to watch, sometimes while also being raped.  Seeing what the IDF soldiers saw, in real time, when they came upon the Nova Music Festival was haunting. I’ll never forget the bodies strewn everywhere, the anxiety in the voices of the IDF soldiers as they hoped to find anybody alive and the disappointment each time they realized that nobody was left alive.

The Nova music festival. I’ve seen the video of what the first responders of the IDF saw when they arrived and it’s horrifying.

In the United States, it is as if 9/11 never happened.  We blame Israel for it happening.  We hold Israel responsible for the evil of Hamas, using children, women, and the elderly as human shields.  We ignore the hostages, now taken over 160 days ago.  We excuse UNRWA for their participation in the horrors of October 7th, in hiding hostages after their abduction, and for their theft of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza and diverted to Hamas.  When the people of Gaza riot because humanitarian aid is coming in and going to UNRWA to distribute and they know that means it goes to Hamas, we blame Israel.  When Hamas fires on the people of Gaza trying to get the humanitarian aid before Hamas can steal it, we blame Israel. We continue to fail to hold Hamas responsible or recognize that they are pure evil. 

We, and the world, have convinced ourselves, that this is between the Palestinians and the Israelis.  We have convinced ourselves that this is about the need for a Palestinian state or about Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.  We fool ourselves into ignoring the influence of Iran and their goal of creating a new Caliphate, with the Iranians and radical Shiite Muslims in charge with everybody living under Sharia law.  We forget that we are the infidel they rail against, thinking it’s just Israel, it’s just the Jews.

We also forget that they hate anybody who isn’t like them, even other muslims. On October 7th, Hamas didn’t care if you were Jewish, Muslim, Christian, American, or Thai. They hated everybody. That’s what happens with evil. And if you don’t destroy evil, evil wins.

Hamas Also Slaughters Muslims

Even the people of Gaza are now holding Hamas responsible. Now that they don’t have to fear for their lives because Hamas killed any opposition and are not in charge any longer, they are speaking out loudly. While some of the people were involved with October 7th and many more support the hatred, there are plenty who want to live in peace with their neighbor Israel. I found the same thing in Judea and Samaria when, in 2019, I went to meet with leaders of Palestinian civil society. Take away the corrupt government and the evil of terrorists and there is a possibility for peace.

We choose to blame the government of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, the far right fanatics in the government like Itamar Ben-Gvir, or the ultra-religious Jews in Israel for the hate coming from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran.  We choose to excuse barbaric behavior because it is against Jews.   Remember #BringBackOurGirls from 2014 after 276 high school girls were abducted from a government school in Chibok, Nigeria?  Remember the number of celebrities who stood out, loud and proud, that no woman or girl should be taken captive, raped and held against their will?  That only counts if you aren’t Jewish.

Julia Roberts is one of many celebrities who spoke out in 2014 that remain silent now. Shame on them.

Remember 1979 and the hostage crisis in Iran?  It spawned the TV show Nightline to keep everybody up to date on a daily basis.  Yet the hostages taken by Hamas – including Americans and Muslims – draw no attention.   Kfir Bibas, stolen when he was 8 months old, celebrated his first birthday in captivity.  His four-year-old brother Ariel was also kidnapped and remains in captivity.  What type of barbarism is this and better yet, what type of human beings are we that allow this happen and aren’t marching in the streets of every country to free these babies?

Kfir and Ariel Bibas. Babies. Hostages. How the world is not outraged is inexcusable. It’s only a matter of time before it happens here.

Noa Argmani and Naama Levi, two beautiful young women were attending a music festival, like many of our young adults do.  They were attacked by butchers who murdered young adults in cold blood, savagely raped them for the crime of being in Israel.  Noa and Naama were taken hostage.  Who knows what brutality they have faced since October 7th?  We can all imagine the worst after what we saw these Hamas terrorists do to girls, women, and the elderly. 

Noa Argmani and Naama Levi, taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th. We don’t know what brutality they have faced or if they remain alive. Where is the outrage?

They aren’t the only young women taken hostage and being brutalized in the tunnels beneath Gaza.  And if you think it’s only over there and only Jewish women so you are safe, look at the signs held by AMERICANS in NEW YORK CITY on Sunday.  “Rape is resistance”.  “Babies are occupiers too”.  After the killing of George Floyd, we had resistance in major cities like Seattle, Portland, and Minneapolis.  Today these people would tell you that raping your wife, daughter, or mother would be acceptable because it’s ‘resistance’.  I remember reading about how in Seattle people went to homes and told the owners that it wasn’t their house.  That they were occupying land and had no right to live in the houses they purchased.  These same people would say that kidnapping their children would be acceptable because they were ‘occupiers’.  Don’t fool yourself that it is only there and only for Jews. 

Remember these signs when your baby is taken or when your wife, sister, daughter, or mother is raped. This is in NYC this past weekend!

Jews have long been the ‘canary in the coal mine’.  What happens to Jews happens to others afterward.  Take a minute to do a search for “Jews canary in the coal mine”.  You will see articles going back years documenting this.  It’s not post-October 7th.  It’s history.  When we allow this to happen, we encourage it to happen to us.

Just last week, an illegal migrant from Lebanon was caught at border.  He admitted that he is a Hezbollah terrorist and was hoping ‘to make a bomb’ and was headed for NY.  Terrorism is in the United States.  It’s just a matter of when and where the event happens. Or events happen. We are worried about planes that have issues with maintenance and construction while nobody has died in a major airline plane crash since 2009. How will we reconcile our priorities when people die in America at the hands of terrorists? Who will we blame? One thing we know for sure is that nobody will take responsibility.

Two weeks ago, a grenade was found in the back seat of an Uber in New York. As the bomb squad tried to get to the car to assess the situation, defuse the grenade, and save lives, Anti-Israel protesters blocked the police from reaching grenade in the Uber during a Times Square march. Luckily the grenade was inert and nobody was harmed by it. The hatred for Israel and Jews was more important than saving the lives of people in the area from a possible live grenade. We were lucky this time that it was inert. Next time?

People climbing on the police care as officers try to address a grenade in a nearby Uber
Protesters climbing on the police car and blocking police from getting to a nearby Uber with a grenade in it.

Last night was the ZOA gala in Hollywood, Florida. Peopel who support the existance of a Jewish homeland gathering together to celebrate it. We have many nation states in the world for people of all backgrounds, faiths, cultures, etc. There is only one Jewish state and that’s what Zionism is – the belief that we should have. Zionism is not colonialism as there is no desire to expand beyond our historical homeland. There is no aparthaid. The declaration of independence speaks clearly about being a home for all peoples. Zionism isn’t about Bibi Netanyahu, merely the most recent elected Prime Minister. His time will end and there will be a new Prime Minister. And a new one after that. And so on and so on. At this wonderful event last night, in order to ‘help Palestinians’, people assaulted a Jewish person with an Israeli flag. How does that help Palestinians? How does that help the people of Gaza? We know they don’t care about the hostages because they are Jewish. Instead of listening to the people of Gaza about Hamas and working to create a place where Palestinians can live peacefully with their neighbor Israel, instead of building a country with hospitals that are not armories, schools that teach math and science, not hate, these people merely want to hate. Watch th video and see hatred, see evil. If they really wanted to help the Palestinians and the people of Gaza they would listen to them and push for an end to Hamas.

Violence outside the ZOA gala just because he has an Israeli flag

Last week, I heard Senator Chuck Schumer speak passionately about Israel and Israel’s right, as a sovereign nation, to defend herself. He spoke about the evil of Hamas and how they must be defeated. He spoke about the special relationship between the United States and Israel. He was animated. He was passionate. Three days later, he completely backtracked, calling for early elections in a sovereign country. He let partisan politics overtake his moral, ethics, and values. I was disgusted. Not just disappointed, not just angry, but disgusted. Here is one of our elected leaders, in one of the most high ranking positions in our government, a self identified Jew, talking out of both sides of his mouth without integrity. This isn’t about likeing or not liking Bibi. This isn’t about thinking he is the problem or the solution. This is a democratic country that has free elections and has a process for them. Unlike the Palestinian Authority, where Mahmoud Abbas is now in year 19 of his 4 year team. Let that sink in for a minute. No calls for elections in year 19 of his 4 year term. I’m not sure Senator Schumer can regain my trust. Our leaders continue to lose our trust based on their lack of integrity, lack of morals and values. When our leaders don’t have them, how much longer can we exist as a democracy (or a republic for those who want to be critical).

Beware of Dangerous Advice: An Urgent Letter to President Biden

A TikTok trend in 2023 asked women to ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire.  Women were shocked that men think about the Roman empire so often. I think men think about it so often because it was an amazing, powerful empire. It gave the world so much. When we look back on it, we don’t understand how it ever fell. It was so powerful. It covered all aspects of life. It was on the cutting edge of everything. It was simply the best of the best. How did it every disappear? How did the Roman Empire fall?

