Every day I wake up and the war between Hamas and Israel is continuing. The hostages remain in the tunnels in captivity. Some are dead, some being sexually abused, some being physically abused. None getting needed medication. Iran continues to provide resources to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi’s in Yemen.
I never thought I would say this, but I wish the world was silent about all of this. “Why?” you may ask. Because rather than condemn the terrorists of Hamas who still have American hostages among those they kidnapped, instead of condemning Iran, instead of demanding that the Houthi’s and Hezbollah stop firing rockets at Israel, the world condemns Israel for fighting for survival.
I wish I could say it was just the non-Jewish world. Our history as a people, for thousands of years, has us as our own worst enemies. Facing persecution, facing death, facing evil, we have a history of defending those who persecute and kill us, those who are evil, all while condemning ourselves. I don’t know why we do this. I wish I knew. I wish I could figure out a way to stop it. Just like in Germany, we defend those who hate us all the way into the gas chambers.
I am amazed at those who call this war genocide. The definition of genocide is, “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” It is clear that is not what Israel is doing. How do we know this? First because according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the Palestinian population has increased about 10 times since the War of Independence in 1948. Even more recently, according to the PCBS, displacement of more than 200,000 Palestinians, with the majority of them to the Palestinian country of Jordan, after the 1967 war, the Palestinian world population was 14 million by the end of 2022. This means that the number of Palestinians in the world has doubled since 1967. That goes against the definition of genocide. Secondly, during this current war, if Israel wanted to destroy the Palestinian people in Gaza, they could have just bombed the entire country and killed all the people there in a matter of days. Instead, they have chosen to be more surgical in their efforts, doing their best to avoid civilian casualties whenever possible. Once again, you do not attempt destroy a nation or group of people by doing all you can to save civilians.
The other thing that amazes me is when people talk about this being the worst loss of civilian life in conflict. The facts simply don’t back that up. According to the UN and the Red Cross, there are usually 9 civilians killed in armed conflict for every military person killed. That means 90% of all deaths in armed conflict are civilians. Iraq Body Count figures from 2003 to 2013 indicate that 77% of casualties were civilians. So how does the war between Hamas and Israel compare? If we use the statistics provided by Hamas, which nobody really believes is accurate, the ratio is somewhere between 1:1 and 1.2:1. That means Israel is 8-9 times BETTER than the world average and 7 times better than the US in Iraq. And that’s using the numbers provided by Hamas!
Estimates put the ration at somewhere between 1.0 and 1.2 civilians per Hamas Terrorist killed in the war, far better than the normal, accepted ration of 9-1
Just this week, Israel tragically and accidentally bombed trucks from the World Central Kitchen, killing 7 of the aid workers. It is a horrible tragedy. There is no excuse for it. And Israel hasn’t made any excuses. Israel admitted it was a mistake and they were in the wrong. They did an investigation, identified what happened, held those accountable whose actions resulted in the bombing and these deaths, and vowed to learn from this mistake. Listen to an interview by friend Fleur Hassan- Nahoum, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. She, and Israel, isn’t hiding from what happened or how awful it is.
Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and my friend, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, is brutally honest about the awful mistake in attacking the convoy of aid workers. This is what sets Israel apart – a willingness to admit mistakes, hold people accountable, and learn from their mistakes.
In October of 2015, the US initiated an airstrike against a Doctors Without Borders trauma center and killed at least 42 people including 14 hospital staff members and at least 24 patients. The investigation found that human errors, fatigue, process, and equipment failures were at fault in the deadly airstrike. US Central command said that, “These factors contributed to the ‘fog of war,’ which is the uncertainty often encountered during combat operations.”
In August of 2021, the US made a mistake and fired a hellfire missile in Kabul, accidentally killing 10 civilians, 7 of which were children. When I was attending the Israel-American Council Summit in Austin, Texas last year, my Uber driver had recently gotten out of the military. He was in Afghanistan during this time and during the botched withdrawal of the troops there. The stories he told me were horrible. The mistakes and errors made turned my stomach. I felt terrible about how we, America, treated the people who served in Afghanistan and those who were our allies in Afghanistan. It was understood that we messed up and made mistakes and that this happens in war.
Every other country in the world gets the grace of making mistakes in war. Not Israel, the Jewish nation. Once again, Israel is held to a different standard. I have said repeatedly that war is terrible. We should do everything we can to avoid war. When you can’t avoid war and you must take on evil, you must defeat it. Otherwise, evil continues to grow. Yet in today’s world, it appears there is a desire to have more evil than Jews.
I listen to people like Bernie Sanders and even friends who are Jewish who unfairly criticize Israel. Where was the outrage about the nearly 620,000 people killed in the Syrian civil war? What about the more than 375,000 people killed in the Yemen civil war between 2015 and early 2022? The 30,000 children killed by Assad in Syria. Israel is the target because it is the Jewish state and that is antisemitism and hate.
Bernie Sanders doesn’t get it – he doesn’t understand evil, he doesn’t pay attention to the data, and despite being Jewish, he hates Jews.
We need people like Representative Ritchie Torres, who is outspoken in his support of Israel, the need to remove Hamas, and holding Hamas responsible for this war. He speaks out against conditions of aid to Israel.
Ritchie Torres on Israel (at the 1:20 mark). He is a vocal supporter of Israel and the right to defend herself and the need to eliminate Hamas.
Senator Hakeem Jeffries has spoken out loudly and clearly in support of Israel. Senator John Fetterman has been one of the most vocal supporters of Israel. He speaks out publicly about the need to remove Hamas, the fact that Hamas hides behind human shields, and the need to support Israel unconditionally.
Senator Fetterman speaks about Israel and Hamas at the 2:45 mark until the 5:20 mark. He is a very vocal supporter of Israel, the right to defend herself, and the need to eliminate Hamas.
My own Senator, Rick Scott, has been vocal about his support for Israel. He tweets daily about the hostages, never letting them fall out of our thoughts.
Senator Scott speaking powerfully in support of Israel. We need more leaders to do so.Senator Scott is active on Twitter reminding everybody about the hostages
So now that I’ve written all this, so what? Other than venting my frustrations, anger, and disappointment, what is the point? The point is that each of us have the ability to make a difference. Each of us can learn the truth. Each of us can speak out loudly. Each of us can challenge those we know when they are spewing venom at Israel that is simply wrong and unfair. Each of us can confront those who we hear are speaking untruths, talking points without substance, and spewing hate. If you want to see how it’s done and how it is done well, watch this clip of Douglas Murray during an interview with Al Jazeera. He doesn’t let the person interviewing him get away with the lies and antisemitic comments she makes.
Douglas Murray is amazing as he takes her apart when she lies.
We can support Israel and the hostages. Wear the dogtags that say “Bring them home now” or “We will dance again” or both. Get a yellow ribbon pin and wear it. Put a piece of masking tape on your shirt every day with the number of days the hostages have been in captivity. Buy things from Israel to support their economy. Be loud and proud. The people who hate us aren’t going away. They are going to be out there spewing Jew hatred in the context of Israel at synagogues, JCCs, in the streets, at people’s homes, wherever they can be. If we hide, they win.
Rachel Goldberg, mother of hostage Hersch Goldberg Polin, started the masking tape. This was day 98. We are not past day 180.
When you are able, visit Israel. I have wanted to go since October 7th but have not because my family was worried about my safety. I love my family and was willing to wait so they felt better. I’m not willing to wait any longer. I’m going in May. You can join me if you want – it will be an amazing trip and very meaningful. I’m not sure how I will feel when I go to the site of the Nova music festival or one of the kibbutzim. I’m not sure what visiting Sderot will feel like this time – the police station, always a stop to see the rockets that were fired at them is no longer there. Being there for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut will be different this time. It will be the third time I’ve been in Israel for Israel’s memorial day and Independence Day. I already know this one will be different. I am arriving the night before the trip begins and staying two days after. I wish I could go earlier and stay even longer. I’m going on the Momentum men’s trip. Join me. If you are a woman and want to go, there is also a women’s trip and I can connect you to it so you can go.
Unlike the past, we are not powerless. We are not lambs being taken to slaughter. We have the IDF. We have Israel. We have voices and don’t have to allow the lies to be all that people hear. When people cry for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ remind them that Israel has already agreed to the ceasefire, it’s Hamas who hasn’t agreed. Don’t push Israel for a ceasefire, push Hamas. Push Qatar who houses the leaders of Hamas. And remind them that this war can end immediately if Hamas would release the hostages and surrender.
Write and call your member of Congress and your Senators. Your voice matters. Every member of Congress that I have spoken with, every Senator I have met, have said how much those calls, emails, and letters mean. You have a voice, use it. If you think it doesn’t matter or people don’t notice you are wrong. I get asked about the number on the tape or my dogtags all the time. Be inspired by Cincinnati Reds Assistant Pitching Coach Alon Leichman and his baseball glove for this season. He is making a powerful statement, “Bring them home NOW”. You can join in making that powerful statement of support and stand up to the Jew haters who want us all gone.
