I think today is when I finally acknowledge the reality we are all seeing and none of us want to admit. Our world is lost. We have reached the tipping point from which I am no longer sure we can recover. Today we had both a school shooting outside of Denver as well as the assasination of Charlie Kirk. I was no fan of Charlie Kirk. I didn’t agree with much of anything that Charlie Kirk said. Yet his assasination is the type of behavior that shows our country has no moral conscience. It shows how lost we are. We don’t shoot people we don’t agree with or don’t like. We don’t condone murder. This isn’t a left/right issue. If you haven’t seen the video of his murder, here it is. It’s something that is unforgettable once you see it.
We have already seen the efforts to blame him for his own murder. The media isn’t holding themselves accountable for promoting hate and divisiveness. They aren’t blaming the person who murdered him. They are blaming him. Matthew Dowd says it publicly on MSNBC. He won’t hold people like Francesca Albanese accountable for her lies about Israel. He won’t hold Hamas accountable for their actual genocide. But he will blame somebody he disagrees with their own murder.
MSNBC says Charlie Kirk had it coming: “You can’t stop with these awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place” pic.twitter.com/UmK2eLbeyJ
We are seeing things like this all over the place. No outrage at murder. No outrage at the taking of a life. Because they disagree with Charlie Kirk, they celebrate his death and his murdered. We saw this with the shooting and murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 by Luigi Mangione (who has not yet been officially convicted) and the way Magnione has been celebrated and become a hero to many. With Charlie Kirk is now dropping to a new low.
Calla Walsh, who volunteered for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign in 2020 and a proud member of Democratic Socialists of America, posts saying “Thoughts and prayers for the bullet.”
Charlie Kirk’s murder has overshadowed the school shooting in Evergreen, Colorado. Think about how insane a statement that is. A person took a gun and shot up a school and it’s not the lead story. It’s not even the lead story related to gun violence. It’s not even the lead story about a shooting that occurred at an educational facility.
Three high school students were shot in Evergreen, one of them the suspected shooter. They are in critical condition. A fourth is also in the hospital. Students went to high school today to learn. Instead four are in the hospital, three in critical condition (including the suspected shooter). A community is traumatized. The country? Not so much. Only three, including the shooter, were shot. In today’s world, that’s barely noticable. Insanity. School shootings should NEVER occur let alone not be newsworthy. It’s far beyond reasonable gun laws. We have a crisis on our hands. A crisis of the soul.
BREAKING: Active shooter situation reported at Evergreen High School near Denver.
This is overlapping with the breaking news of Charlie Kirk's shooting in Utah.
The Spanish Prime Minister says that unfortunately Spain doesn’t have nuclear weapons to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Nothing about the hostages. Nothing about October 7th. Instead, he regrets they don’t have nuclear weapons to stop Israel fighting the terrorists. There is a reason they don’t and shoudn’t ever have nuclear weapons.
I am sorry, Spanish PM said what?
When announcing various measures against Israel the Spanish PM @sanchezcastejon expressed regret that Spain doesn’t have nuclear weapons to stop Israel
What would have he done, if Spain had them? Used against Israel? Crazy
A European elected leaders expresses remorse for his inability to use a nuclear weapon on Israel to stop them from fighting an existential threat to their own survival. Fighting an enemy that tried actual genocide on October 7, 2023, that celebrated their horrific actions by recording and publishing them for the world to see. Yet no outrage is shown by the media or the world. Imagine a world leader saying that about any other country and what would happen. But nuking the Jewish state? Totally ok.
Canada continues to sink into its antisemitism and Jew hatred. Israel has provided more humanitarian aid to the enemy than any country in history. They do all they can to notify civilians ahead of time to evacuate an area before they attack. They target the leaders and put their own soldiers at risk. This isn’t about whether you like or hate Bibi Netanyahu. This isn’t about whether Israel is fighting a perfect war (not so subtle hint – they are not). This is about the existence of Jews and of the State of Israel.
Canada condemns Israel’s strikes in Qatar — an intolerable expansion of violence and an affront to Qatar’s sovereignty.
Regardless of their objectives, such attacks pose a grave risk of escalating conflict throughout the region, and directly imperil efforts to advance peace &…
These same people applauded when the US invaded Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin-Laden. They are pure hypocrites and Jew haters. As Hen Mazzig points out in the post below, President Macron of France, who criticized Israel for their action to target Hamas leadership, ignores the fact that France has bombed FIVE countries because of terrorism. What type of world do we live in when this is not only happening but encouraged.
French President Macron: The Israeli strikes in Qatar are unacceptable, no matter what their motives are.
France has bombed Syria, Iraq, Libya, Mali, and Niger because of terrorism.
Yet Israel is not allowed to eliminate the leaders of the terrorist group responsible for the… pic.twitter.com/UBYWBqBXc0
What used to infuriate me the most, until today when a school shooting wasn’t really news and the murder of somebody was celebrated by many who disagree with his views, was the way the world leaders don’t care about the truth and continue their lies. Their demand that Israel make peace, when Israel accepted the most recent plan to end the war and it was Hamas who rejected it, is beyond insanity. Their demand for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza when it’s documented that approximately 700 trucks of aid are coming into Gaza DAILY is beyond ignoring the truth. The following was the announcement and report from September 9, 2025 from the IDF and COGAT:
Humanitarian Aid Data and Efforts on September 9:
Over the past day, more than 280 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
Additionally, 400 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations, while the contents of several hundred more remain on the Gazan side of the crossings, awaiting collection.
We have facilitated the entry of tankers of UN fuel for the operation of essential humanitarian systems.
In addition, a rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel has been successful completed.
We will continue expanding our efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Gaza.
There is no criticism of the United Nations who doesn’t deliver the aid when it comes into Gaza. There is no celebrating the efforts of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that is getting food directly to the people. There is only the lie that food and aid isn’t getting into Gaza. It is getting in. The UN makes sure it doesn’t get to the people, only to Hamas or that it sits out in the sun. It is Hamas that is starving the people with the assistance of the United Nations. Our world leaders don’t even attempt to pretend they are telling the truth. They just out and out lie because the world hates the Jews and is willing to believe anything they are told. The media helps them.
Our world is broken. I’m not sure that it can be fixed. For the first time in my life, I understand the story of Noah, the ark, and the flood in a way I never have before. I understand the story of Sodom and Gemorrah like I never have before. Tikkun Olam means something different that it ever has before. Today, I question if our world is even worth saving. Yet despite my questions and my misgivings, I won’t give up the fight. I won’t stop trying to do my part to make it a world filled with kindness, love, and care for each other. I don’t have another choice. None of us do. The future of the world literally depends on us to confront the evil, the lies, and the hate. We can’t sit by idly. We can’t bury our heads in the sand. We can’t stand by quietly.
At times like this I find myself thinking back to the three times that I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the great Elie Weisel. I think of the last time, when I brought my children, then both young, and what he said. How it was our responsibility to build the world we want. How much our actions mattered and that it was up to us to build the world we wanted for them. The world we have today is NOT the world i want for my children. So I fight the evil. I speak out. I write. I have tattoos to commorate October 7th. I proudly wear my Star of David with Israel in the middle of it. I have a Florida Stands with Israel license plate on my car. I have a big mezzuzah on my front door. I won’t hide. I won’t be silent. And I won’t accept evil.
As Elie Weisel said, we need to be held accountable. God will always do God’s part but we must do ours. Will you join me in the fight against evil?
On his TV show this week, the comedian Bill Maher made fun of the Republicans and the Democrats and their unwillingness to cut the defense budget. He noted that there were only two things that they could agree on. Defense spending was one. The other, he joked, was to “Keep your eye on the Jews. You never know what they are up to.” He was kidding, sort of.
We live in a world I never imagined. A world which I read about growing up. Pogroms in Poland. Jews rounded up in Germany. Antisemitic propoganda believed as truth. Media spewing Jew hatred as facts. Growing up in a Jewish home where we went to synagogue every week, where I went to Hebrew school 3 times a week, we were taught about our history of being oppressed, of being outsiders, of being beaten and abused. We learned about the destruction of the first and second temple. We learned about the pogroms and the Shoah. We thought it was history and would never reoccur. We believed in the saying, “Never Again” and that the world believed it too. We were naive. Our parents were naive. Even our grandparents, who lived through the Shoah, were naive.
This week, Eli Sharabi, one of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th and held for 491 days before his release, spoke at the United Nations. He has previously spoken with President Trump and with Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of England. His stories of torture and captivity are horrifying. They prove that Never Again was a lie. They prove that Jew hatred is alive and flourishing and what will happen to all of us if we allow it. If we stay silent. If we don’t fight back.
Eli Sharabi addressed the UN. It’s a must listen and watch.
I was talking with a friend today who, out of the blue, thanked me for my public advocacy and outspokenness since October 7th. I told him that we could not afford to be silent. We were no longer those Jews who were silent and went quietly. There are still plenty of Jews who think we can assimiliate and be accepted. They think that if we just go along, if we just put others before ourselves, if we just don’t make big fuss, they will leave us alone. They fail to learn the lessons of the Jewish people throughout our history. Those who hate us will never leave us alone. There is nothing we can do to just fit in and be ignored. As my friend Fleur Hassan Nahoum has so powerfully and eloquently stated, “The problem is not that there is no Palestinian State. The problem is that there is a Jewish State.” The problem is that we exist. When I listen to people like Bernie Sanders and Peter Beinart, I get sick to my stomach. They think we can survive by hiding, by helping those who want us dead.
Life is short. I was lucky to know all four of my grandparents until I was in my early 20s. My wife knew both my grandfathers. I knew all four of her grandparents. My kids knew all four of her grandparents. It makes life seem long. It’s a fallacy. My father died a few months before I turned 55. It wasn’t long enough and I wasn’t old enough. Life is short. We have to treasure every moment and we have to fight for it. Judaism teaches that those who save a life, save a world. That’s how precious it is to us. It is why we make these terrible deals with Hamas to get our hostages home, dead or alive.
My four grandparents with my brother and me
It is why we need to maximize what we do with our time. Just trying to wait things out doesn’t work. It’s why we need to treasure the relationships we have and not waste a minute of them. It’s why we have to speak out and speak up against evil and injustice. No perceived injustice but real injustice. Our world today loves to make up injustice. Lie on your green card application? Incite violence? Spew hatred? Violate the agreements you made to get your green card? As soon as there are consequences for your actions, you are the victim of injustice. Not those that you harmed. Not the system that you abused.