I think we are seeing it firsthand now in both Europe and the United States. We are so full of ourselves that we have lost all common sense. Instead of striving to look at people as people, to find our similarities and focus on them instead of our differences, we now highlight our differences and minimize our similarities. We fill ourselves with hatred towards those that are different. We allow babies to be hostages. We allow women to be raped if it supports a cause. There is no right and wrong any longer. In the words of the Presidents of Penn, MIT, and Harvard, ‘it depends on the context’. It never depends on the context. Evil is bad. Period. You cannot justify evil. There is good and evil and there is a difference. The world is now attempting to justify evil. The world is ignoring the definitions of words like genocide and apartheid to make them into catch phrases that sound powerful and allows people who use them incorrectly to feel superior.

Rome fell for many reasons. The three most common reasons cited are corruption, the division of the empire, and invasion by Germanic tribes. We are filled with corruption in our world today and in our country. We are as divided as we have been since the civil war. All that is missing is the invasion. As we saw last week when a Hezbollah terrorist was caught with the intention to set off a bomb in NY, the invasion has begun.

Can the fall of the United States be that far away? Will future generations study us and the Roman empire and see the pattern and do better? Do we have a chance to save our country and our world? I don’t know but I get less optimistic each day as we sink further and further into the abyss of hate, divisiveness, and stupidity.

May the hostages come home safely and soon. May the war in Gaza end soon with the surrender of Hamas. May we wake up from this bizzaro world and return to one of sanity where, in the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The great Dr. King. We need him now more than ever.

Right now, our nation and the world is getting a failing grade on the content of our character. And I fear for our future.

Thoughts after the AIPAC Policy Summit

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

In a Bari Weiss piece for the Free Press after their recent visit to Israel, she said,

“There was not a single conversation that I had in the week I spent in Israel where the person did not say a version of the following: There was an October 6 version of me and an October 7 version of me. I am forever changed. I am a different person.“

That hits home for me as there is no question that October 7th changed me forever.  I have always been a passionate Zionist.  My grandparents and parents raised me that way.  They were passionate about have a Jewish homeland, my grandparents living in America during the Shoah and my parents being born at the end of it.  I will never forget my grandfather telling how they listened to the UN vote on a transistor radio and how they celebrated when the vote came in that ensured a Jewish state would be created.  It was dream to visit Israel and after I graduated college, my present was a 4 week trip to Israel.

I have been back to Israel 19 more times since then (total of 20 visits) and can never get another or stay long enough.  There is something in the air, on the ground, that is special.  The food is amazing, and I love the people, the beaches, the green of the north, the beauty of the desert.  My favorite place changes all the time.  Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Galil.    On my last visit I fell in love with Ir Yamim, a southern suburb of Netanya.  Suffice it to say that I love Israel and am a proud Zionist.

Horseback riding with my friend Remo Eyal in Netanya on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea in Netanaya.

As a proud Zionist, I got involved with AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) more than 25 years ago.  I was awarded the campus ally one year and been to many conferences.  With the shift away from the big 20,000-person policy conference to the much smaller 1,400 Policy Summits, I have still been invited and have attended the first two that have been held.  This week was the second and it was truly incredible.

AIPAC gets important politicians to address the summit.  As a non-partisan organization that works in a bi-partisan manner, that means we hear from leaders of both parties as well as leaders of Israel.  This year was no exception. 

We heard from all four leaders of the House and Senate.  Representative Leader Hakim Jeffries and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as well as Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell.  All were powerfully pro-Israel.  It made Thursday’s speech by Senator Schumer hurt even more as he was so positive when he spoke on Monday night.  To call on Israel to replace their democratically elected leader in a country that has had more elections in the past few years than we can count and not call on the Palestinian Authority to have elections to end the 19 years that Mahmoud Abbas has served in his 4 year elected term is offensive. To meddle publicly in the politics of a key ally in the middle of an existential war is unacceptable. It is a reminder of why we have the challenges we do. Israel remains held to a different standard than anybody else in the world. Compared, to House Minority Leader Jeffries, who doubled down on Israel needing to eliminate Hamas, it was quite a contrast. 

Representative Hakim Jeffries, Minority Leader in the House
Senator Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader in the Senate
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
Senator Chuck Schumer, majority leader in the Senate

Senators Rick Scott and John Fetterman were two of the leaders who attended the special dinner on Monday night, each holding court with attendees to talk, answer questions and support Israel.  Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Brian Mast were also there, and I am sure there were many others that I didn’t get to see.

Representatives Don Davis (D-NC) and Rep Young Kim (R-CA) spoke together with incredible passion.  Rep Davis is African American and Rep Kim is an Asian American.  They showed that Israel is not just a Jewish issue and I hope many others follow their lead.  It was inspiring to hear them speak.

Representative Young Kim and Representative Don Davis

Brett McGuirk, Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North African gave us incredible insight into what’s going on.  It was incredible to hear directly from him and we learned a great deal. 

Israeli Opposition party leader Yair Lapid spoke to use by satellite from Israel.  He was powerful and inspired us all.  Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog spoke to us in person, inspiring us as the Israeli Ambassador.  At the end of the conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu also addressed the crowd by satellite, although I had to leave before then as I had lobbying appointments on Capitol Hill to get to. 

Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid
Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog

Two of the best we heard from were Wesley Bell, running against Rep Cori Bush, a vile antisemite, and George Latimer, running against Jamal Bowman, another vile antisemite.  Both members of the squad are behind in the polls and hearing Bell and Latimer speak gave great hope for a different Congress in 2025 that is more pro-Israel and one that is more educated on the issues and the realities. 

George Latimer and Wesley Bell – hopefully they defeat Jamal Bowman and Cori Bush, two vile antisemites.

Senators Kirstin Gillibrand and Joni Ernst were on a panel with Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  They each spoke powerfully and beautifully about Israel, the evil of Hamas, and the need for Israel to destroy Hamas. 

As you can see, it was a powerful group of leaders who spoke to us.  But that wasn’t the most powerful part of the conference.  The most powerful part of the conference were the Israeli’s we heard from who were there on October 7th.  Who experienced the terror, who lost loved ones, and parents whose dual citizen son, Omer Neutra, remains a hostage.  Omer graduated high school and decided to spend a gap year in Israel.  While spending his gap year in Israel, he decided that rather than return to the US for college, he wanted to enlist in the IDF and serve Israel.  On October 7th he was taken hostage and has not been heard from since.  Omer is all our children.  We can all related to a child taking a gap year and being inspired while doing so.  He could be in college right now, but instead chose to serve the Jewish people in the IDF.  He has not been a hostage for nearly 160 days.  As we listened to his parents, all we could think of was that Omer could be our child and he quickly became our child and our cause.  When we heard a dual citizen hostage was found to have been murdered on October 7th and Hamas still has his body, we were all horrified and fearful it was Omer.  Our hearts broke for the family of Itai Chen, who learned of his death FIVE MONTHS after it happened.  Who don’t have his body to bury and the ability for closure. 

Omer Neutra’s picture as his parents spoke to us. It was heartbreaking. Bring them home NOW!

We heard from a young woman named Or Tzuk who lives in Kfar Aza.  I want to warn you that this story is graphic.  She and her husband were away on holiday the weekend of October 7th.  Hamas terrorists broke into her house and murdered her father, mother, and their dog.  Her brother, who in her words is like a ‘big American’, hid under the bed and wasn’t found.  Hamas shot bullets all around the house with a number of them grazing him.  He laid in his parents and their dog’s blood and urine for 7 hours before being rescued.  7 hours lying in his parent’s blood and urine, looking at their dead bodies and the dead body of his dog.  When rescued, he took off his shirt to be examined and they found that his mother’s teeth were embedded in his skin.  I can’t even imagine.  She now wears combat boots all the time.  She has to have an exit strategy in every room she is in.  She has difficulty sleeping.  Listening to her talk was heartbreaking. 

Or Tzuk speaking on the Israeli news 10 days after the Hamas massacre of October 7th. Her pain wasn’t any less when she spoke to us 5 months later.

We heard from a Nehoray Levy, a young man who was at the Nova Music Festival.  He ran and was able to escape.  He hid for hours alone.  When things got quiet, he got up and ran to where he saw others who had escaped the music festival and hid together with them until they were rescued. 

Nehoray recorded a farewell message to his parents and family during the Hamas attack. It’s painful to watch as he says his goodbyes, not sure if he will survive.