A powerful statement on his baseball glove
Don’t be silent. Don’t hide. Don’t allow them to win. We’ve been down that road before and it doesn’t end well for us.
I remember being in high school and learning the ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” and thinking to myself, what could be better than interesting times? I hate being bored, so interesting times would be exciting and fun.
Ah, the naivety of the young.
These are interesting times and as such are not so wonderful times. The rise of hatred over the past decade is frightening. The rise of antisemitism over the same time period and the exponential growth in the past 6 months is overwhelming. I read and listen to so much discussion and none of it seems to focus on the real challenge and the real solution.
We have been taught not to like each other. We have been taught that ‘the other’ is against us, will harm us, and that if they get what they want, we won’t get what we need. This seems to be fairly universal, regardless of who you are and who ‘the other’ is. We villainize them. We make broad generalizations about them. We make assumptions about them. The one thing we don’t do is actually engage with people who are different from us. That one thing we don’t do is the one thing that we need to do.
In November 2019, I had the honor and privilege of participating on an Encounter Immersive Experience. We spent 4 days meeting with, listening to, and learning from members of Palestinian civil society. I said it and used the word – Palestinian. So let’s set some ground rules for the rest of this post.
The Palestinian people do exist. They may have had different names over the years from Arabs to Bedouins, to Palestinians. We, as Jews, used to be called Hebrews and Israelites. Accept the fact that these people do exist, they live in what I will call ‘Greater Israel’, and aren’t going anywhere.
As a result of the 1967 war, Israel conquered territories. This happens in many wars and is a reality of millenniums. The area on the west bank of the Jordan River has different names. For purposes here I am going to call is Judea and Samaria, the ancient names for that land. Some may call in the West Bank. Some may call it Palestine. I am calling it Judea and Samaria.
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are evil. Most Palestinian people don’t like them. I will discuss this later in this post however understand that there is a difference between Palestinian people and terrorists. If you insist on generalizing that they are all people or are all terrorists, you can stop reading here if you want. There is a difference.
Now back to my 4 days with leaders of Palestinian Civil Society. I remember thinking how 4 days seemed so short. This is such a complex issue; how could we only spend 4 days with them? There were 4 of the most intense days of my life. By the third day I was grateful that it was only 4 days because on how intense they were.
During these 4 days, which I wrote about at the time, and you can find about 17 blog postings in the beginning of this blog from that time period, I had the ability to meet with many different people. I had a chance to ask questions, listen to other points of view, and listed to people who had an entirely different history and narrative than I do. I met people who I really like and stay in touch with even today. I met people who I despised and who I am sure despised me only because I am Jewish. I met people whose effort to change and challenge everything that they know were inspiring. I met people who are a direct cause for the increase in hate, terrorism, and everything that led up to October 7th. I saw things that made me sad. Some were out of necessity, and some were simply terrible government policy. It was a life altering experience that only made me a stronger and more powerful Zionist but also made me a better human being because I began a journey of understanding some of the deep challenges and how much work it will take to find a solution, to make peace, and to get beyond the damage that has been done in the past so that we can live in a different future.
I have written a lot about how October 7th has impacted and changed me. I wrote about what seeing the 47-minute Hamas video was like. Recently I saw the documentary about the massacre at the Nova Music Festival and I shared what that was like. The past 6 months have been focused mostly on being a Jew in today’s world and in the United States. It has been focused on the challenge of being a Zionist, loving Israel, in a world that is openly hostile, willingly believes lies and knowingly uses inflammatory language that is not accurate. I have paid attention to my friends called up in the reserves, their children, either called up or who are currently serving in the IDF. What I haven’t done is think too much about my Palestinian friends and what life has been like for them.
Over the past few weeks, I have been talking a lot with various people about the future. As the US is demanding a permanent ceasefire and a 2 state solution (Hamas is the obstacle to the ceasefire as they have openly called for more October 7th massacres and still are holding hostages), I found myself thinking about who would be that partner for peace. Obviously, Israel and the government have to make their own changes and hopefully that will come soon. But what about the partner? Who would it be? It’s not Hamas or Hezbollah. It can’t be the Palestinian Authority (PA) who not only is corrupt and whose people hate them, still has not condemned the October 7th massacre nor have they had elections in 19 years! So again, who can this partner be?
I found myself thinking of my friend Ali Abu Awwad, founder of Taghyeer, the Palestinian National Nonviolence Movement. I met Ali on that trip and was amazing at what he said. There was real leadership about building a country that would live in peace with Israel. The line he said that I will always remember is, “Peace will not come through Jewish blood. It will come through Jewish hearts.” He then added, “we need to prove to the Jewish people that they can trust us because we have only showed them that they cannot.”
Ali and me together when he visited Orlando and spoke to our community.
Imagine leaders who are not calling for ‘intifada’ or ‘jihad’ but instead are calling for peace and understanding. Imagine leaders who came from a place of hatred and have overcome it to work with Jews, with Israeli, to build a better society. Imagine a leader whose mother was a high-ranking PLO leader, who spent time in an Israeli prison at the same time as his mother and was able to move beyond hatred. Imagine a leader whose brother was killed by the IDF and found peace and acceptance by spending time with a Rabbi whose son was killed by terrorists. That is Ali Abu Awwad. Just before Covid shut the world down, Ali spoke in Orlando. The room was at least half Israeli. They were primed for a fight. They were primed to hear somebody blame Israel and make the Palestinians innocent victims. They didn’t get what they expected. They heard somebody taking responsibility for their part in the hate. They heard somebody who gave hope for a different future.
I realized I hadn’t reached out Ali in quite a while. I hadn’t checked on him and asked how he was doing? then I began to think of some of the other Palestinian people that I met and considered friends. I hadn’t reached out to them either. What type of friend am I to be so overwhelmed with my own grief that I don’t check on my friends. So I began doing so. I reached out to Ali and am awaiting his reply.
I reached out to my friend Mahmoud. His family owns the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem. I spent a day with Mahmoud in 2019 walking around East Jerusalem, visiting the Palestinian theater, learning about the Palestinian arts community, and having coffee and a conversation at the bookshop. We finished the day at his home with another deep conversation. I wrote about that day in this blog post.
The day with Mahmoud was difficult and very meaningful. It is something that I think about regularly because of the power of his words. He is not a fundamentalist. He does not hate Jews. He does not want the destruction of Israel. He wants to live freely. He wants a government that represents him and takes care of him. It was very difficult to hear him say that if there was a public works project in his neighborhood, he wouldn’t ask the municipality of Jerusalem to fix it because they wouldn’t. And he wouldn’t/couldn’t ask the PA to fix it because even if they could, they wouldn’t. He felt helpless so he would just get people together to fix it himself or live with it being broken.
Mahmoud and the Educational Bookshop. I look forward to returning for another cup of coffee with him.
He talked about how challenging it was for him to be in West Jerusalem and how he felt there, how uncomfortable and that he was a focus of constant attention. He shared how he didn’t feel he belonged or was welcome there and how much that bothered him. It bothered him so much that he didn’t like going. He talked about how he would go to Tel Aviv, and he felt he didn’t stand out, he wasn’t a focus of attention like he was in West Jerusalem. And how that both made him feel welcome and how it also troubled him – why was it so different? He could disappear in Tel Aviv and just be a person while he felt he couldn’t do that in West Jerusalem. It didn’t sit well with me then – that’s not the Israel I love – yet with the rise of antisemitism in the past six months I have begun to understand it in a way that is very uncomfortable.
I watch what is happening in places like New York, California, Michigan, and Canada, and feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome as a Jew. This isn’t the America that I love. There are places around the world that I won’t visit now as a Jew. This isn’t the world that I want to live in.
I think often of something that Mahmoud said to us in his home. He said that if Zionism means that the Jews have a claim to the land and that the Palestinians also have a claim to the land, then he supports Zionism. It was incredibly powerful when he said it and even more powerful today. When a Palestinian man living in East Jerusalem can come to that type of understanding, it gives me great hope for the future. Zionism isn’t colonialism. It isn’t racism. It is the belief that the Jews have a right to self-determination in our historic homeland. In fact, the Declaration of Independence has some very clear definitions in it that need to be highlighted. They include:
This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.
Simply put, we have a right to our own sovereign State and self-determination. It’s very clear.
THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
While Israel is a Jewish state, it is a place for everybody who lives there. It is based on freedom, justice and peace – this language is very different from the charter of Hamas and the PLO. And it guarantees social and political rights to all. Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and others, we do not want to a place for us alone.
WE APPEAL – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.
Full and equal citizenship and due representation. Powerful words. Powerful ideals.
WE EXTEND our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.
That last line is so important, especially during these times. While we may not have a current partner for peace with the Palestinians, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our part to find one. The Abraham Accords and potential normalization with Saudia Arabia and Indonesia create even more opportunities. We cannot let the horrors of the past stop us from the beauty of the future. When I think of Mahmoud’s words back in 2019 and Ali’s passion and mission, that’s what I find myself going back to.