Our time is not guaranteed and we never know when our time is up. Today in Israel, an 85-year-old man, Moshe Horn from Kibbutz HaZore’a, was killed in a terror attack in northern Israel. The terrorist, 25-year-old Kerem Jabarin from Ma’ale Iron, carried out a car-ramming and shooting spree before being neutralized by Border Guard soldiers. Horn’s son, who was driving the vehicle with his father as the passenger, witnessed the attack and stopped the car. As he did so, his father was struck by the terrorist’s gunfire. A 20-year-old soldier suffered injuries caused by the vehicular attack and was evacuated to the Ramabam Hospital in Haifa.
Hate and terrorists ended an innocent man’s life. A man who wasn’t done living but who’s life was stolen from him. And, I found out a few hours after his murder, a man who is who related to a friend of mine. Jewish life is like that. There is no 7 degrees of separation (or Kevin Bacon) in the Jewish world. It’s one or two. I didn’t know Moshe, yet I know his family and now I grieve a little more with them. I will continue to stand up and speak out in Moshe’s (z’l) memory.
This past week, my friend Dave also died. It was unexpected. We spoke that morning and things were good. He died unexpectedly that night and was found the day after. I miss our daily conversations. I miss his jokes and how we laughted together. It is a reminder that we never know when our time is up. There are no guarantees in life.
Me with my friends Ron (left) and Dave (z’l) in the center.
Both Moshe and Dave woke up on the day they died with plans for that day and the future. Neither of them got another day to live. If we don’t know when it is our time, why would we waste a single day? Why would we tolerate the intolerable? Why would we enable hate? Why would we accept evil? Eli Sharabi experienced true evil for 491 days. Despite the horrific things he endured, he is choosing to speak out. He is choosing to share his pain with the world so that people understand what is really happening. If a man who endured 491 day of hell, who lost his wife and children to murderous terrorists, who came out of captivity looking like a Holocaust survivor, can have the courage to stand up and speak out, why can’t we? If you don’t have the courage to do it on your own, watch Eli do it and draw your courage from him. Draw it from Mia Schem and Emily Damari, two hostages who refuse to be silent about what they endured. Mia, who recently shared what happened to her and her fears of being pregnant. If they can do it, we have no excuse for not speaking out.
Mia Schem sharing what she experienced and her great fear
In memory of my friend Dave and Moshe Horn as well as all of those murdered by Hamas terorrists, in honor of Eli Sharabi and all those who are fighting through their own pain to speak out and share the horror with the world, I vow to never be silent. To stand up and speak out. To fight evil no matter the cost.
The world is the way it is today because we have allowed it. It is past the time to stop allowing it. If you want to live in a different and better world, it is up to you to take action. It is up to each of us to fight evil. We have our heroes to inspire us. I choose a better world. I choose to take action. What about you?
Eli Sharabi, a former Israeli hostage released by Hamas in Gaza last month, holds of a photograph of his wife and two daughters killed by Hamas, as he addresses a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S, March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar
In May 2024, while I was in Israel, two IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza. A day later, we were at the site where the bodies of IDF soldiers and those murdered by Hamas and terrorists are prepared for burial. I will never forget standing outside the van as the coffin holding the body of one of these soldiers was put into the van and then the procession began to take him home to be buried. The back doors remained open so we could be with him as he began his final trip home. One of our members was saying kaddish for his mother and so he said it for the soldier as well. All of our “Amens” were filled with passion. We walked with him as he left the parking lot and began this final journey.
Today the Bibas family took that same final journey. As I watched the video of the beginning of the procession, I was brought back to that day in May. The tears flowing now were the same tears flowing from our group then. The images now are the same as the images then. My heart is broken today just as it was then.
Thousands of Israelis joined along the route taking Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir home for the final time. They had become a part of everybody’s family. Their pictures were at my Seder table, the similarities between their family and mine too similar to not notice. I do not know the family. I have never met the family. Yet I feel that they are a part of my family. Like Jews all around the world, their story, their horror, and their ultimate violent murder. We grieve with Yarden and the family over the loss of this beautiful woman and her beautiful children. It hurts for us as well.
When I read the eulogy by Yarden Bibas, I openly wept. I’m not sure how anybody can read his words and not. It is too easy to see ourselves in his place. They are powerful, loving, painful and emotional. His loss is overwhelming. Yarden’s eulogy follows:
“Mi Amor”
I remember the first time I said “mi amor” to you. It was at the very beginning of our relationship. You told me to only call you that if I was certain I loved you, not to say it carelessly. I didn’t say it then because I didn’t want you to think I was rushing to say “I love you.” Shiri, I’ll confess to you now that I already loved you back then when I said “mi amor.”
Shiri, I love you and will always love you!
Shiri, you are everything to me!
You are the best wife and mother there could be.
Shiri, you are my best friend.
Mishmish, who will help me make decisions now? How am I supposed to make decisions without you?
Do you remember our last decision together?
In the safe room, I asked if we should “fight or surrender.” You said fight, so I fought.
Shiri, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you all. If only I had known what would happen, I wouldn’t have fired.
I think about everything we went through together—there are so many beautiful memories.
I remember Ariel and Kfir’s births. I remember the days we would sit at home or in a café, just the two of us, talking for hours about everything under the sun. It was wonderful. I miss those times deeply.
Your presence is profoundly missed.
I want to tell you about everything that’s happening in the world and here in Israel.
Shiri, everyone knows and loves us—you can’t imagine how surreal all this madness is.
Shiri, people tell me they’ll always be by my side, but they’re not you. So please stay close to me and don’t go far!
Shiri, this is the closest I’ve been to you since October 7th, and I can’t kiss or hug you, and it’s breaking me!
Shiri, please watch over me…
Protect me from bad decisions. Shield me from harmful things and protect me from myself. Guard me so I don’t sink into darkness.
Mishmish, I love you!
Chuki, Ariel,
You made me a father. You transformed us into a family.
You taught me what truly matters in life and about responsibility.
The day you were born, I matured instantly because of you. You taught me so much about myself, and I want to thank you.
So thank you, my beloved.
Ariel, I hope you’re not angry with me for failing to protect you properly and for not being there for you. I hope you know I thought about you every day, every minute.
I hope you’re enjoying paradise. I’m sure you’re making all the angels laugh with your silly jokes and impressions. I hope there are plenty of butterflies for you to watch, just like you did during our picnics.
Chuki, be careful when you climb down from your cloud not to step on Toni…
Teach Kfir all your impressions and make everyone laugh up there.
Ariel, I love you “the most in the world, always in the world,” just as you used to tell us.
Poopik, Kfir,
I didn’t think our family could be more perfect, and then you came and made it even more perfect…
I remember your birth. I remember during the delivery when the midwife suddenly stopped everything—we were frightened and thought something was wrong—but it was just to tell us we had another redhead. Mom and I laughed and rejoiced.
You brought more light and happiness to our little home. You came with your sweet, captivating laugh and smile, and I was instantly hooked!
It was impossible not to nibble on you all the time.
Kfir, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better, but I need you to know that I love you deeply and miss you terribly!
I miss nibbling on you and hearing your laughter.
I miss our morning games when mom would ask me to watch you before I went to work. I cherished those little moments so much, and I miss them now more than ever!
Kfir, I love you the most in the world, always in the world!
I have so many more things to tell you all, but I’ll save them for when we’re alone.
Yarden Bibas giving his eulogy of his wife and children who were murdered by Hamas
The Palm Beach Synagogue dedicated a Torah in memory of Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir. Yarden Bibas and the entire family gathered together and completed the last letters of the Torah. Yarden wrote the last three letters in loving memory of his wife and children. He said he wants to dedicate the Torah to the Synagogue in the Kibbutz where his children had their Brit Milah. As Yarden and his family prepare for a future they never expected, never wanted, and prayed and hoped would not look like it does, this Torah gave them hope, strength and comfort. May Yarden and the family find peace and hope through this Torah and through the actions of many in the world to do better, to be better, in memory of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas and in honor of Yarden Bibas and his will and fight to live after losing what is most precious to him.
In the midst of our grieving for the brutal murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, we get the example of ignorance, entitlement, and hatred this Sunday at the Oscars. A number of Jew hating, entitled, ignorant, uninformed, and awful celebrities who are a part of Artists4Ceasefire are planning on wearing the red hands pins at the Oscars. Jewish Hollywood has spoken out against them. These “people” have no idea idea what they are supporting. They don’t know the history of the red hand symbol. What they mean and where they come from.
Go to the Artists4Ceasefire website to see who these celebrities are that by wearing this red hands pin are basically putting on a white sheet and hood against the Jewish people. While most of the signers are people I have never heard of or are well known Jew haters, there are some that disappoint me. I enjoy their acting, their music, their art. I choose to not support these ‘artists’ or any of the art they produce because I refuse to support hate. I have deleted Bryan Adams and Annie Lenox from my playlist. I will no longer watch Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Channing Tatum or Selena Gomez on the big or small screen. Jennifer Lopez and Peter Gabriel join my list to avoid. Know that each one of them is declaring themselves to be racists. To be filled with hatred and bigotry. Each one who wears a pin, who signs their name to this effort, is effectively saying they are a member of the KKK. I learned long ago to believe people when they tell you who they are. Every person on their list has self identified as a Jew hating, antisemitic, horrible human being and those on the list who are Jewish break my heart a little more.
Montana Tucker is leading the charge and speaking out. We need more like her.
Screenshot
I no longer watch award shows because they enable this type of bigotry and hatred. I no longer support many of these ‘artists’ who espouse their Jew hatred. I was proud and excited when Jon Cusack blocked me on X/Twitter because I called out his racism, Jew hatred and bigotry regularly. They aren’t entitled to anything. Would you support them showing up at the Oscars in a white sheet, declaring their support of the KKK and hatred towards to African American community? Then why support their showing their hatred towards the Jewish community? Why the double standard. My life is no less because I don’t watch anything Mark Ruffalo, a noted Jew hater, is involved with. The same with Susan Sarandon, Jon Cusack, and many others.
Perhaps the greatest honor we can give to the Bibas family, the best way we can honor the memory of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, is to stand up to the Jew hatred that resulted in their murder. To hold those accountable who speak out in support of this hatred and their murders. To invest in life and being Jewish. To raise our children and grandchildren to know their story and the story of all those murdered on October 7th and those taken hostage. To remind everybody, including Jews, that it is not just stories in the history book or in the Tanach, it is happening right now, right here, right in front of them. To teach them about the modern state of Israel, raise them as proud Zionists and proud Jews.