Daniel Waiss, who sang Hatikvah, lost both his parents on October 7th, part of the time lying between the dead bodies of his friends.  I can’t imagine spending hours lying between the dead bodies of my friends, hoping and praying that the terrorists don’t come find me and kill me too.  He had decided to use his music as a way to heal not only himself but others who have been traumatized.  He has gone back to the area where the terrorists murdered his family and performed a concert for them.  He sang beautifully and while Hatikvah is always powerful and meaningful when I sing it, this one was the most meaningful I have ever sung. 

Daniel Wais singing on YouTube

After this, filled with energy and passion on behalf of the American-Israel relationship and Israel itself, we went to the Hill to lobby our Central Florida Senators and Representatives.  All support Israel.  Almost all agreed that Israel must do whatever it takes to defeat Hamas.  They all listened to us and heard our message.  I hope they all support the aid package to Israel.  I hope they all understand what Israel faces.  Most do, but not all.  I spent Tuesday on the Hill, doing my part to advocate for Israel and the American Israeli relationship.  When my future grandchildren ask me what I did after October 7, 2023, I have an answer for them.  I didn’t sit silently.  I didn’t hide.  I became more publicly Jewish.  I worked with our legislators.  I attended the rally in DC.  I took action.  I hope that you will have answer for your grandchildren as well. 

Representative Darren Soto
Representative Daniel Webster
Representative Maxwell Frost – I did a bad job taking the picture

As a proud Jew and a proud Zionist, I have struggled greatly since October 7th.  One image I will never forget was on the news that day.  It was a minivan on the side of the road.  The driver, the father of family, had been murdered and was slumped over the steering wheel.  His young daughter was also murdered, slumped over him.  It’s an image that will never leave my mind.  I saw the Hamas 47-minute video and there are many images there that I will never forget and that will never leave my mind.

Since October 7th I have ordered a special Magen David (star of David) from Israel that I wear daily.  I got my ‘Bring Them Home Now’ and ‘We will Dance Again’ dog tags from Israel that I wear every day. I got a new “Am Yisrael Chai’” pendant.  As requested by Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the American Israeli who lost an arm at the Nova Music Festival and was taken hostage, I put the masking tape over my heart and use a sharpie to chronicle how many days the hostages have been in captivity.  I get asked about that more than anything else. 

My newest necklace

This AIPAC Policy Summit was powerful for me as it wasn’t just an opportunity to learn about policy, hear from politicians, lobby on the hill, and see some cool Israeli things.  It was a chance to hear from Israeli’s personally impacted by October 7th.  To hear their stories from their own mouths, in their own words.  I’ll never forget their faces, their voices, or their stories. 

When he was Hillel International President, Avraham Infeld used to say all the time that ‘Judaism is NOT a religion.’   He would step back, say it again, and then say, ‘See, I wasn’t struck by lightning.   Judaism is a mishpacha (family) who share a common religion.’  Ambassador Michael Oren reiterated this in his column today. As a mishpacha, the people murdered on October 7th are my family.  The people taken hostage on October 7th are my family.  The people currently still being held hostage are my family.  The IDF soldiers fighting and dying to eliminate the evil that is Hamas are my family.  The civilians attacked in the streets in Israel and stabbed are my family.  I stand with my family.  I stand with Israel.   Am Yisrael Chai.

With Michael Oren at the Orlando JNF event. He is truly a brilliant man and worth following his writings.
Am Yisrael Chai – The people of Israel live!

Happy Birthday Ariel Sharon and Yitzhak Rabin – 2 complex Israeli heroes

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As most of you know, I am a passionate and unapologetic Zionist.  Being a Zionist simply means that I believe that the Jewish people have a right to their own country and their own self-determination.  No matter what else you may THINK Zionism is or means, that’s what it really does.  The rest is simply propaganda created and spread by those Jew haters who want no Jews to exist and those who aren’t willing to actually learn something about Zionism.

As a result of my love affair with the State of Israel, I got connected with Dr. Ken Stein and the Center for Israel Education (CIE).  Each week, CIE puts out ‘This week in Israeli history’.  Some weeks there are nuggets that I learn about and other weeks there are monumentous events.  This week it’s of the monumentous variety.

On February 27, 1928, Ariel Sharon was born is born in K’far Malal (near Hod Hasharon).  For those of you who know much about Israel, Hod Hasharon is the home of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel.  My cousin Eric attended there in 1984 and I have many friends who have attended as well. This would have been Ariel Sharon’s 96th birthday.

Sharon, like many of that generation, took an Israeli last name, changing his birth name of Scheinerman to Sharon.  A true Zionist and patriot, he joined the Haganah in 1945 and served in the War of Independence.  His reputation, which continued through his life, was having a lack of restraint and being very aggressive.  He served as a paratrooper commander in the 1956 war, a Major General in the Six Day War (1967), and the commander of an armored division in the Yom Kippur War (1973).

Ariel Sharon in 1982 at the Suez Canal after peace with Egypt

Already a hero, Sharon was appointed the Israeli Defense Minister in 1981 by Prime Minister Menachem Begin.  He launched the Operation Peace for the Galilee (1982) and was forced to resign after being found negligent in failing to prevent the massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps by the Lebanese Christian Phalange troops.

Sharon was elected head of the Likud party in 1999 and became Israel’s 11th Prime Minister in 2001.  As Prime Minister, he approved construction of the security fence, advocated for settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and despite his reputation as a military hawk, oversaw the disengagement from Gaza, hoping it would jump start peace talks with the Palestinians.  In 2006, he suffered a stroke that left him incapacitated and was no longer Prime Minister.  He passed away in January 2014 after spending 8 years in a coma.

Ariel Sharon is a complex figure and a good lesson in the complexities of Israel and the region.  Most of his career, he was considered a far right, war hawk.  He was a military hero whose leadership was critical to the victory in the Six Day War.  His leadership and actions in the 1973 war were essential to Israel turning the tide and capturing the Suez Canal and almost marching to Cairo before America and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stepped in to stop the war.

His resignation after being found negligent in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps by the Christian Phalange troops have many branding him a war criminal.  He certainly did not use good judgment at the time, doing nothing to stop Christian militiamen allied with Israel from entering the camps, despite fears they might seek to avenge the killing of their leader the previous day.  War criminal or not, it was a poor decision that helped define his life, career, and legacy.

In 2000, he went to the Temple Mount and visited the Al Aqsa Mosque.  To many people this would be seen as no big deal.  It’s the historic site of the ancient first and second Jewish temple.  The ‘Rock’ in Dome of the Rock is supposed to be both the rock that Abraham bound Isaac to, prepared to sacrifice him, as well as the rock that Muhammad rose to heaven from.  It’s also a flashpoint for violence as Jewish access is limited and many attribute the 2nd intifada to this visit.  It’s a place I have never been to and hope that one day I will be able to have access.  I remember this visit and wondering why he chose to do it as it was clearly going to incite violence.

Ariel Sharon on Temple Mount – this is considered by many to be what incited the 2nd intifada

In 2005, he made the decision to withdraw all Israelis and Jews from Gaza, returning it to Palestinian control, as an effort to jumpstart peace.  The settlers and many Israelis were very upset that he would take this action as 21 Israeli communities were forcibly removed from Gaza and relocated inside Israel.  His hopes for peace as a result never materialized, his stroke a few months later meant that he never had the opportunity to follow up on his vision.  The Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, is tied back my many to this action in 2005 which led to the creation of modern Gaza.

The removal of Israelis and Jews from Gaza in 2005 was highly controversial. In the end, it didn’t accomplish the goal of peace and resulted in the Hamas massacre of October 7th

Sharon is an Israeli hero that I have always struggled with.  My grandparents loved him because after the Shoah, he was the face of an Israeli and Jewish warrior.  He kept safeguarding the Jewish people as his top priority and his actions were very public and visible.  From 1957 through 1973, he played key roles in winning wars to ensure Israel’s existence and inspiring Jews in Israel and the diaspora.  When I look back on those years, I see a headstrong officer who I can say thank you to for ensuring Israel exists. 

A young Ariel Sharon with Moshe Dayan, another of the great Israeli leaders.

The Sabra and Shatila massacre cause me great pain and challenges.  While he didn’t actually murder anybody and it wasn’t IDF soldiers under his command who committed the massacre, he had the opportunity to stop it or at least intervene, and he didn’t. From what I know of Ariel Sharon, I believe it to be a tactical choice that he made.  I cannot reconcile the Jewish hero I wrote about with the man who would allow this to happen.  I remember struggling with his being elected Prime Minister because of this.  This struggle was enhanced by that 2000 visit to Temple Mount.  As I’ve said, it’s a place I have always wanted to go and have never been able to visit.  While there have been times when it has been permitted, the access is limited and as meaningful as it would be to pray on the Temple Mount, that is forbidden to Jews.  Most people don’t know of this prohibition.  It is hard to believe that his visit was not intended to incite violence.  At the time the impeding visit was discussed with this being the likely outcome.  Yet he did it anyway.  Just like Sharon in battle, who did what he wanted, and thought was right, he did it with this visit, with the 2nd intifada as the resulting outcome. 