We cannot let the horrors of the past stop us from the beauty of the future.
Ali and Mahmoud both want a world where people live in peace, together, building countries that care about their people. They are both incredible leaders with a following. We cannot afford to ignore them and let those who preach hate; Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the Palestinian Authority, etc., be in control.
Mahmoud and I have been emailing and when I’m in Israel in May, we are planning for me to go visit him at his bookstore in East Jerusalem, walk around the neighborhood once again, talk, share a long cup of coffee or tea, maybe have lunch or dinner, and talk. And talk. And talk. Learn from each other. Deepen our friendship. Because we both want the same thing. A brighter future together.
One of my favorite people that I met on this trip was Mohammad. I wrote about them in this blog post at the time. He and his wife Hiba, and their baby son hosted us for dinner at their home in East Jerusalem. They come from an amazing family. Hiba’s family is the Muslim family that holds the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It’s an amazing story and if you don’t know it, you can begin to read about it here. They both had Master’s degrees. She worked for the UN, he worked for an NGO that took him into Gaza on a monthly basis. We formed an instant connection and talked at length about the different challenges. The fact that the PA hasn’t had elections since 2005. How corrupt the PA is and how they do nothing for the people except steal money. How if there ever were elections, they could never vote for the PA, meaning that even Hamas would be a better choice because MAYBE they would do something for them (we haven’t talked about that since October 7th and I look forward to it in the near future) while they know the PA won’t do anything. I asked about them running for office and their response was demoralizing as they didn’t believe that they would win and if they did, they wouldn’t be able to do anything without being killed.
Mohammad, Hiba, their son and me at their home in East Jerusalem.
We made a promise to get together again on my next trip so he could take me to his favorite restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, and we could continue our conversation. Covid delayed my next trip, but I reached out before it, only to learn that Mohammad and his family had moved to Japan where he was working on a Ph.D. We haven’t been able to coordinate his trips back with my trips back yet, but in our last correspondence we are going to try later this summer when they will be there for a few months. In the meantime, they have a new baby that I want to meet. He offered his home for me to stay when I visit, and I plan to take him up on the offer. This is a beautiful family. Wonderful people. True friends. And Palestinians. It is possible.
The last friend from this trip that I have been in contact with is a woman named Suzan. She is a Palestinian Christian who lives in Bethlehem. She also hosted us at her home for dinner where we had an amazing conversation. She worries about the declining number of Christians in Bethlehem. She worries about the role of women in Bethlehem. She is privileged because she also has a German passport so is able to travel much easier.
Suzan (far left in the black dress) and four of us at her home for dinner.
Suzan is an artist and runs an art studio. The Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans shop is an amazing place highlighting a variety of artists, mostly women, and I encourage you to check it out and if you see something you like, to purchase it. (Full disclosure – I encourage you to purchase as much as you can from Israeli artists and Israeli businesses. I have purchased many pieces from Israeli artists since October 7th. If you need help finding Israeli artists or businesses, please let me know and I’ll be happy to share my favorites and many others with you.)
Her focus is on women artists and fair-trade practices. She was very frustrated that she was being told by the city government that her future shows and community events could not include Jewish women. She told us that she didn’t care what they said, she was still going to invite the Jewish women to participate. And she was going to continue to sell the works of Jewish women artists in her shop. She didn’t care what they said, she was going to do what was right. What was moral. What was ethical.
Put those words together. Moral. Ethical. Palestinian. Generalizations simply don’t work. There are terrorists. There are people who hate and are evil. I have met many of them, especially on that trip in 2019. There are also many good people. Great people. Caring people. People who you’d want as your neighbor. As your friend.
I hope to see Suzan either in May or later this year. When I met her, it was just after she harvested her Olive trees so I saw the harvest. Maybe this time I can see the trees filled with olives, filled with life. Wouldn’t that be an incredible symbol.
Suzan with her harvest of olives from her trees
These are four examples of wonderful, amazing people. People I call friends. People I would be honored to have as neighbors. People I trust. Good people.
I met terrorists. You can read about my lunch with a member of Hamas, a murderer, and a member of the Al Aqsa Brigade in this post. There is a difference between my friends who are Palestinian and the terrorists. And I met people who were terrorists and are on a journey towards something different. There is hope for the future but only if we are willing to do something different than the past. That difference isn’t just up to us but it can start with us. We can change our language. We can use our contacts to meet Palestinians who want peace, who don’t hate, who don’t support Hamas or the PA, who will invite you into their home, share a meal, a coffee, and who you will come to really like. We can help them rise up and together we can ensure the terrorists aren’t in power, don’t have the ability to kill Jews and oppress the Palestinian people.
I’m not being pollyannish. I’m not being naïve. I am being hopeful. I am talking about creating a systemic change. I’m talking about taking action to stop the funding to UNRWA and the PA. Ensure a new government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’ is set up in Gaza (sound familiar?) We can lobby our government to force elections in Judea and Samaria, so Abbas’s 4-year term finally comes to an end before he serves 20 years of a 4 year term. We can encourage the leaders in Israel to work with these leaders who want peace in a methodical manner to build trust. As Ronald Reagan famously said, ‘Trust, but verify’.
The Israeli national anthem is Hatikvah, the hope. Let’s make sure we don’t lost hope. Then the terrorists win and we all lose.
IDF soldiers singing Hatikvah after October 7th just before they prepare to enter Gaza and defend Israel.
I look forward to sharing stories, pictures, and maybe even some videos and conversations with my Ali, Mahmoud, Mohammad and Hiba, and Suzan. As deeply as October 7th has damaged and changed me, I won’t let it drive out hope. Hope in the good people. Hope for a better future. And in the words of Theodore Herzl, “If you will it, it is no dream.” I’m going to put the work in. I hope you decide to as well.
PS
I came across this video of IDF soldiers rapping about the lies that are told about them. It’s very powerful and timely.
Sadly, it was recorded 10 years ago, showing that these allegations have a long rooted basis in antisemitism, Jew hatred, and bigotry. Enjoy the video as it’s powerful.
I have written extensively about how behind the times I am when it comes to music. I recently discovered the 2001 song by Alan Jackson, Where were you? (when the world stopped turnin’). He wrote it about September 11, 2001 not long afterwards and performed it only 10 days later at the Country Music Awards (CMAs). I find it very impactful, not just as it reminds me of what I felt and was going through after 9/11 but also what I felt like on October 7th and continue to feel today.
Jackson said that he had strong feelings and wanted to write something that expressed them without being political or partisan. He wanted it to clearly reflect his thoughts and feelings. This song accomplished that in an incredible manner. Since October 7th, I have been writing to try to do the same. When I heard this song and when I listened deeply to the lyrics, they not only speak about September 11th and the feelings afterwards but easily could reflect October 7th and afterwards. Many Israeli artists have written songs about October 7th and after but I haven’t heard or seen a single American songwriter or singer with the exception of Bono and U2 changing the words of the song Pride: In the Name of Love to reflect October 7th instead of April 4 and the Supernova music festival. You can see and hear the pain Bono is feeling. I remember being incredibly moved when I heard it for the first time and even today, as I listen to it, it brings tears to my eyes. I wish they would re-release it with altered lyrics.
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’ That September day? Were you in the yard with your wife and children Or workin’ on some stage in L.A.?
Most people know where they were on September 11, 2001 as it is part of our American psyche. I know where I was. Who I was talking to. What TV station I was watching. Where I was when the first tower fell. Where I was when the 2nd tower fell. Keeping in touch with my brother, who worked in NYC at that time, to check on his safety. Being grateful that my dad wasn’t flying that day – he had flown the day before. Running a Hillel meant I had students to attend to and their needs. The pain everybody felt was palpable. September 11th and days that followed were filled with hugs, tears, conversations, and questions.
October 7th was very similar for me. I remember exactly where I was, where I sat, what TV stations I watched, and who I was with. I remember sending WhatsApp messages to friends and family in Israel to check on them. The uncertainty of where the attacks were going to occur that day. Was it just going to be near the Gaza envelope? Were they going to be attacked from the north and Lebanon? What was the PA going to do and would we see terrorists coming in from the East as well?
There are moments in our lives that we never forget the details. My wedding. The birth of my children. Family simchas. The last day I spent with my father before he died. Three Mile Island (I lived nearby in Harrisburg at the time). The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. John Lennon and Yitzhak Rabin being assassinated. 9/11. October 7th. In one way or another, the world stopped turning on all of those days. Some due to joy, some due to sadness. How the world stopping turning impacted us and what we do with the changes that result is what’s key.
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke Risin’ against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor Or did you just sit down and cry?