History has shown us that when we take action, God is with us and good things happen. History has also shown us that we try to blend in, become part of the majority, shirk our identity, put our heads in the sand, and think of ourselves as anything but Jews first, what happens.
In memory of the Bibas family, all the hostages who have been murdered, in honor of all those taken and still alive, and all those who are actively fighting for the future and safety of the Jewish people, don’t sit quietly on the sideline. Step up. Speak out. Take a position. Get educated. Share what you learn. Spread the truth and fight the lies. I know that I will.
The Bibas kids teddy bear at their grave.The gravesite of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas (z’l)
Beautiful art in memory of the Bibas children and the missing Shiri Bibas by Joanne Fink
I’m exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually today. I didn’t think I had anything left to write. And then a few things happened that changed that.
First, my friend Joanne Fink, an amazing artist, shared what she created in memory of the Bibas children and to remember Shiri Bibas, who’s body was not returned yesterday and who remains missing. This powerful piece of art both warmed and broke my heart at the same time. I look at the pictures of the two boys, Ariel and Kfir, and see their sweetness. I look at Shiri and see a mother in love with her husband and two children, with a family and dreams that were shattered. It leaves me warm inside, broken inside, and confused. I rotate between aching for Yarden Bibas who survived nearly 500 days of captivity and torture by Hamas only to come home to discover his children were brutally murdered and his wife is dead and pure rage at Hamas for how they murdered these children and their mother. That doesn’t even take into account the Red Cross who never visited a single hostage, UNRWA who participated in the events of October 7th and who’s employees took and hid hostages. It doesn’t include the ICC and their ludicrous antisemitic claims of war crimes and genocide against Israel. We saw the Ariel and Kfir Bibas what real war crimes look like.
In The Wall Street Journal, Bernard-Henri Lévy poses challenges with what the last weeks of Kfir and Ariel Bibas’ lives may have looked like, after the infant and toddler’s bodies were identified by forensics following their release from Gaza. He writes:
“One must imagine the life of Kfir and Ariel as hostages if, as is probable, they were torn from their mother’s arms. Imagine the life of a baby who spends most of his time in dark, damp tunnels. Imagine the life of a toddler, ripped from his family without understanding. Picture them playing, because children always play. Did they have stuffed animals or spent shell casings? Legos or guns to lick instead of honey-coated letters? Were they hungry? Thirsty? Did they scrape mud with their tiny nails or drink contaminated water? Did the captors change Kfir’s diapers, or did they let him sit in his own filth until his skin burned? Did they have talcum powder? Medicine for fevers? What did the masked jailers do when the boys cried, were scared of night noises, or asked the stars about their fate when they were briefly allowed outside? Did they hit them? Strike them with rifle butts? Did they amuse themselves by firing their Kalashnikovs into the air to frighten them further? Did Ariel become the guardian of his baby brother? Did they live out their brief lives together or separately?”
I doubt that they were treated humanely. I doubt that Kfir had his diaper changed frequently if at all. The horror that this toddler and infant must have experienced is unbearable. Before reading his words, I couldn’t go to a place of imagining how their life must have been from October 7th until their death a few weeks later. Now it is all I can think of. That, along with the ways that Hamas, UNRWA, the Red Cross, the UN, the ICC, and all those who used their Jew hatred to ensure these children suffered horribly, should pay for their crimes. It may not be healthy, but I want vengence. I want those involved with this evil to pay a horrible price. I want the world to understand that Jewish blood and Jewish lives are not cheap. It has a high price. Perhaps when the Jew haters see the price that is paid for those who choose evil and hate, we can encourage others to walk away because they don’t want the consequences of their actions and of their hate. It would be nice if we lived in a world where people were filled with gratitude all the time, appreciative for what that have, and didn’t hate those who were different. Unfortunately we don’t. We live in a world where peace comes through strength and often times through fear. People choose not to act because of the fear of the consquences rather than their righteous belief and actions. It is why there is a status titled “Righteous among the nations” for those who were not Jewish yet stood up and took action against the Nazis of their own free will. The reason is that is not the norm. It’s not what people usually do.
I knew that I would be angry if it turned out the Bibas family was murdered by the terrorists. I didn’t think I realized how angry. I didn’t think I prepared for my anger at the world for minimizing the fact that it was the ‘INNOCENT CIVILIANS’ that kidnapped the Bibas family. I didn’t prepare myself for the brutality of their murder or how they would be returned. I was worried that their murder might be like God with Pharoah, hardening my heart. It seems each hostage return shows more and more of the visciousness of Hamas. Their evil. Starving the hostages. No medical care. Beating them. Isolating them. The horror stories go on and on and those are just the ones we know. Unfortunately I am sure there are many more that aren’t public and may never be public. The way that Ariel and Kfir were murdered, strangled by adult terrorists and then having their bodies desecrated to attempt to hide the way they were murdered, is the icing on the cake for me. I’m done. Any hope that I had for peace are gone. There can be no peace with these monsters. I always had problems with the commandment in the Torah to completely destroy Amalek, even making the point that the obligation is the complete destruction of the Amalekites. It didn’t seem to fit with the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (repair the world), the Jewish opportunity for Teshuvah (repentence) or our value for human life. In light of October 7th and now the knowledge of the murder of the Bibas family and these beautiful children, the context seems a bit clearer. Sometimes the opportunity for Teshuvah are simply lost. Sometimes the only way to repair the world is to remove things from it, the way we remove tumors from our bodies to allow the body to heal. Sometimes the only way to save lives is to eliminate others. It’s hard writing these words. It’s difficult feeling their impact as they sink in. It is even harder and more difficult to hear the stories of those taken hostage, to stand at the site of the Nova Music Festival and try to comprehend the evil that occurred there, or to walk through Kibbutz Kfar Aza and see what happened to these peace loving people who only wanted to live there in peace with their neighbors in Gaza. I don’t know if this makes me a bad person or it is a character flaw. I only know that it makes me human and that I will fight for the eradication of evil no matter who it is, no matter who they target, and no matter the cost. Evil simply can’t win. Hamas and the terrorists are evil.
Each Friday, my friend Ari Shabat send out a short video about the Torah portion or something related, connecting it to our daily life. This week he talked about prayer and the Bibas family. How we have prayed for this family to return safely for over 500 days. How these children have become part of our life and we only want to see the them returned and returning to life. Despite all our prayers, this did not happen. So does prayer work? Was it worth it? They were murdered in November 2023 and we have been praying for them even after they were actually dead.
The answer is yes. The proof is that on the same day they were officially declared dead and the corpses of these beautiful children were identified, 3 bombs blew up on busses outside Tel Aviv at 9 pm. After a thorough investigation, 2 more bombs were found on busses in Tel Aviv, set for 9 am. There is a big difference in 9 pm and 9 am. At 9 pm the busses were parked and nobody was on them. At 9 am, they would be packed with people and in major city centers. Perhaps, our prayers that couldn’t save the Bibas children and their mother, because they were already dead, instead saved hundreds of people on the day their death became official. You can watch his video and think about it yourself
Since it was made official that the Bibas babies were murdered, my social media feed has been filled with images. I wanted to share some of the powerful ones here. The Bibas family will not be forgotten. The massive outcry is far overdue. The reality of Hamas and how they attacked, murdered, and kidnapped those who most wanted peace is beginning to sink in for the masses. The President of Argentina made a day of mourning for the Bibas family (they are Argentinian). Americans finally woke up to the fact that there were Americans murdered and taken hostage on October 7th. The public displays that Hamas has held upon each hostage release is finally being seen by the masses who chose to ignore evil.
This morning I say this video of the Bibas family. It broke my heart to watch. I urge you to watch it. You will be deeply touched knowing this bright family, filled with hope for the future, filled with love and joy, was exterminated my Hamas and their evil.
When I saw this video of Ariel Bibas, in full batman costume, running down the sidewalk and heard his voice crying out in joy, I was devastated. Watch it and yoou will realize that the’innocents in Gaza‘ not only kidnapped this little boy, they handed him over to Hamas who then strangled him with their hands and then brutalized his dead body to try to cover it up. Unbelievable evil. Unbelievable horror.
Ariel Bibas (z’l) as Batman. He and Kfir were part of all our families.
I have been changed since October 7th and again just this past week with the confirmation of the murder of Ariel, Kfir, and Shiri Bibas. It is no longer enough to try to wake up those who have their heads in the sand. It is no longer enough to try to educate those who don’t know. It’s time to wake those who will fight. It is time to take those who are ready to fight, who are ready to take action, who understand that the world of October 6, 2023 no longer exists and never will again. We live in a new reality and a new world. Are you a sheep that needs to be woken up? Are you a sheep that needs a lion to protect you? Or are you a Lion, ready to fight. Ready to defend your life and your people. Are you willing to take the risk and hope that you and your family are not next or are you going to do all you can to ensure that the murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir never happens to another Jewish family again? It’s your decision. It’s your actions. It’s up to you to decide. I know that I’m a lion. I am roaring loudly so you have to listen. And I will fight to protect my family – not just my wife and children, but my entire Jewish family around the globe. If you are a sheep, that means I’ll be doing my best to protect you until you decide you want to be a lion too.
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Today was both a day I had dreaded for a long time and one I had happily anticipated for a long time. Talk about a conflict of emotions. Today, the bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas along with the body of Oded Lifshitz were returned to Israel from Gaza by Hamas. Since October 7th, along with so many others, we hoped and prayed for the return of the entire Bibas family. We were afraid that they would not return home alive. When Yarden was returned a few weeks ago, we hoped the family would be reunited and we would get to experience that joy. Today, we officially knew, that joy would never be realized.
More than not realized, the way Hamas returned the coffins of these children they attacked, kidnapped, held hostage, and murdered was disgusting. The way they paraded the coffins of Oded and Shiri through the streets of Gaza was horrifying. Just when you think they can’t sink lower, can’t show the world just how evil they are even clearer, they do.
Hamas locked the coffins and didn’t give Israel the keys. They put propoganda inside the coffins. They put pictures of other hostages on the exterior of the coffins. They used a full size for both Ariel and Kfir so the world wouldn’t see how they murdered the innocent children that they kidnapped and took hostage.