And then there was the withdrawal from Gaza.  I grew up being taught that when we finally got to the point of land for peace or money to release the Jewish people from oppression (like in the USSR), the battle was won.  We would always give up land for peace just as we would pay for the freedom of our people.  21 Jewish communities were relocated.  I hated seeing the families uprooted from their homes and forcibly removed.  I hated seeing their crying and outrage.  Yet I was hopeful that it would be for the greater good and that perhaps, the Palestinians would create a ‘Singapore of the Middle East’ in Gaza, and we might have peace. 

As Israel faces all sorts of calls from countries around the world for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ and the creation of a Palestinian State without conditions.  It’s worth remembering what President George W. Bush said in his August 27, 2005 radio address about the withdrawal from Gaza and the hope for a different future and what was required. 

During the past two weeks, Prime Minister Sharon and the Israeli people took a courageous and painful step by removing Israeli settlements in Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank. I congratulate the Prime Minister for his bold leadership.

Now that Israel has withdrawn, the way forward is clear. The Palestinians must show the world that they will fight terrorism and govern in a peaceful way. We will continue to help the Palestinians to prepare for self-government and to defeat the terrorists who attack Israel and oppose the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state.

We remain fully committed to defending the security and well-being of our friend and ally Israel. We demand an end to terrorism and violence in every form because we know that progress depends on ending terror. And we will continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows two democratic states – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security.

It is obvious this didn’t happen.  There was no Palestinian fight against terrorism, nor did they govern in a peaceful way.  The demand for an end to terrorism and violence remains a key requirement for peace and security.  The withdrawal from Gaza was an abject failure even before October 7th.  My hopes didn’t come to fruition and while I respect Sharon’s efforts to find peace, it turned out to be yet another failure of his leadership decisions. 

Ultimately, I find myself viewing Sharon as a Lion of Israel, one of the key people who ensured the survival of the Jewish state, but also one who struggled with political leadership.  He isn’t a role model, there is far too much that is troublesome, but he is an icon in the history of the modern State of Israel and one worth studying and discussing to learn from.

Remember that in the start of this post, I used the work momentous.  The birth of Ariel Sharon in a week is significant but not momentous.  On March 1, 1922, Yitzhak Rabin was born.  They celebrated their birthdays just a few days apart.  Two amazing leaders of the Modern State of Israel and the Jewish people. This would have been Rabin’s 102nd birthday!

When I read about Rabin, I’m always shocked that he was Israel’s 5th Prime Minister.  I forget that he took over for Golda Meir in 1974 and think of him much more during his 2nd term of Prime Minister from 1992-1995.  I also am always shocked at how short his second term was as it seems he accomplished so much during that term. It speaks to how young the country really is that somebody who played a prominent role in virtually all of Israel’s history is somebody that I recall so vividly.  In many ways it would be like experiencing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin in the US.

Rabin in his Palmach uniform in January 1948

Rabin, the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born in Eretz Yisrael (Palestine at the time), served in the Palmach and as a commander in the 1948 Independence War.   As Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he was in charge of the 1967 Six Day War. Following the War, he was appointed Israel’s Ambassador to the United States from 1968 until 1973. Fifty years ago, he was already an icon.  After returning to Israel, Rabin was elected to the Knesset and became Prime Minister Golda Meir’s Minister of Labor. Upon her resignation in 1974, Rabin became Prime Minister.

Being Prime Minister in Israel means you live in interesting times and your leadership is constantly tested.  As Prime Minister, Rabin signed an interim agreement with Syria in May 1974 and one with Egypt over the Sinai in 1975.  One of his most famous actions occurred in 1976 when terrorists hijacked an Israeli plan and flew it to Uganda.  Rabin ordered the  rescue of Israeli, Jewish, and other hostages from Entebbe in Uganda in 1976.  

The raid on Entebbe was a huge success and raised the profile of the Israeli military further beyond the 6 day war. The only casualty was Yonatan Netanyahu, Bibi’s older brother.

Israel is an interesting country with some interesting laws and scandals.  In 1977, it was discovered that he and his wife, Leah, had maintained an American bank account from their time in the US as the Israeli Ambassador.  Leah publicly confirmed that she opened and operated the account alone however, then Attorney General Aharon Barak decided to prosecute both Leah and Yitzhak for this violation which normally only incurred a civil fine.  Named by the media as the ‘Dollar Affair’, Rabin chose to resign over the lapse.  When we look at our leaders today, it’s hard to imagine them taking such a moral and ethical stance over such a small infraction when they are involved in much larger scandals and choose to deny, minimize, and deflect.  Unlike Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin chose to live his values, morals, and ethics, no matter the cost.

Rabin returned to the Knesset and also served as Minister of Defense from 1984-1990.  In 1992, he again assumed leadership of the Labor party, and was elected to his second term as Prime Minister in June of 1992.

The 1992-1995 years of his second term as Prime Minister, Rabin oversaw some amazing breakthroughs that most people hoped would be transformational in the peace process.  The Oslo Accords were negotiated and signed by Rabin with Yassir Arafat.  In 1994 Rabin was able to negotiate with King Hussein of Jordan on a peace treaty that remains in place 30 years later. These efforts inspired the world and in 1994, Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.” 

The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize winners
The famous picture of Rabin and Arafat shaking hands with President Clinton

Sadly, on November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by a right wing, nationalistic Israeli who didn’t want peace.  The assassination came minutes after Rabin gave a pro-peace speech in Tel Aviv to more than 100,000 people cheering and hopeful about a different future.

I remember when Rabin was assassinated and the shock that was felt around the world.  The fact that it was a fellow Jew who murdered him made it even worse.  Hope for a brighter future seemed to disappear and in the 28 years since, has never recovered. 

Every time I am in Israel, I seem to find my way to Rabin Square, the location of the pro-peace speech and his assassination, named for him after his murder.  I’ve been there for Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations and for concerts.  It’s an empty space until there is a reason to gather.  I can imagine the energy that night and the power of hope.  In the back, there is the area where he was shot.  It’s preserved as a mini-museum documenting what happened.  You can see where everybody was standing and even stand in their footsteps.  You can see where Rabin’s security failed, allowing the murderer access to shoot Rabin.  You can learn about the chaos that happened after the shooting, resulting in him being taken to the wrong hospital, wasting key time that may have been able to save his life.  I am always humbled when I stand there and find myself dreaming of what could have been. 

The memorial where Rabin was assasinated.

I read the David Horovitz biography of Rabin, Shalom Friend, and was deeply moved by the man.  Similar to Ariel Sharon, he was there from the beginning in the War of Independence and throughout all the wars that came after.  Rabin remained committed to his core beliefs throughout and unlike Sharon, didn’t waver.  Rabin was complicated in the fact that he was both a man of war and of peace.  While Sharon faced significant questions related to his sincerity for peace, Rabin was seen by the world as the bringer of peace.  I often wonder if Yitzhak Rabin was the last politician I will see in my lifetime who truly acted on his morals, values, and integrity rather than his electability.  While I don’t doubt what I think Sharon would say and do after October 7th, I am challenged by what Rabin would say and do.  As a Zionist who did everything he could to ensure Israel won every war, he also did everything he could to ensure Israel could win the peace.  Would he bring clarity to the world at a time when it’s so greatly needed?  Would he be able to unite Israel at a time when we are seeing divisions again about the hostages, finishing the war in Gaza, Bibi as Prime Minister, and so much more. 

Despite the Oslo Accords not working the way we hoped, Rabin is a true hero.  Unlike Sharon, a Lion of Israel, Rabin was a true statesman.  He was a true leader.  He had a clear vision for what Israel could and should be.  He had a vision of a world where Israel lived in peace with her neighbors.  Rabin understood America and diaspora Jews just as he understood Israelis.  Perhaps the only thing he didn’t understand was the power of hatred, which cost him his life and has resulted in the Hamas massacre of October 7th.  That’s a shortcoming I’d be happy to accept in a leader of Israel and the US. 

As we celebrate the birth of two icons of the Modern State of Israel this week, we have a chance to learn from them both.  Both taught and continue to teach us important lessons about moral character, about hatred and the short term and long term impacts of it, of leadership and of hope.  Although both died before accomplishing their goals due to a stroke and an assassin, both died with hope in their hearts and in their efforts.  Let’s not let the sacrifices of these two great men go to waste because we lose hope.  Even in times of despair, we must hold onto hope for a brighter future.  It is that hope which will sustain us through the difficult times and allow us to reach better ones. 

Pictures of Rabin and Sharon. The last one also has Shimon Peres. These are the founding fathers of the Modern State of Israel.