On 9/11, when the first plane hit the first tower, I remember thinking it was an accident. We watched in horror but didn’t realize we were under attack. It wasn’t until the second plane hit the second tower that the shock really hit. Where was going to be next? My brother worked in NYC and his building was attached to Grand Central Station. Was that the next target? My dad was supposed to fly that week and his flight was changed. I tried to remember when it was changed. Was it changed so that he was flying that day? Was it the day before? Was it the day after? What about my friends who worked and lived in NY? Then the plane was crashed into Shanksville, PA and then into the Pentagon. Were there going to be more attacks? If so, where? How?
On October 7th, I sat there in shock. I couldn’t believe what I was watching and hearing. As I communicated with friends and family in Israel, it didn’t get any better. I shouted in anger, in fear for my friends and family. I sat in shock at what I watched and as names were released, prayed that I didn’t know any of them and was also sad that these people, these members of my Jewish family, were killed or taken hostage.
I couldn’t move from my chair in front of the television. I couldn’t change the channel. I didn’t want to talk to anybody as I had nothing to say. It was so unbelievable. When I did talk, it was usually filled with anger at what happened, not understanding where the IDF was. Not understanding how this was continuing as long as it was. Not understanding how it even happened. The more that was reported, the angrier I got at Hamas for doing it and for the Israeli government for missing the signs and for allowing it to happen. I got angry at the Gazan people who were welcomed into the kibbutzim for work and ate dinner with the families that they sold out to Hamas, ensuring their death or kidnapping.
We all have our own way of dealing with this type of trauma. Jackson’s point is that whatever we did, however we dealt with it, is what we needed. He isn’t saying one is better than the other. He isn’t saying if you didn’t do it his way, you were wrong. It’s a recognition that however we dealt with 9/11 or with October 7th, it’s what we needed to do in the moment. And that’s good enough.
Did you weep for the children, they lost their dear loved ones Pray for the ones who don’t know? Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble And sob for the ones left below?
On 9/11 it was common to weep for everybody. Those who were killed. Those who we didn’t know what happened. The families of both. We prayed for the yet to be born children who lost their father on 9/11. And the children who lost one or both parents. We celebrated those who managed to escape and to live. And mourned those who didn’t. We found heroes in the passengers that crashed the plane in Shanksville, PA instead of letting the terrorists crash it into what they wanted, which would have killed more people.
October 7th seems to be viewed differently by many. I recently saw the documentary about the SuperNova music festival. These young people who were there to celebrate music were massacred by evil terrorists. I saw the Hamas video which showed them celebrating the murder of civilians – the elderly, women, children, and adults. Kfir Babis was taken hostage at less than a year old and his brother at 4 years old are forgotten by most of the world. The American hostages have been forgotten by Americans and by our leaders. In Israel, there is an uprising against the government for how they are handling the hostage crisis. Families have been displaced for more than 5 months, both from the Gaza envelope and from the north, where Hezbollah is sending rockets every day into Israel.
The trauma of Israelis is forgotten. The trauma of the diaspora Jews is ignored. The world weeps for the children of Gaza who are dying because of Hamas but ignores the children of Israel who died because of Hamas. The Red Cross still hasn’t visited the hostages, 177 days later. They haven’t received their medication in 177 days. As the father of a child with Type 1 diabetes, I know what would happen if he went 177 days without insulin. After 9/11, America stood together in support of those impacted and those who lost loved ones. We stood together against evil. When it comes to October 7th, that stand only lasted a few days before they became held responsible for their own victimization by evil. It disgusts me. When I listen to Alan Jackson sing these words, I find myself burning inside, wondering why it doesn’t apply to Jews. Why does everybody else matter but we don’t. How can people who supposedly stand for morals, ethics, justice, equality, and the like actually show how fraudulent they are and not be held accountable.
My heart breaks daily for the families of the current hostages. It aches every day for the hostages that were released and their families, for what they must go through. It hurts for the families of the victims and the survivors of the SuperNova music festival massacre. I have a deep hole in my heart and my soul for everybody impacted by October 7th – the Jews, Bedouins, Arab-Israelis, Druze, Bhai’I, and the innocent Palestinians and people of Gaza (because there is a difference between the terrorists and the people). I wish the world mourned with me and stood up against evil. This verse reminds me that no matter how much we want to think that we can just fit in with society, we are always Jews first and the world will always look at us differently. They will weep and cry out for anybody other than us. They will mourn and fight for the rights of everybody other than us. We are the only ones who will stand up for ourselves.
The great Israeli leader Golda Meir had a number of quotes that reflects this reality. They include:
Did you burst out with pride for the red, white, and blue And the heroes who died just doin’ what they do? Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer And look at yourself and what really matters?
After 9/11, American pride was as high as I have seen since the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team beat the Soviets and then won the gold medal. We were united as Americans. Nobody was going to stop us. We were going to kill the terrorists, restore democracy, rule the world. Our first responders were all heroes. I remember the flag from the Twin Towers being flown at Yankee Stadium. We begin singing ‘God Bless America’ in the 7th inning of baseball games. We thanked our soldiers for their service.
The flag from ground zero flying at Yankee Stadium in 2001
We looked to God for answers. As a Hillel Director, it was an incredible time as students flocked to ask existential questions. Nobody was afraid to ask a question and seem uneducated because everybody was asking questions. People reassessed their lives, their values. Seeing these widows and orphans, pregnant women who lost their husbands, hearing the recording from the planes, inspired us all to be better people. “Let’sRoll”, said by Todd Beamer, before he and the other passengers on Flight 93 attacked the cockpit and the terrorists, crashing the plane into a field before it could be used as a weapon, was an inspiration to us all. We asked ourselves what we would do, what could we do, if we were in a similar situation.
October 7th was different for the world. As Jews, as Zionists, we asked where was the IDF. We were united in our grief, not in our dominance. We knew that Israel would respond, that war was here, and that Gaza would be devastated, but we took no pride in that. We took no joy. We wanted our hostages back. We wanted our country back. We wanted to dream of peace back. We sang Hatikvah, ‘Hope’, the Israeli national anthem with hope for the safe return of the hostages, safety for the IDF soldiers who were going to war, hope that peace would come quickly. The heroes we saw were ordinary people who raced into danger to help others.
Bedouins like Ismail Al-Karnawi, who left Rahat with three other family members to head towards Kibbutz Be’eri in order to rescue residents from the inferno. Sari Al-Karnawi, who served as a police officer at the Nova party and rescued partygoers from the attack. Muhammad Abu Najah, an employee of the cleaning company at Nova, who fought against the terrorists, called first responders, and warned others of the presence of terrorists. Omar Abu Sabeelah, who in Sderot heard a woman’s scream and saw Odaya Suissa with her two daughters, aged 6 and 3, and her husband Dolev who was shot dead by the terrorists. Despite being wounded, Sabeelah managed to reach the girls in the car and get them out to safety. He later died from his injuries. Yousef Alziyadneh, who saved the lives of approximately 30 Nova party revelers who were under fire. Anis Abu Dabbus, a senior paramedic crew at the Rahat Magen David Adom station, who acted with his crew in the Rahat and Ofakim area, treating the wounded and providing lifesaving treatment to many.
Heroes like retired general Noam Tibon, who got in his car with his wife and headed towards Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where his son, daughter-in-law, and two young granddaughters were hiding in their safe room as the Kibbutz was attacked and overtaken by Hamas terrorists. Tibon encountered a battle between IDF soldiers and Hamas and picked up a weapon and helped defeat the terrorists. He took 2 of the wounded soldiers to his wife who drove them to the hospital for treatment while he continued on foot until being picked up by another retired general who was answering the call and taken to the Kibbutz. 60 Minutes did a story on his heroism.
Countless other heroes like my friend Yaron Buskila, who left his house without a weapon to fight the terrorists and save lives. Yaron shared a little of what it was like and that little bit that he shared showed me not just his bravery, but the bravery of so many Israelis; Jewish, Bedouin, Arab, and Christian on October 7th.
On October 7th we all looked to heaven for an answer. An answer that will never come. Instead, we began to question ourselves about what really matters. What is important to us and how do we show that. How do we reprioritize our lives around the things that matter instead of the things we thought mattered before October 7th. It’s amazing to have lived in the post 9/11 world and the post October 7th world. Two terrorist attacks. Two tragedies. Two horrible things. Two very different outcomes and feelings.
I’m just a singer of simple songs I’m not a real political man I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
I find this to be one of the most profound lines in the song. So many of us don’t know what’s really going on. We didn’t know who the Taliban was before 9/11. We couldn’t tell you the difference between the Shiite country of Iran and the Sunni country of Iraq other than their rulers.
The same holds true after October 7th but it’s even worse. People don’t only know what Hamas and Hezbollah are, they don’t know that Gaza hasn’t been ‘occupied’ since 2005. They use phrases like “From the River to the Sea” and don’t know what river or what sea they are talking about. They use words like Apartheid and Genocide because they sound good and are powerful without understand the facts or definition of those words. They talk about the high number of civilians that have been killed, not understanding that war is terrible and civilians are killed, but that Israel is nearly 9 times better than the norm in minimizing civilan deaths. Instead of addressing the evil of Hamas, people are feeding into ancient Jewish tropes and feeding global antisemitism.