I know I am not alone in grieving the loss of the Bibas children and their mother. Of feeling the unimaginable pain of Yarden. The Bibas family loved Batman and the images of them wearing Batman costumes and shirts and pajamas are iconic. The piece below captures our loss powerfully as Batman himself grieves as the three orange stars in the sky remind us what we have lost.
A cartoon by Israeli artist Adva Sanot – The Bibas family loved Batman. This cuts deep.
There were busses bombed in Bat Yam today and more bombs found on busses in Tel Aviv that were set to go off tomorrow morning. It won’t get the worldwide attention that it should because the target of the bombs were Jews. The fact that the innocent Palestinians were the ones who planted the bombs, who planned to murder as many innocent people as they could with these explosives will be lost in the media.
The UN continues to brag about how much food and medical attention they have provided in Gaza while also claiming famine and no medical supplies or facilities existing. They can blatently lie because the world allows them to do so. Nobody calls them out on the lies, they instead use them to create more Jew hatred. The other day, comedian Jerry Seinfeld said what so many people are feeling. What so many people have been waiting to hear.
Today was also a day I have been anticipating. This past summer, we lost our 13 1/2 year old chocolate lab, Bella. She brought us so much joy it was very hard to say goodbye. Our house hasn’t been the same since. A couple of months ago, we decided to get another lab. The loss of Bella was so hard on all of us, we decided to get a puppy so we would have her for as long as possible. Today was pick-up day for our new puppy. Today is the day that she came home to live with us. Since we knew we were getting her, she was a part of our family. We visited her about 10 days ago and each day since was another day closer to having her. I got up early, drove to Dunellen to the breeder, and picked her up. She sat on the front seat next to me, chewing on my hand. My thumb was her favorite. Partway home, she decided to climb into my lap, lay her head in the crook of my right arm, and take a little nap. The drive home was special as we bonded.
Charlotte (Charlie) on the way home in the car, in the house, and out in the yard.
The love and joy I felt is indescribable. I struggled with the knowledge that they bodies of Bibas family were being identified at the same time that I was filled with joy as we added Charlotte (Charlie) to our family. Having her home, exploring our house, playing in our yard, bouncing around filled with life, was such incredible light that my heart was full while also being broken.
Watching this little girl hop and run and chase the tennis ball warmed my heart.
I find myself focused today on the power of evil and how it robs us of joy. It robs us of the wonder of life. Hamas is evil. Full stop. They have no redeeming quality. They have no reason to exist other than hate. And they need to be eliminated, not just as an idea but all those who participated in the horror of October 7th, the taking of hostages, the keeping of the hostages, the torturing of hostages. I don’t care if they put on a journalist t-shirt or have a medical degree. They are not journalists or doctors. They are not teachers or leaders of civil society. They are terrorists. They are evil. And they must be eliminated.
In May and July of 2024, I visited the Nova music festival site. It was painful both times. I had a chance to join with others to sing, to bring music back to this place that was ripped apart on October 7th. Both times I got to hear the story of Rami Davidian, a farmer at a local Moshav, who saved 750 people from the Nova site on October 7th. I was able to video record his talk in July. Near the end, he talks about what he did on October 8th, when he returned to the site to provide some dignity to the dead. As he talks about the women who were tied to the trees that he cut down, closed their legs and covered them for dignity as he said the Shema over their bodies, you can see the pain in his eyes. The emotion gets to him more about October 8th and what those women endured before being murdered than anything on October 7th. As he looked at the trees, I could see him still seeing the women tied to those trees. It’s something I will never forget and I can’t imagine how he will live with those memories. Stolen joy. Stolen life. Stolen dignity.
I know that I have changed since October 7th. And I know I have changed with the events after October 7th. And I know that the murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas have changed me again. I also know that adding Charlotte (Charlie) to our family has changed me in a different way. I won’t let the Jew haters or the terrorists change who I am as a human being. I also won’t let them win. The same way Jerry Seinfeld called out the guy who thought he was being funny, I can also not allow stupid, hateful, racist, bigoted comments to go unchallenged. We can all stand up and speak out the same way that Secretary of State Marco Rubio wouldn’t allow CBS Anchor Margaret Brennan to get away with telling a lie and speaking untruths on Face the Nation. We need to be forceful like Seinfeld and Rubio. We need to not allow the lies to go unchallenged.
We need to remember the facts and not be afraid to say them. A large-scale survey of Gazans, conducted by researchers from Oxford University and published in Foreign Affairs just last week, showed that 98% of those surveyed described themselves as religious, and nearly as many said they saw the conflict with Israel in religious, not political terms: The Jews were usurpers who must be banished. How? When asked, 47% said they wanted to see Israel destroyed and replaced with a strict Islamic state governed by Sharia law, and 20% said they would settle merely for the forced removal of all Jews and their transfer to wherever it was their ancestors had lived prior to immigrating to Israel. You can read an article about the study here.
This isn’t about land or a state. This is about eliminating the Jews. Those who want to argue otherwise need to be called out and held to account. No more hiding. No more quiet. No more putting our heads in the sand. It’s not just that we owe it to ourselves and to our children and grandchildren. We owe it to Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas.
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The media around the world is mostly rotten. We have seen just how bad it is over the past 14 months with lies being told over and over again. The media promoting the lie of Israeli genocide. The lie of Israel starving the people of Gaza. The lies that ‘Jews deserved this’ and the lie that this is only about Israel, not about Jew hatred.
I get so fed up with the media lies that I mostly tune out the main stream media. No matter what station you watch or what newspaper you read, they are not giving you news and facts, they are giving you the narrative that they want to tell. From the word choices they use to the videos they choose to show, it’s a reminder than the news divisions are based in the entertainment division and it’s about getting views to sell more ads, not about telling the truth.
Today I want to write about and show truth. It’s not easy to find and it takes work on a daily basis to learn and understand what is really happening rather than the lies that are so easily told to us and that many believe. You can use these with your friends who don’t understand or who believe the lies because that’s all they hear.
We have known for a long time that they use actora in Gaza to simulate deaths and injuries. The same person has died multiple times in multiple locations. Dolls are used to simulate babies. Footage from Assad’s genocide in Syria (over 500,000 murdered) are shown to be in Gaza a decade later.
The acting isn’t very good and they don’t even try to make the actors look different when they die multiple times. The dolls are often easy to see. The footage they use from Syria is easily proved to be from there or was footage shown a decade ago. Here is another egregious one. This actor pretends to be a “victim” but accidentally uses the wrong foot while limping with a supposed broken foot. It’s only after he is hit in the head by the man ‘helping’ him that he switches the foot he is walking on from the broken one to the other one. The media lying isn’t even good, yet so many believe it. Jew hatred is real.
With the revolt in Syria and the fall of the Assad government, there is now a push to claim that Israel is trying to colonize Syria. The rebels, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), are headed by a leader with long ties to Al Qaeda, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. al-Jolani has ties and connections to Isis as well. This is not a group you want to just assume the role of Assad. Israel took action. They destroyed the Syrian navy. They destroyed the Syrian air force. They destroyed the Syrian chemical weapons. They destroyed the Syrian rockets and launchers. They took control of the border with Syria to keep the people of Israel safe.
The IDF now estimates that 86% of Syria’s air defenses have been destroyed, which makes Syrian airspace a now much safer flight route for the entire world. The army says this opens up the opportunity to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, yet another benefit to the entire world. A nuclear Iran is a danger to everybody.
The UN responds as you would expect. UN António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” This is while Syria is the middle of turmoil and there is grave danger to the Israeli people if no action was taken. Of course, Guterres has done everything he can to ensure that Israel is constantly in danger. He then calls for an urgent de-escalation by Israeli forces and a withdrawal from the Golan buffer zone. Once again, Guterres calls for the destruction of Israel. The media refuses to tell the truth.
For more than a decade, the media has lied about Syria. They kept the use of chemical weapons by Assad on his people quiet. They kept the brutality of his prisons a secret. They downplayed every Syrian death while using images from Syria to accuse Israel of killing Palestinians. Now that the Assad regime has falled, the truth is slowly coming out. In the Free Press, they just released an incredible report about Assad’s Sednaya prison. It’s a must read. The video inside the prison is haunting and chilling. Words like death camp and slaughterhouse are used and may be an understatement
The media bears responsibility for the ‘forced disappearance’ of 96,000 people. The media is responsible for the continued horrors that occured in Sednaya prison. The more I read about Assad and the torture and murders that were committed there, the more horrified I am. The angrier I become that the media, and the world, allowed this to happen once again. While this time the Jews weren’t the target, Jew hatred and antisemitism was used to cover up this brutality. How is Assad not wanted by the ICJ? how are those who participated in this brutality and barbarism not being held accountable by the world? The hypocrisy is deafening. Another example of the truth not mattering.
Astoundingly, the Druze leader of al-Suwayda in Syria made a powerful statement: “We refuse to live under rebel rule. We want Israeli rule and to be part of Israel.” This city of 120,000, mostly Druze with a large Greek Orthodox community, are openly stating that they want to be Israeli. The government that the ICJ and even some members of the US Congress call genocidal is a desirable place for minorities to live. A minority group is openly stating that Israel is the best country for them to live in. The truth is once again hidden by the outrageous lies. The people of Syria know. The Druze of Syria understand that they get freedom and human rights by being governed by Israel. The UN, the ICJ, the media, and especially some of our US members of Congress should be ashamed as their lies are outwardly being exposed.
It isn’t enough that the Druze leader of al-Suwayda openly states they want to be governed by Israel. Quite incredibly, we are seeing and hearing the same thing from the Druze villages on the easter Golan Heights. This video is from a Druze community in the southern Syrian village of Hader. The individual speaking calls for their village to be annexed to the Israeli side of the Golan Heights. The response further exposes the lies the UN, the ICJ, the media, and some of our US members of Congress propogate about Israel. “We agree. We agree.” they chant. The speaker goes on to talk about how they want to live with dignity and freedom….. in Israel, as Israelis. How do the liars explain this? They don’t even try. They ignore the truth instead.
The challenge for the Druze people of Syria is that while the southern Syrian village of Hader and the villages referenced in the video are close to the Israei border, the Druze living in Suwayda are in what is called Druze Mountain. It is not contiguous to Israel. The people living between the Eastern Golan and Druze Mountain are Sunni Arabs. Would they want to be a part of Israel? Would Israel want them to be a part of Israel? One thing we do know. If Druze Mountain and the Druze villages on the eastern Golan Heights became part of Israel, then Israel would not only be the Jewish state, it would also be the Druze state. How would Jew haters figure out a way to call Israel an apartheid state when it was the home not just to Jews but to the Druze as well? The facts would be inconvenient but the media doesn’t care about facts or truth. They would find a new way to twist the truth and lie about Israel.