Sunday was an Israel day

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Sunday turned into a significant Israel day for me in a wonderful way.  Since October 7th, most Israel days have been focused on things like the hostages, the war, relatives of friends who were hostages or who were murdered, the IDF soldiers who were killed in action and both hoping that they weren’t people that I knew and being sad that they are people I will never get to know.  It’s writing the number of days the hostages have been held on a piece of masking tape that I wear over my heart, my two dog tags that say, ‘Bring them home now” and “We will dance again”.  It’s following the rocket attacks from Hezbollah in the north and hoping that there won’t be a war in the north.  Checking on my friends in Israel and their loved ones who are serving.  Following Congress’s lack of ability to pass the needed aid package for Israel (and Ukraine).  The inane demands for a ceasefire now without a demand to release the hostages now.  Seeing social media posts from friends who have no clue what’s going on, advocating against Israel, and believing the lies.  I love Israel and it’s a heavy burden on a daily basis even in America.

Sunday was a day of joy.  My childhood friend, Grace Rodnitzki, was in town for the BBYO International Convention on behalf of the Ethiopian National Project (ENP), where she has worked for nearly 2 decades.  I have previously written about not needing ‘new, old friends’ and being grateful for the long-term relationships I have.  Grace is one of those people as we have been friends since the early 1980s when we were in BBYO together.  She brought her boss, Roni Akale, with her.  Roni is the Director General of the ENP and made the walk from Ethiopia to Sudan in 1983 at the age of 20.  I’ve met Roni many times and he is a truly amazing person. 

My friend Grace – it’s always so good to see her either here or in Israel.

Roni Akale. I love seeing him and hearing his stories. The work of ENP is amazing.

Roni as a child in Ethiopia

I have visited a few ENP sites in Israel and was amazed at the work that they do for the Ethiopian Jewish community.  Having an opportunity for Roni and Grace to discuss the work of ENP and share Roni’s story with members of the Central Florida community was a privilege.  We spent a few hours before the event talking and catching up.  It was so meaningful to be talking about Israel, hope, and the future after October 7th. 

Watch the video of us learning Ethiopian dancing at an ENP site years ago. So much fun and such a great memory.
Another video of us dancing at an ENP site. Visit an ENP site and it will change your life.

There is so much misinformation and disinformation about Israel.  The antisemites want to paint Israel as a white, European, colonial effort.  It’s so inaccurate that it would laughable if people didn’t believe it so easily.  Walk the streets of Israel and experience the beauty of diversity.  Mizrahi Jews (those descended from Jews in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia), Ashkenazic (Eastern European) Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Arabs, Druze, Christians, and B’hai all call Israel home.  If you explore the Ethiopian Israeli culture, you will experience a vibrancy that may surprise you.  There are now approximately 175,000 Ethiopian Israelis with 47% of them born as Sabras (born in Israel).  It’s a growing population just like all the diverse groups within Israel are growing.   

Israel is a growing and thriving country.  Not only is it the only democracy in the region, it is also the only place where equal rights exist for everybody.  I often get very frustrated by people who I know and like who believe the propaganda put out by those who hate Jews.  They aren’t bad people; they are simply misinformed.  When I have the chance to have a real conversation, face to face, it’s usually not only productive but personally meaningful.  I have chosen not to engage with them on social media because it doesn’t go anywhere and is often more harmful than helpful.  Finding ways to get them to experience the diversity of Israel is more productive through conversation, meeting with different Israeli populations, and serious dialogue rather than simple hasbara (advocacy).   

My favorite story that Roni tells is how during the walk from Ethiopia to Sudan, the man leading them did not continue and left the group with a donkey and his son.  As they walked through the jungle, they were robbed and had everything taken.  No food, no water, no supplies.  When they asked the son who was leading them how to get to Sudan, he didn’t know!  So how did they get from the middle of the jungle to where they needed to be in Sudan?  Because the donkey, who they had with them, knew the way!  It was the donkey who led them from Ethiopia to Sudan!  

I also had another wonderful surprise on Sunday.  My friend Yaron, who is in the IDF reserves and was recently released from duty in Gaza, was in town.  We got to spend time together before the ENP event and he even participated in the ENP event, sharing his experience that the Ethiopian community were incredible resources and merely needed the support and education that ENP provides to excel academically, in the IDF, and afterwards in university and in business.  Yaron and I then spent a few hours together catching up and touring Decision Tactical, a truly amazing place.  I encourage you to visit Decision Tactical and learn self-defense and more from them – you will be amazed.

My friend Yaron. So good to see him and know that he is safe. He is a true hero.

While touring Decision Tactical with Yaron, it was fascinating to see his reactions and hear his insights.  While we were touring, we had an opportunity to meet with some Israelis who have new technology with virtual reality and self-defense and law enforcement training.  I loved the fact that it was Israelis who designed this technology and that it will be available for our law enforcement to use as training and for civilians to experience and learn.  There is so much that Israel gives to the world that is not appreciated by those who are ignorant.  Those who use their iPhone to tweet about Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS), not realizing they are using Israeli technology.  Those who text not knowing it was Israeli technology that created SMS.  People who lives are saved by Israeli medical research and technology that are on the front line of Jew hatred and BDS.     People who use their computers to spread hate against the Jews and Israel, not realizing their computer chips come from Israel.  The list goes on and on.

Yaron’s story was told in a much earlier blog post when I was in Israel.  He spent 120 days in Gaza after October 7th as head of operations.  He shared with me how often he faced death during those 120 days, and it was truly unbelievable.  On October 7th, he ran from his house to fight the terrorists without a weapon.  He didn’t have one until he came across a murdered IDF soldier and was able to use his weapon.  I found it insightful and very moving when he shared that hardest part was actually on the flight from Israel to the US when it was quiet.  It was the first time he had quiet in 120 days.  It was the first time that he could actually feel his feelings.  He told me how difficult that flight was as he began processing everything since October 7th.  It highlights the big challenge facing Israel after this war ends.  So many Israelis will have PTSD to deal with.  The trauma didn’t end on October 7th.  It just began.  Besides being a friend and an amazing human being, Yaron is a true hero and a real badass. 

I told Yaron the story of my friend’s cousin, Hila Rotem Shoshani, who was taken by Hamas along with her mother as hostages from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th.  You can read the story in this previous blog.  When I showed him the videos of her opening the birthday and Hanukkah presents that we got for her, the look on his face was priceless.  It’s one I will never forget.  You could see a bit of joy.  A bit of relief.  It was exactly why he put himself in mortal danger in Gaza.  It is why he spent his career in the IDF.  It is why he returned.  It’s the essence of the Jewish people.  Kol arevim ze la ze (all of Israel are responsible for each other.) 

Hila opening the suitcase and some of her presents. Look at her face – how can it not warm your heart?
You will smile as big or bigger than she is when you watch this.

Yaron and IDF soldiers like him inspire me.  I have too many friends who are serving in the reserves.  Too many friends who have their children serving in the IDF.  4 friends that have 6 relatives that were hostages.  Four have been released, two remain hostages.  Friends that lost relatives at the Nova Music Festival.  These IDF soldiers are not just fighting for the survival of Israel.  They are fighting for the survival of the Jewish people.  Their willingness to fight for Israel and the Jewish people inspires me to do what I can here in America.  They inspire me to go to Israel as soon as possible so that I can contribute in whatever way possible.  As we see the increase of antisemitism around the world and especially here in America, it is frightening to think of a world without Israel.  These IDF soldiers ensure that we don’t have to worry about a world without Israel.

This poem (translated from Hebrew) inspired me.  It’s a beautiful poem but more importantly it is true. 

The Real Israelis – Asaf Perry

(Translation Gadi Ben Dov)

The History teacher is really a Delta Force fighter.

The kindergarten teacher is a Military Intelligence Officer

None of us knew that the stuck-up neighbor is a company commander in the Tanks corps.

And that the contractor with the funny hat working at the house next door is an F16 pilot.

That the “always dressed perfectly” female lawyer from upstairs is a combat officer that is

working overtime at her post in the army, the funny owner of the neighborhood food market

is a trained sniper who is lying on a rooftop somewhere in Gaza right now.

Some say that the angry tough lady who is the bank branch manager is deputy regiment commander in the Home Front Command and is now working to organize all the housing by

the Dead Sea hotels for the evacuees from the villages near the border with Gaza.

That the friendly smiley bus driver that always takes the kids to school is a commander of a

battery of 155mm artillery guns stationed in the north and the fancy looking interior designer next door is a paramedic who is now stationed in the West Bank.

Legend has it that the geeky looking physics student is really a Navy Seal that performs some crazy operations in an undisclosed location right now.

They look like normal ordinary everyday people dressed like normal people with ordinary jobs but that’s really just their cover story. Because suddenly when they are needed, they open a hidden drawer or closet in their apartment or pull out a trunk from under their bed and take out their superhero cape, their reserve duty IDF uniform and go out to save theworld and protect us.