Israel-Hamas figures compared to the normal rates in war
I am concerned that this ignorance, this hate, will result in catastrophic events happening in the United States as we blame the victim and both encourage and allow the evil to grow.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us And the greatest is love
One of my favorite things about Judaism is the way we look to God, to the Torah, for answers. There are always lessons to learn. Since October 7th I have spent much more time asking questions, learning Torah with Rabbis, and working to understand my role as a Jew in this world.
There is a line in Pirkei Avot, the lessons of our fathers, that always speaks to me. It comes from 2:16 and says that Rabbi Tarfon used to say, “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.” After October 7th this hit home in a very different way. I am not a soldier and can’t fight with the IDF. I am not an Israeli citizen. I do not have the duty to finish the work of the war. However, I am also not able to just neglect the situation and not do my part. There are many ways to do my part and I have learned that there is much I can do. We all have roles to play and our responsibility is not to do everything but rather to play our part, to do what we can. Speak out. Get educated. Encourage others to learn and not just repeat things they hear.
We can also work to live with faith, hope, and love. This doesn’t mean excuse the behavior of the terrorists or those who repeat the lies because they don’t know better. We can have faith that Israel will defeat evil. We can have faith in God and the IDF. And we can focus on love. Love of the Jewish people. Love of our mishpacha (family). Love of Israel. Love of our family. Love of the teachings of the Torah (which if you know me doesn’t sound like something I would say.)
In these terrible times, in these times of desperation, we can still live with faith, hope, and love. We can choose to look to the future with positivity or negativity. We can do our part to make the world a beautiful, better place or we can allow it to die. The choice is ours.
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’ That September day? Teachin’ a class full of innocent children Or drivin’ down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty ’cause you’re a survivor? In a crowded room did you feel alone? Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her? Did you dust off that Bible at home?
This verse reminds us that the world did stop turning on both 9/11 and on October 7th. We don’t have to pretend that it didn’t. President Bush was reading to a class full of innocent children. We were all doing something when it happened, when we got the news.
President Bush reading to children as terrorists attacked on 9/11
We don’t have to live with survivors’ guilt. I wasn’t living in NY on 9/11 or in Israel on October 7th. Why would I have survivors’ guilt? Because I know people who were. I know people who lost loved ones. My life was altered only in the inconveniences I had to deal with after 9/11. October 7th meant that I didn’t get to go to Israel in November like I had planned. Yet the survivors’ guilt is real because I am part of a community. While I am an American, Israel is my homeland. I have a strong tie to Israel and my homeland, my love, was critically injured and damaged on October 7th. That is where my survivors’ guilt comes from. Because I haven’t been able to go to Israel since October 7th.
There are plenty of times when I do feel alone. People chanting antisemitic tropes. Dressing in Nazi uniforms and flying Nazi flags. When I see friends posting hateful comments that they don’t even necessarily understand are hateful and hurtful. I have learned who my friends really are and who aren’t. This can be painful but it’s also refreshing because I don’t have to include those people in my life any longer.
After 9/11 I made sure to talk to my parents, my siblings, and my loved ones. It was a reminder of how short life is. The same thing happened after October 7th. This type of brutality and horror reminds us how precious life is. How limited our time really is. What and who is really important to us. Last week I reached out to my friends who are Palestinian and live in that area. I wanted to see how they are doing. I wanted to let them know I was thinking of them. I wanted to let them know I consider them my friend no matter what is happening in the world. And that I want to see them when I get to Israel in the near future because they matter. I choose to live in faith, hope, and love, not in hate.
After 9/11 people began asking questions about God and opened a door that had been closed for them. October 7th was the same. The opportunity to study, to learn, to ask questions, and to explore Judaism, God, and spirituality was there and many of us took it. It opened me up to learning more, to being a better person, and to ask why I behave certain ways and is that reflective of the person I want to be. We have an opportunity to do better and to be better. I am taking that opportunity.
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened Close your eyes and not go to sleep? Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages And speak to some stranger on the street? Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow Go out and buy you a gun?
After 9/11 I know a lot of people who did close their eyes and hope it never happened. People who struggled with sleep. I wasn’t one of them. But after October 7th, I was. I hoped it was a nightmare. I hoped I would wake up and it was only a nightmare. I struggled to sleep and when I did sleep, it wasn’t restful. October 7th was much more personal for me than 9/11. Unfortunately, I think most of the country has forgotten the horror of 9/11 and October 7th happened ‘over there’ and ‘to them’ and doesn’t affect their daily lives.
I have chosen to invest more in random acts of kindness. Today I was at the grocery store behind a couple with a child that has a disability. It meant that they were going very slow. I was stuck behind them. Instead of getting frustrated and trying to push by, I took a deep breath and watched them with their daughter. And found joy in it. Instead of being angry and resentful, I was grateful and filled with love. All because I took a deep breath and didn’t push past them. I say hello to strangers and talk with them as people, not strangers. I will hold a door open, let somebody get in front of me, and enjoy the beauty of the day.
The world is a scary place and has only gotten scarier since October 7th. Being so public as a Jewish leader, I felt targeted and at risk. Long before October 7th, I did get training on firearms and made sure that I have them to protect myself. They are things I hope to only use on the range when I practice. But I won’t be a victim. I won’t allow my family to be at risk from the hatred that exists in the world. And I know I am not alone in these thoughts, concerns, and actions.
Did you turn off that violent old movie you’re watchin’ And turn on I Love Lucy reruns? Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers Stand in line to give your own blood? Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family Thank God you had somebody to love?
This last verse asks what we are doing differently. While there are specific things listed, it’s really about who you are and what you are doing as a result of 9/11 and now October 7th. There are many things I do differently today than I did prior to October 7th. I speak out much more often against antisemitism and hatred. I reach out to those I love and to my friends. I make sure my friends who are different religions, races, cultures, etc. know I care about them and that I am interested in our similarities, not our differences.
Like Pirkei Avot teaches us, I have an obligation to help with the work. So I give blood, hold doors, exhibit patience, spend more time with my family, tell those that I love that I love them. I invest in friendships and allow those that have been shown to not be investable to die so that I am investing in those of value.
I appreciate what I have in my life. I am a rich man because I want what I have rather than having what I want. I am grateful for the life that I get to live rather than worrying about the life I wish I had. I am more connected spiritually and am open to all that the universe brings to me.
I am committed to making the world a better place. That starts with those around me and in my local community. It means doing things for the right reasons. President Ronald Reagan had on his desk a sign that said, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” That is how I live my life post October 7th. I don’t care who gets the credit. I don’t care about the recognition. I only care about what we can do together. What we can accomplish. How we can make the world a better place for all.
The paperweight from President Ronald Reagan’s desk
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’ On that September day?
The song ends with the haunting question that it began with. It reminds us that the world did stop turning. Both on 9/11 and October 7th the world was forever altered. We were forever altered. Where were we? What did we do as a result? How did we change? How did we change the world? What did we do to make the world a better place and to get it turning once again.
At the end of the day, all we can control is our own actions. What are you going to do today to make the world a better place? How are you going to change the world today? Remember that just because the world stopped turning on October 7th doesn’t mean we are free from the obligation to make sure it is turning once again. I’m up for the challenge and I hope you will join me.
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.
I do a lot of reading these days to find both accurate and interesting information. I use a lot of sources and enjoy reading differing viewpoints as I can always learn more. One of the people I enjoy reading is former NBA all-star and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar. While I don’t agree with every position he takes and think he misses many things in some of his analyses, he also makes me think and I would enjoy sitting down with him over a meal to discuss where we differ and why.
In his message today, he highlighted a quote by the great Muhammad Ali that resonated with me.
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
As Kareem Abdul Jabbar wrote, “That’s how he lived his whole life: Ignoring personal consequences to help others. He inspired millions across the world. I was one of those millions.”
As a child, I loved watching Ali fight. He was a master class in showmanship. More than watching him fight, I loved listening to him talk and especially his interviews with the great sports journalist, Howard Cosell. I could listen to them talk with each other for hours, if they would have continued that long. Ali was a poet who fought. Cosell was a brilliant foil doing sports journalism. Together they defined sports in the 1970s.
Howard Cosell roasting Muhammad Ali in 1974. Their love and respect for each other is clear as they smile and laugh through the comments about each other
Some of the great highlights of Ali and Cosell during different interviews. Two very different people from very different backgrounds who found common ground, respected each other, became friends, and appreciated their differences.
Despite having incredible relationships with Howard Cosell and Billy Crystal, Ali also had a challenging relationship with the Jewish community. He had no problem speaking out loudly against Jewish promoters and slamming “Zionist control of the world”, but he also had a Jewish grandson and attended his bar mitzvah, allowing his grandson to show him the Torah and explore it together. He went to Israel and lobbying for the release of terrorists yet also publicly appealed to Muslim extremists to release Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl and attended Pearl’s funeral.