When you want to hear truth from the media, you have to listen closely. You have to search and then hope they don’t lose their jobs for telling the truth. Erin Molan, from Sky News in Australia, has been telling the truth regularly. This past week she was fired for doing so. As she left, she recorded this powerful video. Listen to her words. You won’t hear them on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, BBC, or any other network. You used to hear it on Sky News but you won’t any longer. Listen to her words. Listen to the power of the truth. Imagine if this was the message we got in the United States from our media. Imagine if this was the message from the BBC and throughout Europe.
Thank you Erin for speaking out. Thank you for not shrinking in fear when they fired you for telling the truth. Thank you for making this video and for beginning something new. Perhaps you will lead a revolution that will bring the media back to reporting the truth. To having morals and ethics. To not being entertainment but being news. Watch and listen to this remarkable journalist. You won’t be disappointed.
Finally, we are now at day 434 of the hostage crisis. In 10 days, they will have been kept by these monsters as long as the American hostages were kept by Iran. The difference is the brutality. None of the American hostages taken by Iran were murdered. We know many of the Israeli hostages have been murdered by Hamas. None of the American hostages were sexually abused by Iran. We know many of the Israeli hostages have been sexually abused by Hamas. Look at the image below. 64 hostages are believed to be alive. Look at their faces. 36 are believed to be dead with Hamas keeping control of their bodies. 100 human beings tortured and abused. 434 days. It is unimaginable. It is horrifying. It should be the lead story on the news every single day and night. We should know every single one of their names, faces, and stories. Their families should be our families. Our media shows no compassion Our media shows no moral backbone. They should be ashamed. We should be ashamed. I pray every single day that the hostages are released and come home. I pray every single day for their health and welfare. May they all come home before we reach day 444.
In the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011, President Bashar Assad was responsible for murdering over 500,000 civilians. He used chemical weapons on his own people in order to stay in power. Despite the massive unrest, both Russia and Iran lent their support and he was able to remain in power. The UN was silent. The International Court of Justice was silent.
Assad continued to abuse the Syrian people. He enabled weapons to come into Lebanon for Hezbollah to attack and terrorize Israel. He was a pawn of Russia and Iran. There were no protests on college campuses. No riots in the street. No calls of genocide, despite half a million people being murdered by him. Despite his use of chemical weapons on his own people.
Then an amazing thing happened. Rebels in Syria rose up against Assad this week. Because of the war with Ukraine, Russia did not help. Because of war with Israel through their proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as the impact of the Israeli attacks responding to Iran, Iran did not help. Within a week, the Assad government fell. He and his family are now in Russia.
It is amazing what happens when you take on the bullies. With Russia and Iran out of the picture, the evil Assad regime is over. There are many different rebel forces now in charge of different parts of Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Muhammad al-Julani (Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a) are aligned with Al Qaeda. Some are more moderate and Israel has talked with them about the border. Nobody knows what Syria will look like moving forward. What we do know is that the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria has been greatly reduced to eliminated. The people of Syria have freed themselves from the tyranny of Syria when given the opportunity. Where are the talking heads, using this as an example for the Iranian people and the Iranian regime? Where are the talking heads for the Gazan people and Hamas? Where are those same people for the Lebanese people and Hezbollah? They are nowhere to be found. Just like on the college campuses. If you can’t use it to blame the Jews, we will ignore it.
With the upheaval in Syria, Israel has gone ahead to secure the border. The IDF has secured the eastern part of the Golan Heights and the demilitarized zone to ensure the safety of Israeli’s living on the border. The map below shows it well. I fully expect that next week the Jew hating talking heads along with those on college campuses will blame Israel and accuse them of trying to colonize Syria. The hypocrisy is brutal. Israel has publicly stated they are merely securing the border. Israel has communicated with the Syrian rebels that they are not trying to invade Syria and are securing the border. Israel has let the rebels know that as long as they leave the border alone, there will be no attacks. Israel is destroying military stores to ensure the border remains safe. The facts won’t matter, just like they didn’t matter when Assad was murdering his own people. No Jews, No News.
Is what happened with the Assad regime in Syria a model for Iran? Reports out of Iran are saying that the fall of the Assad regime has created significant internal tensions within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as younger, radical members criticize senior leadership over the handling of the Syrian conflict. President Trump is expected to return U.S. “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran, this means the regime faces an increasingly precarious situation. Internal divisions within the IRGC risk undermining their ability to suppress unrest and project power abroad. We have seen the people of Iran rise up int eh past and the world ignore them and leave them to face the wrath of the regime. The world has changed, placing the regime in its most vulnerable position in decades. Will we finally see Iranian regime change, freeing the Iranian people from their tyranny? Will we see a new government that won’t be a state sponsor of terror? Will we see the return of the Persian people instead of religious zealots?
Early in the morning of December 4th, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare’s insurance business, was assassinated in public on the streets of New York. While the business practices of insurance companies is reprehensible to many (they deny coverage, don’t listen to what doctors say, and are more interested in profit than healthcare), a public execution of a business leader is not acceptable. It creates a slippery slope where it is ok to murder anybody in a business you don’t like or think has harmed you. Not just insurance companies. A restaurant where you get food poisoning or a bad meal means the owner, chef, or even server becomes fair game. A dry cleaner that ruins your clothes is now a target to be killed.
Amazingly, there is a large group of people who don’t understand this. They are celebrating his murder. They even held a shooter look-a-like contest.
🚨 There is a UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter lookalike competition happening right now in NYC.
They are awarding a winner to whoever looks most like Brian Thompson's killer.
It makes me wonder where we are going as a country. It’s perfectly ok to not like Brian Thompson and what he stands for. It’s perfectly ok to not like United Healthcare or all insurance companies. If you want to wish bad things on those running these companies or the company itself, you can do that. I had a terrible experience at a specific restaurant and vowed to never give them any of my money ever again.
Greta Thunburg became a star on the world stage because of her care for the planet. She was outspoken about climate change and got the world’s attention. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year from 2019-2023. Many found her a voice of reason in an unreasonable world. It is clear that all this fame has gone to her head. Thankfully, she never won the Nobel Peace Prize as she now advocates publicly for the elimination of Israel. Her Jew hatred is public and she has become a hate filled person who loves herself and her fame more than anything else. It’s sad to watch somebody who seemed to genuinely care about the world and making it a better place, devolve into hate and bigotry. It’s sad when being famous is more important than anything else and drives you into hate. Using Greta’s own words, “F**k you Greta”.
"F**k Germany. And f**k Israel", says little jihadi-wannabe @GretaThunberg, while still laughing. She really has lost the plot entirely. pic.twitter.com/XoM62kjxde
We often think we have it bad. There is stress in our life. Pressure. We forget how lucky we are. I was talking with a friend in Israel this morning who apologized for his delay in responding because he was back in milium (reserves) once again. Then he shared that his wife’s nephew was an IDF soldier killed in Gaza last week and he had to deal with that. Yet he was apologizing to me for taking time to respond. He has stress. He has pressure. I needed no apology and told him that. Then I read this story from Shaquille O’Neal and it reinforced how lucky we are. How we take so much for granted. How these spoiled, elitist college students spew hatred because they don’t know anything. How these college professors and administrators enable and often encourage Jew hatred because they don’t know anything about life or reality. My friend taught me a lesson in gratitude. Shaquille O’Neal reinforced it.
Shaquille O’Neal said, “My stepdad was a sergeant in the army-a serious, strong man of character. We had an excellent relationship. I once played at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks in my first season in the NBA. I had a terrible game. Afterward, he called me and asked why I played so badly. He wondered if it was the pressure of facing Patrick Ewing and the Knicks. I told him I felt pressure. He said, ‘Tomorrow, I want you home at 7:00 AM. Pick me up-we’re going to see a family that has no home.’ On the way, we encountered a family in need. My stepdad stopped, gave them money for their next meal, and said, ‘That’s pressure. You have everything; you’re weak. There’s no pressure in playing basketball and earning millions of dollars. Real pressure is felt by those who don’t know when or where their next meal will come from! He told me to get out and help that family. I got out and saw a man with his wife and two children who had just lost their home. The man was looking for work. He told me he was cutting grass. I called a friend and asked him to get this man a job. I called another friend and said I needed an apartment for a family of four, promising to send a check the next day. They needed help. After that, I never felt pressure in a basketball game again because that family had real pressure.”
The entitled college students who believe the Hamas lies, who express publicly their Jew hatred, and who show they are terrible human beings don’t understand the world. They live in a mindset of blame and hate. Their entitlement shows itself in their expectations that everything should be given to them, that other people should work hard so they get things for free, and that not taking responsiblity is the way to success. They could use a lesson from Shaquille O’Neal’s father.
Hanukkah is late this year. It begins on Christmas. Just like many people, the only gift I really want is the return of the hostages. The end of Hamas and Hezbollah so there can be peace. I saw dreidel image and it expresses visually what I am feeling. No matter where it lands, the hostages get freed. That is not hypocritical. That’s what we are about. Freedom. Hanukkah is a holiday about freedom. This war is about freedom from terrorism. Freedom from Jew hatred and antisemitism. Freedom from Hamas and Hezbollah. Freedom from Iran. Freedom for the Syrian people. Freedom from hate and bigotry.
The dreidel letters The letters on a dreidel are an acronym for the Hebrew phrase “Nes gadol haya sham”, which translates to “a great miracle happened there.” In Israel, the dreidel replaces the letter Shin (Sham) with the letter Pay for Po (here). May this Hanukkah be one where we can say both – a great miracle happened there (return of the hostages, end of the war) and a great miracle happened here (a stop to the rampant Jew hatred).
I arrived in Israel this time on Thursday September 12th. My flight was changed to leave 3 hours early so I arrived at 3:30 am. The airport was empty – a strange thing at any time. I got to my hotel by 5 am, they let me check in 10 hours early for a 280 shekel charge, and I was in business. A shower, a nap, and off to my first meeting of the trip. The first four days were a combination of meeting with potential clients, friends, and enjoying Israel and the beach. I got a lot accomplished and was able to really enjoy being in Israel.