In Israel we all look like ordinary people – really we do, but deep down inside we are a country of SUPERHEROS.

Since October 7th I find myself longing to be in Israel.  It’s been very difficult not being there and not being able to do something in Israel for Israel.  I do what I can from America but it doesn’t feel enough.  Israel isn’t just a core part of who I am as a Jew.  It’s who I am as a human being.  It’s part of my core identity.  If you have never been to Israel, I urge you to go and go soon.  I’m happy to help you find the best way to go.  There are many opportunities to go on solidarity and volunteer trips now where you can experience Israel and make a difference.  If you have been, I urge you to go back.  Israel needs us more than ever to show that we are all part of the same family. 

Am Yisrael Chai

Israel’s 1948 covenants with the Jewish people

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

On Monday I listened to Ambassador Michael Oren speak about what’s going on in Israel.  He talked about many different topics, and each was fascinating.  The one that struck me the deepest was the covenant created in 1948 between the Israeli Government and the Israeli people and how October 7th violated that covenant for the first time.

Ambassador Michael Oren and me

I found the use of the word covenant significant as this is the basis for the Jewish people, our covenant made between Abraham and God.  I don’t think Ambassador Oren used it indiscriminately but rather intentionally to connect the two covenants: the one between God and Abraham and the one between the Israeli government and the Israeli/Jewish people.  He told us that there were two covenants between the Israeli government and the Israeli people made in 1948, both of which were broken on October 7th.

The first covenant relates to the fact that literally almost 3 years to the day that the Shoah ended, David Ben Gurion issued the Declaration of Independence, creating the State of Israel.  At that time, the covenant was ‘Never Again’.  Now that we had a country and would have an army, something like the Shoah would never happen again.  Yet on October 7th, Hamas terrorists murdered the largest number of Jews since the Shoah.  The government and the army did not protect the people and allowed it to happen.  The how and why will be determined at a later date, but the covenant was broken.  

The second covenant was that the Government would never leave anybody behind.  Whatever the cost to get Jews and Israelis back when taken hostage or captive would be paid for their return.  When Gilad Shalit was taken hostage, the eventual deal to release him meant that Israel traded 1,027 prisoners, terrorists, murderers, in exchange for Gilad.  It was a heavy price to pay, especially in hindsight since one of them was Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas and architect of the October 7th attacks.  While being controversial at the time, it was this covenant that led to it happening.  Since that trade and what Sinwar has become and done, Israel has not been willing to pay whatever the price required to release all the hostages.  As a result, we are now in day 132 of the hostages being held.  Israel’s security needs are outweighing the price being demanded by Hamas, breaking this covenant as well.  This is why we see families of hostages blocking the road where humanitarian aid is being delivered by Israel.  It is why former MK Einat Wilf recently stated that Israel should not have given or permitted any humanitarian aid to Gaza unless they released the hostages.  It is why Israel hasn’t filled the tunnels with gasoline and thrown in a match, eliminating Hamas leadership, who are hiding in the tunnels.  The hostages are also in the tunnels and getting them back is required.

In November 2013 I had the honor of meeting Gilad Shalit (pictured with his girlfriend)

As he spoke to us and shared these two covenants, I began to think about how many people have no understanding of what’s going on.  The LGBTQ+ community in support of Hamas, who would execute them for existing.  Women who stand up against sexual violence everywhere yet remain quiet when it’s Israeli/Jewish women because somehow it was justified.   The cries of genocide as the number of people in Gaza continue to increase year after year after year.  Calling Israel an apartheid state while not understanding the definition or how it goes against everything being Jewish is about.  Ethnic cleansing when the exact opposite is happening and while the arab states in the region have removed all or almost of all their Jews. 

The cries of indiscriminate killing by Israel is absurd.  There is data, based on what Hamas has unreliably provided, that prove this fact.  In December 2023, an article highlighted the data analysis that proved this to be false.  This data analysis shows that

Our analysis of reported deaths in Gaza in the 2014 and 2023 conflicts rules out any allegations of “indiscriminate killing” of civilians; it suggests rather that the opposite is true. The data highlight a clear and significant excess of deaths amongst males, and particularly those aged 20-39 who would be the most likely in the combatant population. This finding was consistent in both the 2014 and 2023 conflicts, which refutes any such allegation in both wars.

In addition, in his most recent substack piece, Ambassador Oren breaks down the unreliable data provided by Hamas to show that the civilian to combatant fatality rate in Gaza is one to one.  He also documents that according to The New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Watson Institute of Brown University, in America’s wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the ratio was four civilians killed for every combatant. The record for NATO’s 1999 intervention in Serbia was similarly four-to-one.   Israel is 4 times better in Gaza than the United States was in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan as well NATO in Serbia, yet Israel is accused of indiscriminate killing.

A friend of mine who is very liberal, has reached out a lot since October 7th with questions.  Things he didn’t know and after October 7th and the rise in antisemitism, he wants to learn.  He is always stunned that the more he learns, the less things make sense.  The clearer the situation becomes; the murkier reality is.  We chat online regularly throughout the week.  I appreciate his questions as they come from a place of inquiry.  We need to continue to encourage the asking of questions and the often times hard answers.  Hasbara is no longer enough.  We must confront the challenges that exist in order to take advantage of the opportunities that come as a result. 

Most days I find myself frustrated with the media and the lack of honest reporting.  Another friend, who is not Jewish, asked me today, “How come we don’t hear much about the hostages anymore?”  Since I hear about them every day, put my masking tape on with the updated number of days they have been hostages every day, wear my Bring Them Home Now dogtag and my We Will Dance Again dogtag every day and choose not to watch or listen to most of the main stream media, I didn’t realize the coverage has disappeared.  As the cries for ‘Cease Fire Now’ continue, I wonder why ‘Bring the home now’ isn’t just as loud or louder?  As the cries for more humanitarian aid get louder, I wonder why the fact that the UN and UNRWA aren’t even picking up the truckloads of aid that are dropped off for them to pick up daily.  As the proof of UNRWA being both a funder of Hamas and that so many of the UNRWA employees are members of Hamas continues to grow, why the demand that they must continue even exists.  Now that it’s been shown that the hostages never got the medication that was supposed to be given to them, why is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) still in existence?  133 days as hostages and not a single visit from the ICRC.  Isn’t that their entire reason for existing?

This picture, from February 15, 2024, shows the content of 500 trucks of humanitarian aid on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom, AFTER Israeli inspection, waiting to be picked up and distributed by UN orgs. It was the 3rd day in a row that hundreds of trucks are not picked up and distributed to the people of Gaza by UNRWA.

I remember growing up and being told by my grandparents and my Rabbi that being Jewish wasn’t easy.  That being Jewish meant we had to do more than the minimum.  That we had obligations that went far beyond what was acceptable as the norm.  That we have a history of being hated that wasn’t going away.  In their wildest dreams, I don’t think my grandparents, my father, or my Rabbi could have imagined the world as it is today.  I am 100% sure that my grandparents and my father would be cheering on the IDF and encouraging them to finish the job.  Not because they hate the Palestinian people or the Gazan people.  It would be because the loved the Jewish people and they know that if we don’t protect ourselves, nobody else will.  We have thousands of years of proof of that.  Luckily, today we have Israel and the IDF to ensure the survival of the Jewish people.  It may not be pretty, and it certainly isn’t what any of us want to be happening.  It also is what is necessary to ensure that the Jewish people and the State of Israel continue to flourish.  My heart breaks for the innocent civilians who have been killed because of Hamas and their use of human shields and terror.  My heart breaks for innocent people who have lost everything because of Hamas.  I wish them no ill will.  But my heart is broken and will remain broken for my Jewish brothers and sisters who were murdered on October 7th.  For my IDF brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price for the survival of the Jewish people.  For the families who have lost loved ones or still have loved ones as hostages.  For all those displaced as a result of Hamas’s hatred

The creation of the modern State of Israel means the Jewish people will no longer be sheep led to slaughter.  That may bother a lot of antisemites and I don’t care. 

Am Yisrael Chai.  Never Again. 

The 2 state delusion?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As the hostages begin day 123, the war between Israel and Hamas continues with hand to hand combat inside the tunnels, things get more heated in the north with Hezbollah, and the US-England partnership is bombing the Houthis and Syria in retribution for the 3 soldiers murdered by Iran and 40+ injured, I find myself in disbelief at the world stage and what’s going on in the United States.

Montana Tucker at the Grammy’s highlighting the hostages and urging to ‘Bring them home’. Very different than Annie Lennox asking for a cease fire that only benefits Hamas and that Hamas rejected.