This imitation of Ali by Billy Crystal always makes me smile, both because of the talent of Crystal but also because I could imagine Ali laughing at it and wishing he had come up with the idea first. When Ali turned 50, he had Crystal perform at his birthday party.
In 1996, before lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Muhammad Ali publicly stated:
“My mother was a Baptist. She believed Jesus was the son of God, and I don’t believe that. But even though my mother had a religion different from me, I believe that, on Judgment Day, my mother will be in heaven.
“There are Jewish people who lead good lives. When they die, I believe they’re going to heaven. It doesn’t matter what religion you are if you’re a good person you’ll receive God’s blessing. Muslims, Christians, and Jews all serve the same God. We just serve him in different ways.
“Anyone who believes in One God should also believe that all people are part of one family. God created us all. And all people have to work to get along.”
We live in very challenging times. Ali did as well, as a black man who converted to Islam, refused the draft, spoke his mind, lost everything, and earned it back based on his beliefs. Despite his challenges with the Jewish community, there is much we can learn from Muhammad Ali in how we choose to speak, act, and behave in our own challenging times of today.
The attacks on October 7th in Israel have fundamentally altered who I am as a person. I don’t live in Israel so how can it have done this? I have always been a passionate Zionist. Since there is so much confusion about what this means, I am going to be clearer and define this. It means I believe that the Jewish people have a right to a homeland. I believe the Jewish people have a right to self-determination. I believe that Judea and Samaria are the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. And I believe that no matter your religion or lack of religion, if you want to be a citizen of Israel, you should be allowed to pursue citizenship. I love that there are Arab-Israelis and Druze-Israelis. It’s wonderful to visit the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa and learn about the Baha’i Israelis and their community and beliefs. There are Christian-Israelis and Bedouin Israelis. There are Ethiopian-Israelis and Palestinian-Israelis. The common thing they all have in common is that they are Israeli.
Since October 7th, I have seen an incredible amount of antisemitism and hate in the world. It fascinates me in so many ways. In many ways, the 4 sons/children from the Passover Seder can be an appropriate analogy. There are those who always have been antisemites and now don’t have to pretend. These are the wicked son/child. They are easy to see and identify. They are the ones who demand proof of Hamas raping women when they spoke out against Brett Cavanaugh. They stood chanting ‘believe all women’ and then don’t believe Jewish women. They present a challenge as I’m not sure there is anything anybody can do to about them. The slight hope that I have for these people goes back to my experience with Combatants for Peace. I became aware of them in 2019 during a trip to Israel where I spent 4 days meeting with leaders of Palestinian civil society. The members I met were across the spectrum in terms of where they came from and where they were at that time. All had begun from a place of hate. Hatred of Palestinians or hatred of Jews. All were on a quest to leave hate behind. Some were more successful than others. All were trying. For those who live in hate and recent times are enabling them to express it freely, I can only hope that at some point they decide that perhaps there is a different way to live and are willing to try to find that path.
It is sad but true that Jewish women don’t count to those people
There are a larger group of people who are behaving as antisemites, but I don’t think really are. They often begin from an honorable place, such as I don’t to see civilians die. I have some friends who are like this. As a result, they call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to stop civilians dying in war. However, they miss the entire context. They don’t assign responsibility to Hamas, who not only began the war but also uses civilians as human shields, turns hospitals, schools, mosques, and homes into military targets. They don’t listen to the people in the north of Gaza, finally free of Hamas, who encourage Israel to finish the war by destroying Hamas. They cite the starvation and need for humanitarian aid without realizing that the aid is coming in, however UNRWA makes sure that Hamas gets it and Hamas then keeps what they need and put the rest of the black market at exorbitant prices. I have from people on the ground in Gaza who acknowledge there is plenty of food there, it’s just either in the tunnels with Hamas or so grossly overpriced on the black market that the ordinary people can’t afford it. Sending in more aid won’t solve this problem and this group of people simply isn’t looking at facts while leading with their heart. We all want the war to end. We all want the death to stop. We all want peace. It cannot and will not happen until the hostages are released and Hamas leadership surrenders. Those who call for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ or an” Immediate and permanent ceasefire” or “an immediate 2 state solution” miss the basic facts that:
A ceasefire has to be on both sides and Hamas has already said they will do more October 7th massacres. Hamas has also violated every ceasefire that Israel has been agreed to with them.
Hamas will not agree to, nor will they adhere to a permanent cease fire. They have said this publicly and many times. Why would Israel agree to something that would only be binding on them?
There can be no ceasefire, nor can there be anything permanent while the hostages remain in Gaza. Their release must occur for any ceasefire to be considered.
If Hamas remains in power, the Palestinian people in Gaza, those that these people profess to care about, will suffer greatly. The Gazans in the northern part, who are now free of Hamas, are crying for Israel to finish the job, eliminate Hamas, and grant them freedom.
You can’t give people who call for your destruction, who commit actual genocide, who are supported by Iran, who don’t respect borders, who are known to be corrupt and steal from their people, their own state as a reward for committing genocide.
These people are the simple son/child, who does not know. They are so ignorant they don’t even realize they don’t know. They use words like genocide and apartheid without knowing the meaning and when they clearly don’t apply. They say things like, “Ceasefire now, Intifada” not realizing that they are telling Israel to put down their weapons while telling the terrorists to pick their up and kill Jews. They chant “from the River to the Sea” without knowing what river, what sea, or that what they are advocating for is the elimination of Israel. They accuse Israel of genocide while they, themselves, are actually advocating for genocide! If they are truly antisemitic, it’s often because this is the new, cool, hip thing their friends are doing. They aren’t filled with hate; they are filled with stupidity. If they are willing to learn, there is a chance for them to understand. If they aren’t willing to learn, it is more likely they will end up like the wicked son/child.
They are so simple that they don’t even realize that Hamas would throw them from the roof of a building to their death for being in drag or being gay.
At the Seder table, we talk about the son/child who doesn’t know how to ask. I remember thinking to myself for years, ‘how is this different from the simple son/child?’ What’s happened since October 7th has shown me the difference. While the simple child doesn’t know enough to question what they are told and believe whatever they are old, the one who doesn’t know how to ask is oblivious to what’s going on around them. These are the people who don’t say anything at all about the atrocities committed by Hamas. They don’t comment or say anything about the incredible antisemitism we are seeing on college campuses or in major cities. A hospital protested and vandalized because it has a Jewish name doesn’t raise their ire nor does it result in a comment. People assaulted because they are Jewish or are wearing a kippah or a Jewish symbol isn’t even considered by them. They live in a world where things like this don’t exist. They aren’t antisemitic, they are totally disconnected from the reality of Jew hatred. These are the people where we have the responsibility to show them what is happening, to engage them in conversation to educate them. If we allow them to live in lala land, then we are responsible. The actress and comedienne Tiffany Haddish who discovered she was Jewish later in life has taken an active role in this. She isn’t afraid to talk about being Jewish and even publicly went to Israel recently to see and learn for herself. She even had her own ‘Black Mitzvah’. She is the example to people who don’t even know how to ask about what they can do. If she can do it, they can do it.
Since discovering that her mother was actually Jewish, Tiffany Haddish has embraced this part of her.
The final child is the wise one. This child asks for specific details about how to observe the holiday. In the post October 7th world, these are the people that continue to seek truth and challenge what they are told. They aren’t afraid to learn. They understand the difference between Jews and the Israeli government. They don’t take words like genocide, apartheid, and occupation at face value. I want to be clear that this doesn’t mean they defend Israel no matter what. They question. They challenge. They want to learn. I urge us all to strive to be the wise child. Don’t just believe what you hear or read. Be open to conversations. I had this happen regarding something it was reported that Turkish President Erdogan said. A friend, who is actually in Turkey right now, let me know that this was a translation error/issue and that he would explain in detail this week. I look forward to having him explain to me the translation issue and put it in another context.
Muhammad Ali changed his name to mark his significant change upon converting to Islam. The man named Cassius Clay ceased to exist and all that was left was a man named Muhammad Ali. The me that existed before October 7th no longer exists. The horrors of that day and what has followed has created a different version of me. In order to mark that transition, I haven’t changed my name. But I have marked my body. I have wanted to get something that would mark that change for me and for everybody who saw it. So last week, while in DC, I went with a friend to her tattoo artist and got two very personal and very meaningful tattoos. One is the quote from Mia Schem, a hostage taken from the Nova music festival and released after 55 days. She said, and then got tattooed on her arm, the words I will never forget. “We will dance again.” I now have those words on my right forearm. I also saw a design memorializing the Nova music festival. I can imagine being there listening to bands that I love. I can imagine my children being at that music festival as they love concerts and live music. So on my left forearm I got a tree with the word Nova and the date, 7-10-23 (written the Israeli way) tattooed. They are forever reminders to me and those who see them both the horrors of October and the resilience of the Jewish people. We will not go away. We will continue to be Jewish and continue to thrive. I am reminded of that every time I look at my arms. Am Yisrael Chai!