I also began spending some time with Israelis without touring. Time talking about life. About the last year and how things had changed. Most of my trips to Israel involve an itinerary related to seeing locations. Jerusalem and the Old City. The Kotel. The Kotel tunnels. The City of David. Masada. The Dead Sea. The mystical city of Tzfat. Ammunition Hill. The strategic value of the Golan Heights and the importance of the Galilee for agriculture. Meaningful places that help me ask and answer questions about myself and what it means to be a part of a people that is over 3,000 years old. I could tell this trip would be different. This wasn’t going to be a trip about my own self exploration. This wasn’t about who I am, who I want to be and how to get there. This was going to be an experience focused on who Israel was. The impact of October 7th. Who Israel is currently. Who Israel might be in the future. From time spent with my friends Grace and Yocheved who live in Israel (both made Aliyah about 30 year apart) to my friends Margot and Tamar (Margot made aliyah over a decade ago while Tamar is a sabra) I could tell just how different the country is and the impact on them. It was going to be a different type of exploration.
I had Shabbat dinner with Margot, Tamar, and their family in Modi’in. I wrote about that previously. On the drive home, Tamar and I had a deep and meaningful conversation. Knowing her as a proud Israeli and her history it was painful to listen to her uncertainty about the country we both love. As a mom, she expressed the concern for her children. She expressed her concern for the impact on not just her and Margot as parents but on her friends who are parents. The challenges of her children being so young and yet seeing and hearing things that were not age-appropriate. Her 9 year old daughter asking questions that are meant for much older children but are now part of her reality. Hostages. Hate. Murder. Invastion. Loss of family. She shared a dream her daughter told her about where terrorists came to their house, killed everybody but her and took her into captivity as a hostage. No 9 year old should have this as part of their reality. As a parent, my heart broke.
Our talk took the entire drive. It was deep. She shared things she needed to but hadn’t had a safe space. Everybody in Israel is living this horror. It was the first glimpse for me into what Israelis are really going through. It hurt. Deeply. These are my people. My family. My mishpacha. The last 11 months have not only been horrific, each day makes it a little worse as there is more death. More rockets. More destruction. More hostages found or confirmed dead. More fear of it happening again. Does Israel stop to get as many hostages back and let the people heal, knowing full well that they will end up repeating this again in the future? Do we do whatever it takes to end it and worry about the human and emotional toll after? Theoretically it had been a challenge for me as I debated in my own head. Talking with Tamar showed me it isn’t theoretical. It’s real people struggling with real emotion and life. We got to my hotel and gave each other a big hug. It was the start of my head spinning journey that continues on the plane as I write this.
Saturday night I had dinner with a group of newer friends. All but one I met just a few days before. Most were Israelis who had made aliyah. Two were IDF soldiers, recalled from the reserves to fight in Gaza. As we talked over dinner, I could see the impact the war has had on them. These two Americans who moved to Israel to follow their zionist dream not only got their dream but also their nightmare. One had finished his reserve duty, the other was about to go back in for another round of reserve duty. The one who had finished his was preparing to return to America and then to travel. He needed to get out of israel and get away. He needed to wander and clear his head. It was obvious to me that the other one needed this as well but didn’t have that option as he was back in mellowim (reserves) and had to finish this round before he could even consider it. I tried to think what it must be like to make aliyah, live your dream, join the army and complete your service. Begin to start you life as an Israeli when all hell breaks lose. Your dream becomes a nightmare. In and out of reserves. In and out of Gaza. Seeing things nobody should see. I realized it was something I simply could never comprehend. I have called this Israel’s greatest generation. They have showed up in a way that was unexpected and unprecidented. They are paying the price for it. When this is finally over, how long will it take them to heal? How will their children be affected? For those that don’t have children, how long will it take for them to have children? Immediately? A few years? Many years? Never?
The diaspora Jews have showed up as well. Many have chosen to flock to Israel to volunteer. What other people run TOWARDS a war zone? This was my third trip since October 7th. I would have come more often except my family wouldn’t let me go until May 2024, 7 months after October 7th. I would have gone October 8th and they know it. My friend Mark had never been to Israel before October 7th. This was his 3rd trip since. He’ll be back in December. All to volunteer. All to make a difference. Masha was back to volunteer again and brought her sister Diana on her first trip to Israel. Leon was back to volunteer again and again. He took his break on Shabbat and then went right back to working hard in the fields. He’s a successful attorney who leaves his practice to do this. Masha has found a way to work remotely so she can do her job while in Israel. Mark takes time off from his career. The sacrifice is clear. It is inspiring. Yocheved left her job and got on a plane in October to be in Israel while her brother fought in Gaza. She helped start a volunteer organization, Sword of Iron, that now has nearly 40,000 people a part of it. She is 24 and has literally changed the world.
Yocheved and me at the group dinner on the beach in Tel Aviv
Is this a new definition of Judaism? Is a return to our Zionist roots, working the land, giving of ourselves, going to be the next advent in Judaism for those who are Jewish at heart but have not been Jewishly connected? There are many who are running far away from Israel, yet there are many who are literally running to Israel. I have alway believed that Israel is core to my identity as a human being and as a Jew. Is this going to be a new reality for many Jews? I have watched as Israel has changed the lives of so many people and the impact of October 7th has completely changed who they are. I know it has changed me. I know it has changed others. When we look back in 100 years will see this being a turning point? The rise of the greatest generation of Israelis since the founding of the state? The change in the diaspora in their relationship with Judaism?
Sunday night I met with one of my partners and a potential client. Hersh Polin Goldberg (z’l) was a key part of the conversation. There were things about him that I didn’t realize. Things that made his death that much more tragic. An even bigger loss, if that’s even possible. As I was talking business, his presence hovered over us along with all the hostages still in Gaza. It was an introduction to the trauma of the hostages on Israeli society that I was about to experience. After our meeting, we headed to Jaffa for a private talk by Avigdor Lieberman, a candidate for Prime Minister when the elections finally happen. While it was entirely in hebrew, one of my partners translated for me. Once again, it was eye opening to sit in the room and hear what he was saying. The questions were blunt and powerful. Pointed. He answered them all. Some with the answers that I expected and others in ways I did not expect. While I knew Israel wasn’t the same country since October 7th and felt it on my two prior visits, this was a different depth that I hadn’t experienced before. It continued building on the conversation Tamar and I had on the drive. The future of Israel is undetermined. Not the physical existance but the spiritual existance. The essence of what the country is going to stand for and what level of trust the people were going to have. It reminded me of Michael Oren saying that on October 7th the 2 convenants the government made with the people in 1948 were broken. The first is “Never Again”. Never again died on October 7th. The second is that the IDF will always be there to protect Israeli citizens. That myth also died on October 7th. An existential covenant broken. A country questioning who they are and what they stand for. The soul of the country on the table up for debate. If I thought that it would now be time to chew on this and come up with some bright, pithy statement, I was very wrong. It was just the start of what would overload me and keep my head spinning all week long.
Monday we went to Kiryat Gat, the temporary home to those who lived at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th. Nir Oz was devastated on October 7th. We met with Gal Goren, a 22 year old boy, who lived at Nir Oz. On October 7th he was away from home on a retreat. His family was at home in Nir Oz. On that Sunday he learned that his parents were missing. Were they alive? Were they dead? Were they hostages? 18 days later, his father’s body was found in the fields. It took 18 days to find his father’s body while it was simply in the fields. In July 2024, 9 months after he last spoke to his mother and she was last seen, her body was recovered in Gaza. She had been wounded on October 7th severely and only survived a few hours yet it took 9 months to get her body returned and closure for her family. As we sat on the couch in Gal’s home, listening to him tell his story, looking at pictures of his parents in the room, I realized that his parents were probably close to my age. I later looked it up and they were both 56. Maya Goren (z’l) and Avner Goren (z’l) were simply parents of 4 children. They were living their lives, no differently than me living my life. Until terrorists showed up. They are gone. Their children have no parents alive. I could see the pain in Gal’s eyes. I could hear it in his voice. I can’t imagine what his younger sister is going through. His two older brothers are in the IDF, the organization that failed them. In Nir Oz, there was not a single IDF bullet fired. By the time the IDF got to Nir Oz, the terrorists were completely gone. It took them 8 1/2 hours to arrive. Hundreds of terrorists against five people with guns. Somehow the five people lasted over two hours before the last was killed.
Gal’s parents, Avner (z’l) and Maya (z’l) from Gal’s living room.
How do you deal with an epic failure of intelligence and security? As a country that prides herself on safety and security, on the IDF being a badass army, how do you reconcile that it took them 8 1/2 hours to arrive. 117 of the 400 people on the kibbutz were murdered or kidnapped and taken hostage. It’s an incredibly indictment of the IDF yet it is the IDF that is required to keep Israel safe. Two of Gal’s brother are fighting for an organization that didn’t save their parents. Gal went back into the army to be an IDF educator. After having their parents murdered and the IDF not showing up for 8 1/2 hours to Kibbutz Nir Oz, Gal and his two brothers went back to the IDF to play their role. I can’t imagine what that must be like. Around every turn is the failure that resulted in the dealth of your parents and yet you double down, invest, and give of yourself to the army.
During the four days I spent with my client, we explored the experience of the evacuees deeply. Nir Oz. Kiryat Shemona. Kibbutz Reim. A school just for evacuee children in Kibbutz Ravid. More than 11 months after the attack, these communities remain evacuated and remain living in temporary places. Some in hotels. Some took over entire buildings. Some are scattered around and nobody is sure if the community will return. It is not just the number of internal evacuees due to the war who have been displaced. Those used to living on a Kibbutz with lots of land and freedom are now cramped into a hotel room or a small apartment. Their entire life has been turned upside down and for some there is no timetable for their return. I experienced a little of this on my last trip with the people of the town of Shlomi living in our hotel. It was shocking to see then. To see the meta perspective of so many communities still living like this was troubling to say the least.
The front door to the apartment building where the Nir Oz community now lives in Kiryat Gat. Never forget the hostages.
The world pays attention to the people in Gaza, terrorized by Hamas, used as human shields by Hamas, refused by Egypt and without any pressur on Egypt from the United States to be me let into Sinai to live, where there would be no reason for military attacks. Yet the world is silent about the Israeli internal refugees, some who will no be able to move back to their home communities for many years. Some who will never move back to their home communities. The Jews remain the world’s pariah. In a world that frowns upon hatred and bigotry against any minority community, the only one that it remains acceptable and encouraged to hate are the Jews.