Calls for a ceasefire continue to grow even though Hamas has publicly stated that there will be no ceasefire nor any peace as long as Israel exists.  Not as long as Israel has soldiers in Gaza, but as long as Israel exists.  Today, Hamas rejected another ceasefire offer yet the pressure remains on Israel to simply stop defending herself. Israel has basically stopped the bombing and is engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the tunnels, trying to free the hostages.  These calls for a ceasefire are unilateral for Israel, not forcing Hamas to release the hostages and surrender.  It’s as if October 7th never happened. 

The newest twist has been the call to require a 2 state solution as part of the end to hostilities.  Not only are Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) committed to there being no Israel, both have no interest in a 2 state solution.  Yet the US and Europe are obsessed with this currently impossible solution.  Can you imagine if after 9/11 the US was required to have the Taliban as a new state on the northern AND southern border?  Instead of dividing Germany after WWII can you imagine allowing the Nazi’s to remain in power of a demilitarized state in the same location with evil countries feeding them weapons and bombs despite the demilitarized requirement?

It’s not that a 2-state solution is never possible.  It’s not possible now.  In 2019, when I spent time with leaders of Palestinian civil society, I was amazed when some of the brightest people around told me that if there were elections, they would probably vote for Hamas because the PA did nothing and while Hamas probably would also do nothing, there was at least a chance they might do something to benefit them.  New leadership is needed for the Palestinians.  Leadership that wants to live in peace with their neighbor Israel.  My friend Ali Abu Awwad, founder of the Taghyeer movement, focuses on Palestinian non-violence, change, and living in peace with their neighbor Israel.  He speaks openly, stating, “peace will not come through Jewish blood.  It will come from Jewish hearts.”  That’s the type of leadership needed for peace and a functional Palestinian state. 

My friend Ali Abu Awwad is the voice for the future. Click on the link above with his name and read about a new way forward through Palestinian non-violence and trust. 

Elliot Abrams wrote a beautiful and powerful article about The Two State Delusion on February 5th that should be required reading by all of our elected officials.  We cannot want peace more than the PA, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran do.  Until there is a modern-day Sadat and a modern day Begin, there simply isn’t a path to peace or a 2 state solution. 

Sadat and Begin – great leaders who risked everything for peace. It cost Sadat his life yet the peace holds 44 years later.

I try to imagine or find any other country that is told by their allies and the world that they don’t have the right to defend themselves.  A single country that is told they can’t keep their citizens safe.  Imagine rockets were being fired at the US from Canada and Mexico.  How long would it take for us to level the country?   Three US deaths and 40+ injured on January 28 by terrorists has resulted in the reported deaths of between174 to 225 civilians due to U.S. drone strikes in Yemen.  There is no outrage as we understand that when attacked, the accidental death of civilians occurs.  It is one of the horrors of war and why war should be a last resort, not a first action.  The terrorists of Hamas view it just the opposite.  For them, civilian deaths should be high because it helps their cause.  They do what they can to ensure that civilians are used as human shields and are put in harm’s way.  If you doubt that, ask yourself how many rocket launchers, grenades, bombs, and rifles are kept in your child’s school.  As yourself when you go to the hospital, if there are rooms there where rocket launchers, grenades, bombs, and rifles are kept.  When you go to worship, ask the religious leader to see the rocket launchers and armory they keep. 

I wear my dog tags every day.  One says “bring them home now” and the other says “we will dance again”.  Along with my Magen David (star of David), this guy who only wore an apple watch for years wears these proudly displayed outside my shirt.  I have masking tape I have begun to wear counting the days the hostages have been kept.  Today I will sadly write 123 on the masking tape and put it on my shirt.  Yesterday I wore my “I stand with Israel” sweatshirt with the blue ribbon attached for the hostages.  At the grocery store a number of people asked about my sweatshirt and commented.  No comments were negative, which surprised me. At the bank today, the teller asked me about 123 and when I told her, she shared empathy and said she’d pray for the hostages.

We are truly in a battle for our lives.  There are many in the Jewish community who want to downplay this.  They want to say it’s about Israel and Zionism or the Netanyahu government.  I spoke with my US representative yesterday and we discussed the difference between the government and some of the elected officials in Israel and compared them to members of our US government.  They are people who are held accountable to the electorate.  Just as the current US administration will be held accountable in November with elections where they job performance is evaluated by voters, so too will the Israeli government either at the end of their terms or earlier if the government falls (the difference between the US and Israel’s parliamentary system).  This is very unlike in Gaza where there have not been elections since 2007.  Or the PA where Mahmoud Abbas was elected on January 9, 2005, to serve as President of the Palestinian National Authority for a 4-year term.  He is now 19 years into his 4-year term.  Where is the outrage? 

We are seeing the world once again blame the Jews.  We are held collectively responsible for the hatred against us.  Just as 9/11 was labeled a Jewish conspiracy by many, today it’s Covid-19.  We are accused of blood libels, controlling the banks and the media.  The 2021 book by Dara Horn, People Love Dead Jews, calls back to the words of former Prime Minister Golda Meir, who famously was quoted stating, “If we have to have a choice between being dead and pitied, and being alive with a bad image, we’d rather be alive and have the bad image.” Israel gets this.  Many in the diaspora get this.  Unfortunately, we still have many, such as Peter Beinart and Norman Finkelstein, who don’t get it yet have the public stage.  And the media loves to give attention to those who hate us and want us dead.

A powerful book – they love us when we are dead

I heard Peter Beinart speak in Seattle and met him afterwards. He will excuse Jew hatred and make it our fault until we are all dead.

Norman Finkelstein is the son of Holocaust survivors and one of the worst at excusing Jew hatred and blaming Jews for everything. He is vile.

The current situation reminds me of both The Emperor’s New Clothes and something that happened when I was in High School.  We all know the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes.  When I was in High School, we had a kid in my homeroom who had many issues.  One day he stood in front of a bulletin board in the hallway with a cigarette lighter in his hand as he lit the paper on the bulletin board on fire.  When somebody asked him why he was lighting the bulletin board on fire, he looked right at them and said, “I’m not lighting the bulletin board on fire.”  The worldwide Jewish community is under attack and no matter how much we want to pretend we have beautiful clothes; we are naked.  And no matter what is said, the bulletin board is being lit on fire.  We can either wake up, speak up, speak out, and counter the lies and blood libel being spread or we can whimper away and revisit the horrors of the past.  I agree with Golda and would rather be alive.  I will continue to call out the nakedness and the bulletin board being lit on fire.  Pretending otherwise only ensures our destruction.  I hope you decide to join me.

Golda Meir understood that unless we stand up for ourselves, nobody else will.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Anger, Rage, Love, Hope

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

On Sunday Jan 14, 2024, it will officially be 100 days since the violent attacks by Hamas resulting in the murder, mutilation, rape, burning, and kidnapping of Israelis.  There remain 132 people held hostage by Hamas in Gaza including infants, toddlers, children, women, and the elderly.  They have not been provided their medication in 100 days.  They have been held in underground tunnels for 100 days.  Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays have come and gone while they are being held captive.  For the past hundred days the attacks on October 7th, the murders, mutilation, rape, burning, and kidnapping of my Jewish and non-Jewish brothers and sisters just because they were in Israel has weighed heavy on me. 

I ordered a new Magen David (Star of David) from Israel that I wear.  I got two dogtags from Israel, one saying “Bring them Home Now” in English and Hebrew, the other quoting released hostage Mia Schem, taken from the Nova music festival, and her tattoo, boldly stating, “We will dance again.” I want to fly an Israeli flag at my house, however due to the rise in antisemitism and the fears of my family, I don’t. 

This rise in antisemitism has fueled my anger and rage.  Seeing what’s happening on campus and watching and listening to then President of The University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, then President of Harvard College, Claudine Gay, and President of MIT, Sally Kornbluth refuse to state that calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their University’s code of contact was infuriating and unbelievable. 

Watching some members of the US House of Representatives who previously stood strongly against sexual violence keep silent because the victims were Jews burns in my gut.  People shamelessly throwing around words like ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’ without knowing the definition or the proper application has fire in my eyes.  When South Africa has the nerve to charge Israel with genocide at the International Criminal Court my body cramped and ached with exhaustion.  Israel, and the Jewish people, are being singled out compared to every other group or nation and excluded from protection.

When Germany, of all nations, comes out with a strong statement in support of Israel, clearly stating they are not involved in genocide, it provides relief.  When Canada stands up and says that while they believe in the process of the International Criminal Court, it “does not mean we support the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa.” it is both surprising because of recent events in Canada and relief that they are doing what’s right.  When the U.K. calls these claims “unjustified’ it generates major news.  The United States has called these claims ‘unfounded’.  It took watching and listening to Dr. Tal Becker’s incredible opening statement, 30 minutes of powerful and clear statements, to truly provide me with some relief.