Finally, in order to add some light to the darkness, I saw this in Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s writings today and after watching it, felt I had to share it. In the Netherlands, cows are kept inside for 6 months of the year to protect them from the harsh weather. On the day they are released to the outside, crowds show up to witness the ‘Cow Dance’
In a Bari Weiss piece for the Free Press after their recent visit to Israel, she said,
“There was not a single conversation that I had in the week I spent in Israel where the person did not say a version of the following: There was an October 6 version of me and an October 7 version of me. I am forever changed. I am a different person.“
That hits home for me as there is no question that October 7th changed me forever. I have always been a passionate Zionist. My grandparents and parents raised me that way. They were passionate about have a Jewish homeland, my grandparents living in America during the Shoah and my parents being born at the end of it. I will never forget my grandfather telling how they listened to the UN vote on a transistor radio and how they celebrated when the vote came in that ensured a Jewish state would be created. It was dream to visit Israel and after I graduated college, my present was a 4 week trip to Israel.
I have been back to Israel 19 more times since then (total of 20 visits) and can never get another or stay long enough. There is something in the air, on the ground, that is special. The food is amazing, and I love the people, the beaches, the green of the north, the beauty of the desert. My favorite place changes all the time. Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Galil. On my last visit I fell in love with Ir Yamim, a southern suburb of Netanya. Suffice it to say that I love Israel and am a proud Zionist.
Horseback riding with my friend Remo Eyal in Netanya on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea in Netanaya.
As a proud Zionist, I got involved with AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) more than 25 years ago. I was awarded the campus ally one year and been to many conferences. With the shift away from the big 20,000-person policy conference to the much smaller 1,400 Policy Summits, I have still been invited and have attended the first two that have been held. This week was the second and it was truly incredible.
AIPAC gets important politicians to address the summit. As a non-partisan organization that works in a bi-partisan manner, that means we hear from leaders of both parties as well as leaders of Israel. This year was no exception.
We heard from all four leaders of the House and Senate. Representative Leader Hakim Jeffries and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as well as Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell. All were powerfully pro-Israel. It made Thursday’s speech by Senator Schumer hurt even more as he was so positive when he spoke on Monday night. To call on Israel to replace their democratically elected leader in a country that has had more elections in the past few years than we can count and not call on the Palestinian Authority to have elections to end the 19 years that Mahmoud Abbas has served in his 4 year elected term is offensive. To meddle publicly in the politics of a key ally in the middle of an existential war is unacceptable. It is a reminder of why we have the challenges we do. Israel remains held to a different standard than anybody else in the world. Compared, to House Minority Leader Jeffries, who doubled down on Israel needing to eliminate Hamas, it was quite a contrast.
Representative Hakim Jeffries, Minority Leader in the HouseSenator Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader in the SenateSpeaker of the House Mike JohnsonSenator Chuck Schumer, majority leader in the Senate
Senators Rick Scott and John Fetterman were two of the leaders who attended the special dinner on Monday night, each holding court with attendees to talk, answer questions and support Israel. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Brian Mast were also there, and I am sure there were many others that I didn’t get to see.
Representatives Don Davis (D-NC) and Rep Young Kim (R-CA) spoke together with incredible passion. Rep Davis is African American and Rep Kim is an Asian American. They showed that Israel is not just a Jewish issue and I hope many others follow their lead. It was inspiring to hear them speak.
Representative Young Kim and Representative Don Davis
Brett McGuirk, Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North African gave us incredible insight into what’s going on. It was incredible to hear directly from him and we learned a great deal.
Israeli Opposition party leader Yair Lapid spoke to use by satellite from Israel. He was powerful and inspired us all. Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog spoke to us in person, inspiring us as the Israeli Ambassador. At the end of the conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu also addressed the crowd by satellite, although I had to leave before then as I had lobbying appointments on Capitol Hill to get to.
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair LapidIsraeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog
Two of the best we heard from were Wesley Bell, running against Rep Cori Bush, a vile antisemite, and George Latimer, running against Jamal Bowman, another vile antisemite. Both members of the squad are behind in the polls and hearing Bell and Latimer speak gave great hope for a different Congress in 2025 that is more pro-Israel and one that is more educated on the issues and the realities.
George Latimer and Wesley Bell – hopefully they defeat Jamal Bowman and Cori Bush, two vile antisemites.
Senators Kirstin Gillibrand and Joni Ernst were on a panel with Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. They each spoke powerfully and beautifully about Israel, the evil of Hamas, and the need for Israel to destroy Hamas.
As you can see, it was a powerful group of leaders who spoke to us. But that wasn’t the most powerful part of the conference. The most powerful part of the conference were the Israeli’s we heard from who were there on October 7th. Who experienced the terror, who lost loved ones, and parents whose dual citizen son, Omer Neutra, remains a hostage. Omer graduated high school and decided to spend a gap year in Israel. While spending his gap year in Israel, he decided that rather than return to the US for college, he wanted to enlist in the IDF and serve Israel. On October 7th he was taken hostage and has not been heard from since. Omer is all our children. We can all related to a child taking a gap year and being inspired while doing so. He could be in college right now, but instead chose to serve the Jewish people in the IDF. He has not been a hostage for nearly 160 days. As we listened to his parents, all we could think of was that Omer could be our child and he quickly became our child and our cause. When we heard a dual citizen hostage was found to have been murdered on October 7th and Hamas still has his body, we were all horrified and fearful it was Omer. Our hearts broke for the family of Itai Chen, who learned of his death FIVE MONTHS after it happened. Who don’t have his body to bury and the ability for closure.
Omer Neutra’s picture as his parents spoke to us. It was heartbreaking. Bring them home NOW!
We heard from a young woman named Or Tzuk who lives in Kfar Aza. I want to warn you that this story is graphic. She and her husband were away on holiday the weekend of October 7th. Hamas terrorists broke into her house and murdered her father, mother, and their dog. Her brother, who in her words is like a ‘big American’, hid under the bed and wasn’t found. Hamas shot bullets all around the house with a number of them grazing him. He laid in his parents and their dog’s blood and urine for 7 hours before being rescued. 7 hours lying in his parent’s blood and urine, looking at their dead bodies and the dead body of his dog. When rescued, he took off his shirt to be examined and they found that his mother’s teeth were embedded in his skin. I can’t even imagine. She now wears combat boots all the time. She has to have an exit strategy in every room she is in. She has difficulty sleeping. Listening to her talk was heartbreaking.
Or Tzuk speaking on the Israeli news 10 days after the Hamas massacre of October 7th. Her pain wasn’t any less when she spoke to us 5 months later.
We heard from a Nehoray Levy, a young man who was at the Nova Music Festival. He ran and was able to escape. He hid for hours alone. When things got quiet, he got up and ran to where he saw others who had escaped the music festival and hid together with them until they were rescued.
Nehoray recorded a farewell message to his parents and family during the Hamas attack. It’s painful to watch as he says his goodbyes, not sure if he will survive.
Daniel Waiss, who sang Hatikvah, lost both his parents on October 7th, part of the time lying between the dead bodies of his friends. I can’t imagine spending hours lying between the dead bodies of my friends, hoping and praying that the terrorists don’t come find me and kill me too. He had decided to use his music as a way to heal not only himself but others who have been traumatized. He has gone back to the area where the terrorists murdered his family and performed a concert for them. He sang beautifully and while Hatikvah is always powerful and meaningful when I sing it, this one was the most meaningful I have ever sung.
Daniel Wais singing on YouTube
After this, filled with energy and passion on behalf of the American-Israel relationship and Israel itself, we went to the Hill to lobby our Central Florida Senators and Representatives. All support Israel. Almost all agreed that Israel must do whatever it takes to defeat Hamas. They all listened to us and heard our message. I hope they all support the aid package to Israel. I hope they all understand what Israel faces. Most do, but not all. I spent Tuesday on the Hill, doing my part to advocate for Israel and the American Israeli relationship. When my future grandchildren ask me what I did after October 7, 2023, I have an answer for them. I didn’t sit silently. I didn’t hide. I became more publicly Jewish. I worked with our legislators. I attended the rally in DC. I took action. I hope that you will have answer for your grandchildren as well.
Representative Darren SotoRepresentative Daniel WebsterRepresentative Maxwell Frost – I did a bad job taking the picture
As a proud Jew and a proud Zionist, I have struggled greatly since October 7th. One image I will never forget was on the news that day. It was a minivan on the side of the road. The driver, the father of family, had been murdered and was slumped over the steering wheel. His young daughter was also murdered, slumped over him. It’s an image that will never leave my mind. I saw the Hamas 47-minute video and there are many images there that I will never forget and that will never leave my mind.