We heard from a lot of people about both what they experienced on October 7th and what they began to do on October 8th. Carmi told us about taking her 7 month old daughter into their safe room while her partner was up north celebrating his birthday that weekend. I can’t imagine being in a safe room for nearly 30 hours with a 7 month old and limited bottles, diapers, and entertainment, all while trying to shield them from the sounds of the rockets and the fear of terrorists entering your building and attacking you. I can’t imagine the horror of knowing your family was at risk and getting no update, and then when you get the update it is that they have been taken captive by Hamas and are hostages in Gaza. Zohar told us about his sister-in-law and niece, taken into Gaza where they spent 50 days as hostages. The fears of his brother and himself. The non-stop fight to get not only them returned but all the hostages returned. As we spent time at the Hostage Family Forum, hearing Zohar’s story, it was painful. Hearing his anger at the government was powerful and understandable. He summed up my thoughts on our leadership, which I have written extensively about, when he said, “We don’t have leaders. We just have government.”
As we walked through the Hostage Family Forum building, I felt the sadness. I felt the depression and anxiety. The effort to do anyting to make a difference. To push the government to get them home. To actually lead. Somebody has referenced this building as the saddest place in Israel and I believe that to be true. The posters of hostages on the wall where their age was crossed out and updated by a year. In a few weeks, they will all have celebrated a birthday in captivity.
There are Americans who are still hostages yet our government remains largely silent. There is no pressure on Hamas, Qatar, or Iran to have them released. If America won’t force the return of our hostages, who is going to put the pressure on diplomatically? The only choices are surrender to the wishes of Hamas or military action. Neither are good options. So we sit. They protest. I write. They cry. The hostages get a day older and a day closer to death. Shame on us. We like to think we are better than that yet the proof is there that we are not.
We went to hostage square. I was there in May and the sadness envelopes you. The mock tunnel is powerful. Walking through it is depressing and I always think of what I was told in May that released hostages said after going through the mock tunnel, “I only wish they were that big.” I bought some Israeli flags with the yellow ribbon through them. I have my ‘NOW’ hat. While up to now I have struggled with what happened on October 7th and how that has changed me, now I find myself thinking about what happened AFTER October 7th and that is changing me. We must do better. We must get leaders not government. It is up to us to BE THE CHANGE. I look at people who were seen as changemakers, people who spoke up and spoke out about other causes and how today they ignore what happened on October 7th and ignore Hamas and Iran. How they simply engage in Jew hatred. Greta Thornburg has become a racist and bigot, spewing Jew hatred. What a shame. Leaders of the UN show they are merely power hungry Jew haters with their statements and the resolutions. Is this the world we want to live in? Is this the behavior we want to encourage? It never ends with the Jews. We are merely the first. Are you ready to be the second? The third? Because you will be.
October 7th didn’t just affect the Jews. On this trip we spent time in the arab village of Ein Mahil. My client works with all Israelis. Jews. Arabs. Druze. Christians. It’s about people and children. They work with the children of Majdal Shams, the Druze village where Hezbollah murdered 12 children playing soccer by bombing them while they played. Hundreds were wounded. I wanted to go visit but it was deemed not safe. It made me sad. Tzfat was not safe to go visit. Most of the north is not safe. We went to Akko, we went to towns around the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) but we could not see anything further north. There were two mornings where rockets were fired in our general vicinity. We did not get alerts but they did 10-15 minutes away. I made sure to text my family that everything was ok, not wanting to alarm them but also not wanting them to worry.
Ein Mahil was a great place to visit. The youth center there is part of the Israeli Zionist youth movement, HaNoar HaOved (NOAL), that I am working with. Yes, you read that correctly. The arab village, just like the Druze village of Majdal Shams, are places where there are Israeli Zionist youth groups where arab and druze children are members. There are 55 arab villages that have this youth group. You read that correctly. 55 ARAB VILLAGES HAVE A ZIONIST YOUTH GROUP THAT ARAB CHILDREN PARTICIPATE WITH AND LOVE. More than 20,000 Arab children are participants in this Zionist youth group. We got to hear from leaders of the Ein Mahil branch. They grew up in the movement. They are Israeli, Arab, and not only participated in a Zionist youth movement but are now leaders of a Zionist youth movement in their Arab Village!! Abu Hani, the Mayor of Ein Mahil came to speak with us. His daughters were in the Zionist Youth movement. Yes, he is also Arab. The children were having so much fun. I enjoyed getting to walk around and talk with them. By talking I mean mostly hand motions as they spoke Arabic and I don’t. I’ll never forget this one little girl, Yasmina. When I saw her name on her project and called her by name, the smile on her face was precious. When we went to take the picture, I made sure that this shy little girl joined us. She smiled when I called her by name and waved her over. Who says you can’t communicate with kindess and love instead of words.
In Ein Mahel with the kids and the Arab members of NOAL, an Israeli Zionist Youth group, along with the staff.
Gazel, the head of the branch, spoke to us. She only spoke Arabic so it was translated. Lina, who learned English from watching Friends and How I Met Your Mother on TV spoke with us. Yousef, who was an early participant in the movement in 1995 (the movement began in Ein Mahil in 1989!) spoke to us. Shadi, another leader in the movement, told us about how he began in 4th grade and now his children participate. Shadi told us what October 7th was for him. It was something I never considered. How did October 7th impact Israeli Arabs? He was out with his son, getting haircuts. After hearing what happened, they got in the car and raced home. He said he drove like a maniac. He didn’t know who was going to want to kill him. Would it be Hamas because he was an Israeli Arab? Would it be Arabs who think he is a traitor because he was in an Zionist youth group and now is a leader of the movement for Arab children? Would it be Jews who see him as an Arab and think he is a terrorist? I can’t imagine the fear he and others faced, thinking every person they encounter could be an enemy and wanting them dead, all because they live in Israel, are Israeli citizens, and get along with Jews. Shadi told us his Jewish friends from other villages were calling to check on him. They understood what was happening to Israeli Arabs. Calls that Israel is an apartheid state simply miss the facts. Every one of those people needs to visit Ein Mahil. Majdal Shams. Or any of the 55 Arab villages with a Zionist youth group thriving. The 12 Druze Villages (almost all of the Druze Villages) that have a Zionist youth group thriving.
Gazel, Yousef, me, Gary, Shadi, Marc, Michael, and Lina. New friends in Ein Mahel that I can’t wait to see again.
The effects of October 7th and more importantly, the effects of what has happened since October 7th, will not only change Israel forever, it is changing our world. I felt the impact of hate like I never have before. October 7th was an explosion of hatred that was overwhelming. What has happened in the 11+ months since then is an ongoing hatred, ongoing pain and suffering, ongoing bigotry and racism. Ongoing terror. For many of us, today is not September 20, 2024. It is still October 7, 2023. Until the hostages are returned, until Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran are defeated, until the refugees from the north and south of Israel can return to their homes and rebuild, and until the people of Gaza can live safely, in peace, with their neighbor Israel, it will always be October 7th. As Zohar so powerfully stated, we need leaders, not government. Where will they come from? How do we get there?
There is much more from this trip to process. More I will write about. For now, I have added the pain of everything after October 7th to the pain of what happened on October 7th.
Today is my younger son Matthew’s 22nd birthday. I get home in time to celebrate it. While I treasure the time celebrating his birthday with him, I will be thinking of Gal, who because of hatred, because of bigotry, because of Hamas and Iran, didn’t get to celebrate his 22nd birthday with his parents and will never get to celebrate another of his birthday’s with his parents. Gratitude for what I get and sadness for what he lost.
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.
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.
America has always been a beacon of hope. A melting pot or a salad bowl, depending on which analogy fits you best. As a Jew in America, I always felt different but also felt safe. We are a country who follows the rule of law. We strive to do better and to treat people better. While America has a troubling history with slavery and the incarceration of Japanese during World War 2, I always felt we tried to recognize our errors and do better. While racism is real, I also saw strong efforts to combat and eliminate it. Marriage equality was a big step towards recognizing people are people.
After October 7th, I realized I was living in a bubble, in a dreamworld that doesn’t exist. I understand my African American friend and my LGBTQ+ friends much better. The America I thought existed doesn’t. Hate is encouraged and allowed. Far too many people, especially ones who call themselves leaders, are more interested in being re-elected than in doing what is right. I am embarrassed by my naivety when it comes to the struggles of other minorities as my worldview was simply wrong.
I was impacted this weekend with the story of a horrific murder of a Jew in San Diego and the attempted murder of a Jew in Switzerland. Their offense? Being Jewish.
Jewish dentist Dr. Benjamin Harouni was killed and two other people were wounded in a shooting at a dental office in El Cajon, California on Thursday. The killer was Mohammed Abdul Kareem. Immediately it was decried that it had nothing to do with Dr Harouni being Jewish or Mohammed Abdul Kareem being Muslim. Violent attacks on Jews are typically immediately denied being because they are Jews. Unlike similar attacks against other minorities, attacks on Jews are excused and minimized. How can be expected to feel safe in America when this type of violence occurs against Jews and is immediately minimized?
On Saturday night, as Shabbat ended, a 62-year-old Orthodox Jew was stabbed outside the Agudas Achim synagogue in Zurich, Switzerland, by a 15-year-old Swiss citizen who shouted ‘death to Jews’. The man was critically injured. The rise in Jew hatred is astounding and the lack of response by leaders around the world is frightening. How are Jews expected to feel safe in this type of environment?
On Saturday, in Times Square, an Uber driver found a grenade in the back seat of his car. The bomb squad was called to make sure it didn’t go off. There was a large Israel protest mob there and they wouldn’t let the bomb squad through. Their hatred of Israel and Jews was so great that they would rather have a grenade go off in Times Square, around them, and have loss of life, than allow the police and the bomb squad through.
The Uber with a grenade it – anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protesters wouldn’t let the bomb squad get there
As I began to spend a little more time reading about both of these incidents, I noticed a trend occurring. More and more stories of Jew hatred have been occurring. And the response to them is absurdly inadequate and being allowed by leaders of organizations, schools, City, State, and the Federal government.
For example, Origins High School in Brooklyn has become a haven for Hitler-loving hooligans who terrorize Jewish teachers and classmates. On Oct. 26, just three weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis, 40 to 50 teens marched through Origins HS in Sheepshead Bay waving a Palestinian flag and chanting “Death to Israel!” and “Kill the Jews!” That is horrific by itself, yet school, city, and state leadership failed to but a stop to it.