This is not the way I lived my life prior to October 7, 2023.  It’s not how I want to live my life today.  Yet the realities of what occurred on October 7th and what has happened since, have me struggling on a daily basis.  I was talking with a friend on Friday over coffee who saw the 47-minute Hamas video with me about the experience.  She commented on how she hasn’t been able to process it with anybody because they can’t imagine the horrors she witnessed.  And how some of the images will never leave her memory.  I feel the same way and some of the images that have deeply disturbed her are the same that deeply disturb me. 

So how do I move forward?  How do I find inspiration and hope in a world that continues to suck hope and joy out with such incredible hate.  How do I get past these feelings when I already know where I will go and who will hide me and my family if that time should ever come?  How do I come to accept that not only have I had that thought but spoken to that person who agreed to do it?  That in 2024, in the United States of America, I feel so unsafe that I need to have a secure place to hide.  That the hatred of Jews is so strong and accepted that people feel safe screaming it from the top of lungs in public settings.

I have found inspiration in three places.   The first is the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.  A true leader in times when the African American community was facing the same type of public hatred, he remained a beacon of light.  Nearly 56 years after his assassination, his words, spirit, and leadership remain powerful.  How fitting is that as I write this, it is the weekend celebrating his birth.  Dr. King has many famous quotes that are filled with inspiration.  So many inspired me.  I picked 5 that speak to me now.

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

You will notice that 3 of the 5 relate to love instead of hatred.  It’s easy to be filled with hate after October 7th and the 100 days the hostages have been kept.  It’s easy to hate when the Red Cross refuses to see the hostages or get them medicine.  It’s easy to hate after watching the 47-minute Hamas video.  Yet hatred, as Dr. King states, is a burden, paralyzes, confuses, and darkens life.  As I struggle with my anger and rage, Dr. King inspires me to be better and to do better.  He reminds me that those who are sincerely ignorant and consciously stupid are dangerous and I have an obligation to continue to learn and to educate others.  And most importantly, he reminds me that I must have faith in the future and focus on love, not hate.

The second may be seen by some as controversial.  Joe Paterno was more than a football coach.  The investment he put into his players as people is legendary.  I know so many people who weren’t players who had interactions with him and his focus was always about being better people.  What type of person do you want to be?  What type of parent?  Spouse?  I have friends who played on his teams and they all talk about how he invested in them as people.  Due to the Sandusky scandal, the statue of him was removed.  Penn State fans want it back and recently I read something about it once again.  The thought came to me that were he still alive, the statue wouldn’t be something he cared about.  But the type of people he coached and how they live their lives today is something he’d care about.  One of my middle and high school friends who was on the team from 1985-1990 is a great example.  Darryl is also in coaching and has been a mentor to my son Evan.  Along with being a friend to me, he is always available to help Evan.  I have seen the way he interacts with the players he coaches and like Joe Paterno, he cares about them as people first.  As I struggle with the feelings since October 7th, I think of the lessons from Coach Paterno and how that relates.  “Success with honor” was one of key goals for Coach Paterno.  It’s also how the IDF behaves.  They have their mission however they go above and beyond to what they can to ensure civilians aren’t harmed.  Unfortunately, Hamas does everything they can to ensure that civilians are harmed.  Coach Paterno had to compete against those who cheated.  Israel has to fight against Hamas who uses hospitals, schools, mosques, and homes as military bases.  Yet neither Coach Paterno nor the IDF compromise their values even when it makes things more difficult. 

The third place I find my inspiration is from my father.  I had a very close relationship with my father and when he died in September 2022, it had a huge impact on me.  My dad always focused on what you do, not what you say.  He focused on family and how important it is.  He cared about people and was always there as a resource to anybody and everybody.  As I struggle with these feelings, I often hear my dad in my head, giving me advice and guidance.  I have wanted to go to Israel since October 7th but my family is too concerned about safety and doesn’t want me to go.  I hear my dad telling me that as much as I want to go, as much as I need to go for myself, nothing is more important than family.  I know he would tell me to do what I can from here and be grateful that I can do things from here, even if it isn’t what I would prefer to do.  As I struggle with the anger and rage, he would tell me to focus on the beauty in my life, my family, my friends, and appreciate what I have rather than be consumed with anger and hate.  Like Dr. King, my dad focused on love and light.  I miss him terribly but even now, he is helping me deal with these feelings.

My brother, my dad, and me. He was my mentor and idol and he continues to teach me every day.

Today was the Ride for Israel in town.  Some wonderful community members put it together and a large crowd showed up for motorcycle and cars driving with Israeli flags, signs, and more throughout Orlando.  For two hours we drove all around town as people honked in support.  We had a great crowd and it felt good to be together as a community in support of Israel and the Kibbutzim that were attacked on October 7th.  It was a day of love, hope, community, friendship and fun.  As I struggle with the feelings post October 7th, it’s things like this along with the inspiration from Dr. King, Joe Paterno, and my dad that get me through it. 

Leaders of the Ride for Israel. What an incredible day.

I do believe and have hope for the future.  And perhaps that hope is what will get me through these challenging days.

Inspiring art and words from Joanne Fink

Change the world one small thing at a time

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

October 7th and the aftermath is very personal to me and to many other people.  I have friends who had family members murdered at the music festival.  I have friends that had relatives kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza as hostages.  I have friends who raced into danger to fight the terrorists.  I have met with people who were attacked on October 7th and fought back.  I have spoken with people who were at Kfar Aza two days later and saw the massacre in person.  I have friends on the front lines in Gaza and in the north of Israel.  I have friends who have their children on the front lines as well.  Every day when the casualty report comes out, I take a deep breath and read the names of those who lost their lives, hoping and praying that I don’t know any of them.

I don’t know that I can adequately express the impact this has had on me.  The deep pain.  The feelings of loss.  Watching the 47-minute Hamas video of their atrocities was difficult and there are images burned into my brain that will never leave.  I check on family and friends in Israel regularly.  The time they spend in bomb shelters remains shocking.  I message and audio message with a friend who was in the reserves and is now in charge of logistics in Gaza.  The gratitude in his voice that I reached out was both heartbreaking and heartwarming.  When the war is over, he plans to come to visit and I look forward to seeing him and hearing what he is able and willing to share.

   A beautiful piece of art by the amazing Joanne Fink

With all of this going on, it’s hard to find positive things to focus on.  But not impossible.  And when I do, it’s incredibly uplifting.  During the short ceasefire when hostages were released, the four hostages that are related to my friends were released.  One of them, Hila, turned 13 the day after she was released.  Her mother Raaya was released two days after Hila.  My friend who is related to Raaya and Hila began raising money to purchase birthday and Hanukkah gifts for Hila after she was released while her mother was still held in Gaza.  When I saw this, I reached out to see how I could help.

  Hila and Raaya

We ended up creating an Amazon wish list for Hila and sharing it.  People began purchasing the items so quickly that more and more were added.  And people kept purchasing them.  So we added more and more.  And people kept purchasing them.  Everything that was added was purchased. The list was empty at the end. 

One of the things Hila loves is Rare Beauty.  A friend works for them and so I reached out.  She was happy to help and the response from them was amazing. An amazing package was put together by them for Hila.  Another friend reached out to help.  Hila loves closes from Gary V’s and he has a contact there.  They also put together a great package for Hila.  She also loves lululemon clothes.  I get a nice discount there and we used it to buy her the clothes she wanted.  People and companies stepped up to help this 13-year-old girl who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.  It felt good to do something to help her.

Today my friend sent me pictures and video of Hila with the gifts we got for her.  The joy on her face is palpable.  It’s infectious.  The videos are in Hebrew, but you can understand her joy and excitement.  On a day when Israel eliminated significant leadership of Hamas and an escalation from Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran is expected, this joy was unexpected and appreciated. 

Hila opening her birthday and Hanukkah gifts from her worldwide Jewish family. Her excitement is infectious.
More gifts for Hila. Listen to the excitement in her voice.

It doesn’t take much to change the world.  We do it one step at a time.  Random acts of kindness.  Being there for friends.  Doing just a little more than is required.  Today’s world is filled with challenges.  Your small effort has rippling and long-lasting effects.  If you don’t believe me, listen to Hila’s excited voice.  Look at the joy on her face.  A lot of people did a little bit to make a difference for this 13-year-old girl who was held hostage by terrorists.  We made her birthday and Hanukkah special this year.  You can do the same for others.

The look on her face melts my heart

That smile for the makeup is precious

How can you not fall in love with her?

You can feel her excitement and awe at the gifts

The gifts from Rare Beauty with the note to her from them. Such a class act.

It’s hard to imagine this sweet child kept in captivity by Hamas. Those are the sneakers she wanted so much and got for her birthday/Hanukkah because of our collective generousity.