Origins High School Global History teacher Danielle Kaminsky has publicly stated how afraid she is to go to work due to being targeted as a Jew by students, yet the school has done nothing. How do we know for sure? Here are few examples of other things that have happened at the school:
A student painted a mustache on his face to look like Hitler and banged on classroom doors. When someone opened, he clicked his heels and raised his arm in the Nazi gesture, security footage shows.
Three swastikas in one week were drawn on teachers’ walls and other objects.
A 10th-grader told Kaminsky, 33, who is Jewish, “I wish you were killed.”
Another student called her “a dirty Jew” and said he wished Hitler could have “hit more Jews,” including her.
Students pasted drawings of the Palestinian flag and notes saying “Free Palestine” on Kaminsky’s classroom door. One scribbled note that said simply, “Die.”
A Jewish sophomore found three swastikas scribbled on his laptop charger when he returned from the restroom.
The door of Danielle Kaminsky’s classroom
The school, the City Government, and the State Government are failing to do anything about this. No suspensions. No expulsions. No disciplinary action. No protection for Jewish students or teachers.
At Berkeley, a pro-Palestinian mob surrounded a campus auditorium, broke a window, and harassed Jewish students trying to enter the building. Israeli lawyer Ran Bar-Yoshafat was invited by a Jewish student group to address the subject of Israel and international law. This included “the rules of wartime conduct and how the [Israel Defense Forces] can better protect civilians.” An estimated 200 protesters chanted “intifada” and “free Palestine” and banged on windows. Three Jewish students were injured. What has happened to freedom of speech on college campuses? Is it only freedom of speech if you aren’t Jewish? Doesn’t the University have an obligation to protect the students and speakers who are exercising their right to free speech and sharing information that an educational institution is supposed to value for debate and deep thinking?
It gets worse, however. The leaders of Bears for Israel, the pro-Israel group that organized the event, had been seeking a meeting with Berkeley’s chancellor since October 2023. Nearly 5 months and the chancellor hasn’t made the time for Jewish students with concerns about Jew hatred, antisemitism, and the safety of Jews. They reached out again last week but have not heard back. They have been told the chancellor would “absolutely” consider a meeting with them but declined to say more. Think about that. Absolutely consider. Not that the chancellor would meet with them, but that the chancellor would CONSIDER a meeting. It’s clear that the safety and security of Jewish students don’t matter at Berkeley.
A few weeks ago, on February 19, the Jewish studies director at California State University at Long Beach, Jeffrey Blutinger, was invited to San José State to give a talk on “how to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine.” Pro-Palestinian protesters showed up outside the classroom. A San José State history professor and supporter of Israel, Jonathan Roth, got into an altercation with some of them, grabbing a person’s hand after they tried to block him from recording with his phone. Blutinger was escorted out of the classroom by police. Once again, freedom of speech doesn’t apply to Jews. Ensuring there is an opportunity to listen and learn on a college campus used to be sacrosanct. In today’s world that happens for everybody but the Jews.
If that wasn’t enough, the next weekend, signs were found on the walls of UCSB’s multicultural center attacking the student-body president, Tessa Veksler, who is Jewish. The signs said, among other things: “You can run but you can’t hide Tessa Veksler,” “Tessa Veksler supports genocide! You cannot hide,” and “Zionists are not welcomed!” The signs were removed, and the multicultural center is temporarily closed. The students who did this will not be held accountable and Veksler has to live in fear of being targeted at her university because she is Jewish.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has filed a federal complaint against the Berkeley Unified School District, alleging officials ignored the bullying and harassment of their Jewish students. The harassment has led some families to decide to move out of the district. One parent publicly stated:
“What drove me to leave the district was a pervasive bullying, as well as an antisemitismand the inability of the district to educate my child while keeping her safe.”
Jewish children are not being kept safe in public schools in America. I think about the stories my Uncle Ralph talks about being in elementary school in Berlin in the late 1930s and I don’t see much of a difference between what is happening in the world today and what happened to him as a child. It’s frightening.
In Canada, it might even be worse. The Canadian International Women’s Day (INSPIRE) cancelled its keynote speaker because she had previously served in the IDF more than 30 years ago! INSPIRE had rescinded its speaking invitation to Leah Goldstein, a Jewish motivational speaker and the first woman to win a grueling 3,000- mile bicycle race across the United States, citing as the reason “a small but growing and extremely vocal group” that took issue with Goldstein’s IDF service more than 30 years ago.
It gets worse. I am not old enough to have seen the ‘No dogs, no blacks, no Jews’ signs on stores and restaurants. Yet in 2024 here is a sign in Toronto saying, “No service for Jews.”
Sign from the days of Jim Crow Sign in Toronto March 2024 – not that different
The college campuses aren’t just antisemitic in the US. At Toronto’s Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCAD) a Jewish student said she feels unsafe returning to class after antisemitic messages, including death threats, were scribbled on the walls of her school.
She stated, “I had never felt so sad in my life. They were all like horrible things about me, horrible things about Jews.” She is the former president of the university’s Jewish Club and reported that the messages were found in the school’s so-called “yellow staircase” – a six-story space where students are encouraged to express themselves freely on the blank wall space.
She tried to combat the hate with painted words of peace, but those, too, were covered up by messages like “F U Zionists.”
“I started getting death threats. There was even sexual connotations relating to my mother and Hamas.”
And in shocking news, she has not received an adequate response from the school following the incident and has missed more than two weeks’ worth of class due to concerns about her safety.
“There were talks about a meeting three weeks ago and they still haven’t followed up about that.It took them forever. It took them days to shut down and paint over the stairwell.”
I wish this was everything but unfortunately, it’s not. Before winter break in a public school in Toronto, there was antisemitic graffiti drawn on the walls.
The graffiti included an X drawn through a sketch of an Israeli flag and the Star of David, the words “Free Palestine,” “get rid of the k-kes” and “Hitler was right,” plus a sketch of a Palestinian flag and a sloppily drawn swastika. There was also the hashtag “KillTheJews.”
Antisemitic and Jew hatred graffiti in a Toronto school.
The school didn’t even inform parents for more than a month. Nothing was done to address the hateful graffiti or ensure the safety of Jewish students.
Let’s not leave out our federal government. The Houthi’s are still not designated as a terrorist organization. Iran continues to fund Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis and has instructed Hezbollah to increase attacks on Israel and they will send rockets and money to them to do it. We continue to think we can use diplomacy with Iran. Congress can’t pass the financial aid package for Israel to defend herself. Just the other day, Vice President Kamala Harris called for Israel and Hamas to accept immediate six-week cease-fire, stating that the ‘Deal is on the table’. The challenge is that Israel has been ready and its Hamas that refuses. Yet there is no criticism of Hamas. Reports have come out that Sinwar wants to incite violence during Ramadan and won’t accept a ceasefire because of that. Yet no outrage from our government about this. No outrage at the Red Cross for failing to see the hostages and deliver medication. The hostages have now gone 150 days without ANY medication. As a son with Type 1 diabetes, I know that if he didn’t get insulin for 150 days, he wouldn’t survive. Where is the outrage?
I never thought I wouldn’t feel safe as a Jew in the United States. Yet here in 2024, I do. I refuse to let fear dominate my life. I wear my new, special Magen David (star of David) proudly outside my shirt. I have two dog tags I wear, one ‘Bring them home now’ and the other ‘We will dance again’. I put a piece of tape on my shirt, over my heart, with the number of days the hostages have been in captivity. I won’t hide but I don’t feel safe.
A friend of mine in Israel recently asked how many of his friends have changed their last name on their Uber account due to fears of safety. It was a sad question, and the answers were sadder. My younger son still wears his Chai necklace but no longer wears it outside his shirt when he is on campus. My family is concerned when I wear my Israel sweatshirt, t-shirt, or soccer jersey. I want to fly an Israeli flag but don’t due to safety concerns for my family. This is the world we live in today and this is the America we live in today. Jew hatred is not just on the rise, it is here. In June 2016, I wrote an op-Ed in the Seattle Times about the rise of antisemitism and there was real pushback by many that it wasn’t really happening. I wish that they were right. What was happening nearly 8 years ago has only gotten worse.
We’ve seen the hate groups locally, most recently in Winter Park just 2 weeks ago. We see it happening nationally and internationally. We see it with the anti-Israel and Jew hating mobs. It’s why I chose to write this blog today. And as I was finishing writing it, my wife sent me this article from The Atlantic about how The Golden Age of American Jews is ending. Some of what I have written about is included. There is much more involved and it’s a long read but well worth it.
We live in scary times. Unlike the 1930s in Germany, we now have Israel and Jews aren’t afraid to stand up and speak out. I know many Jews who have gotten their conceal carry permits and who now are gun owners and practice at the range. I have to admit that I am one of them. America today isn’t safe for Jews. We are being attacked everywhere we go. Public schools, Universities, Synagogues, restaurants, and in the streets.
For those of you who have previously stood up against hatred against other groups, thank you. Hate is not acceptable PERIOD. I ask you now to stand up against Jew hatred. You can dislike the Israeli Government and Bibi Netanyahu. You can want the war to end and no more innocent civilians on both sides to be killed. That happens when the hostages are released and Hamas surrenders. Put the pressure on Hamas to release the hostages. Put the pressure on Hamas to surrender. If you pay attention, you will see that the people of Gaza, particularly in the north where Hamas is no longer in control, and publicly condemning Hamas for creating all the problems they face.
Everybody in the United States is supposed to feel safe. It’s clear from the past few years that there are many groups who do not feel safe. I don’t know that I truly understood what they faced until now. I stand with them and their right to live in safety and security. I hope they, and you, will stand with me and the Jewish community as we only want the same thing.
I’m going to finish with an ask. JOIN Orlando, a group I am involved with and get much value from and have much gratitude for, is doing a 36 hour fundraiser where all gifts are matched 3X. So your gift of $100 is really $300 to JOIN. I agreed to be a champion and help raise money for their programs. I personally have been to Israel with JOIN, I learn with a Rabbi from JOIN, I am friends with leaders of JOIN. During these challenging times that I just wrote about, JOIN helps keep me grounded. So if you would consider making a gift, not only does it get matched 3X, it would be a personally meaningful thing to me. Click on the link to donate. And you can watch the video below to see the work that JOIN Orlando does. Thank you for considering making a gift.
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