Since October 7th I have ordered a special Magen David (star of David) from Israel that I wear daily. I got my ‘Bring Them Home Now’ and ‘We will Dance Again’ dog tags from Israel that I wear every day. I got a new “Am Yisrael Chai’” pendant. As requested by Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the American Israeli who lost an arm at the Nova Music Festival and was taken hostage, I put the masking tape over my heart and use a sharpie to chronicle how many days the hostages have been in captivity. I get asked about that more than anything else.
My newest necklace
This AIPAC Policy Summit was powerful for me as it wasn’t just an opportunity to learn about policy, hear from politicians, lobby on the hill, and see some cool Israeli things. It was a chance to hear from Israeli’s personally impacted by October 7th. To hear their stories from their own mouths, in their own words. I’ll never forget their faces, their voices, or their stories.
When he was Hillel International President, Avraham Infeld used to say all the time that ‘Judaism is NOT a religion.’ He would step back, say it again, and then say, ‘See, I wasn’t struck by lightning. Judaism is a mishpacha (family) who share a common religion.’ Ambassador Michael Oren reiterated this in his column today. As a mishpacha, the people murdered on October 7th are my family. The people taken hostage on October 7th are my family. The people currently still being held hostage are my family. The IDF soldiers fighting and dying to eliminate the evil that is Hamas are my family. The civilians attacked in the streets in Israel and stabbed are my family. I stand with my family. I stand with Israel. Am Yisrael Chai.
With Michael Oren at the Orlando JNF event. He is truly a brilliant man and worth following his writings.Am Yisrael Chai – The people of Israel live!
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.
As most of you know, I am a passionate and unapologetic Zionist. Being a Zionist simply means that I believe that the Jewish people have a right to their own country and their own self-determination. No matter what else you may THINK Zionism is or means, that’s what it really does. The rest is simply propaganda created and spread by those Jew haters who want no Jews to exist and those who aren’t willing to actually learn something about Zionism.
As a result of my love affair with the State of Israel, I got connected with Dr. Ken Stein and the Center for Israel Education (CIE). Each week, CIE puts out ‘This week in Israeli history’. Some weeks there are nuggets that I learn about and other weeks there are monumentous events. This week it’s of the monumentous variety.
On February 27, 1928, Ariel Sharon was born is born in K’far Malal (near Hod Hasharon). For those of you who know much about Israel, Hod Hasharon is the home of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel. My cousin Eric attended there in 1984 and I have many friends who have attended as well. This would have been Ariel Sharon’s 96th birthday.
Sharon, like many of that generation, took an Israeli last name, changing his birth name of Scheinerman to Sharon. A true Zionist and patriot, he joined the Haganah in 1945 and served in the War of Independence. His reputation, which continued through his life, was having a lack of restraint and being very aggressive. He served as a paratrooper commander in the 1956 war, a Major General in the Six Day War (1967), and the commander of an armored division in the Yom Kippur War (1973).
Ariel Sharon in 1982 at the Suez Canal after peace with Egypt
Sharon was elected head of the Likud party in 1999 and became Israel’s 11th Prime Minister in 2001. As Prime Minister, he approved construction of the security fence, advocated for settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and despite his reputation as a military hawk, oversaw the disengagement from Gaza, hoping it would jump start peace talks with the Palestinians. In 2006, he suffered a stroke that left him incapacitated and was no longer Prime Minister. He passed away in January 2014 after spending 8 years in a coma.
Ariel Sharon is a complex figure and a good lesson in the complexities of Israel and the region. Most of his career, he was considered a far right, war hawk. He was a military hero whose leadership was critical to the victory in the Six Day War. His leadership and actions in the 1973 war were essential to Israel turning the tide and capturing the Suez Canal and almost marching to Cairo before America and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stepped in to stop the war.
His resignation after being found negligent in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps by the Christian Phalange troops have many branding him a war criminal. He certainly did not use good judgment at the time, doing nothing to stop Christian militiamen allied with Israel from entering the camps, despite fears they might seek to avenge the killing of their leader the previous day. War criminal or not, it was a poor decision that helped define his life, career, and legacy.
In 2000, he went to the Temple Mount and visited the Al Aqsa Mosque. To many people this would be seen as no big deal. It’s the historic site of the ancient first and second Jewish temple. The ‘Rock’ in Dome of the Rock is supposed to be both the rock that Abraham bound Isaac to, prepared to sacrifice him, as well as the rock that Muhammad rose to heaven from. It’s also a flashpoint for violence as Jewish access is limited and many attribute the 2nd intifada to this visit. It’s a place I have never been to and hope that one day I will be able to have access. I remember this visit and wondering why he chose to do it as it was clearly going to incite violence.
Ariel Sharon on Temple Mount – this is considered by many to be what incited the 2nd intifada
In 2005, he made the decision to withdraw all Israelis and Jews from Gaza, returning it to Palestinian control, as an effort to jumpstart peace. The settlers and many Israelis were very upset that he would take this action as 21 Israeli communities were forcibly removed from Gaza and relocated inside Israel. His hopes for peace as a result never materialized, his stroke a few months later meant that he never had the opportunity to follow up on his vision. The Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, is tied back my many to this action in 2005 which led to the creation of modern Gaza.
The removal of Israelis and Jews from Gaza in 2005 was highly controversial. In the end, it didn’t accomplish the goal of peace and resulted in the Hamas massacre of October 7th
Sharon is an Israeli hero that I have always struggled with. My grandparents loved him because after the Shoah, he was the face of an Israeli and Jewish warrior. He kept safeguarding the Jewish people as his top priority and his actions were very public and visible. From 1957 through 1973, he played key roles in winning wars to ensure Israel’s existence and inspiring Jews in Israel and the diaspora. When I look back on those years, I see a headstrong officer who I can say thank you to for ensuring Israel exists.
A young Ariel Sharon with Moshe Dayan, another of the great Israeli leaders.
The Sabra and Shatila massacre cause me great pain and challenges. While he didn’t actually murder anybody and it wasn’t IDF soldiers under his command who committed the massacre, he had the opportunity to stop it or at least intervene, and he didn’t. From what I know of Ariel Sharon, I believe it to be a tactical choice that he made. I cannot reconcile the Jewish hero I wrote about with the man who would allow this to happen. I remember struggling with his being elected Prime Minister because of this. This struggle was enhanced by that 2000 visit to Temple Mount. As I’ve said, it’s a place I have always wanted to go and have never been able to visit. While there have been times when it has been permitted, the access is limited and as meaningful as it would be to pray on the Temple Mount, that is forbidden to Jews. Most people don’t know of this prohibition. It is hard to believe that his visit was not intended to incite violence. At the time the impeding visit was discussed with this being the likely outcome. Yet he did it anyway. Just like Sharon in battle, who did what he wanted, and thought was right, he did it with this visit, with the 2nd intifada as the resulting outcome.
And then there was the withdrawal from Gaza. I grew up being taught that when we finally got to the point of land for peace or money to release the Jewish people from oppression (like in the USSR), the battle was won. We would always give up land for peace just as we would pay for the freedom of our people. 21 Jewish communities were relocated. I hated seeing the families uprooted from their homes and forcibly removed. I hated seeing their crying and outrage. Yet I was hopeful that it would be for the greater good and that perhaps, the Palestinians would create a ‘Singapore of the Middle East’ in Gaza, and we might have peace.
As Israel faces all sorts of calls from countries around the world for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ and the creation of a Palestinian State without conditions. It’s worth remembering what President George W. Bush said in his August 27, 2005 radio address about the withdrawal from Gaza and the hope for a different future and what was required.
During the past two weeks, Prime Minister Sharon and the Israeli people took a courageous and painful step by removing Israeli settlements in Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank. I congratulate the Prime Minister for his bold leadership.
Now that Israel has withdrawn, the way forward is clear. The Palestinians must show the world that they will fight terrorism and govern in a peaceful way. We will continue to help the Palestinians to prepare for self-government and to defeat the terrorists who attack Israel and oppose the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state.
We remain fully committed to defending the security and well-being of our friend and ally Israel. We demand an end to terrorism and violence in every form because we know that progress depends on ending terror. And we will continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows two democratic states – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security.
It is obvious this didn’t happen. There was no Palestinian fight against terrorism, nor did they govern in a peaceful way. The demand for an end to terrorism and violence remains a key requirement for peace and security. The withdrawal from Gaza was an abject failure even before October 7th. My hopes didn’t come to fruition and while I respect Sharon’s efforts to find peace, it turned out to be yet another failure of his leadership decisions.
Ultimately, I find myself viewing Sharon as a Lion of Israel, one of the key people who ensured the survival of the Jewish state, but also one who struggled with political leadership. He isn’t a role model, there is far too much that is troublesome, but he is an icon in the history of the modern State of Israel and one worth studying and discussing to learn from.
Remember that in the start of this post, I used the work momentous. The birth of Ariel Sharon in a week is significant but not momentous. On March 1, 1922, Yitzhak Rabin was born. They celebrated their birthdays just a few days apart. Two amazing leaders of the Modern State of Israel and the Jewish people. This would have been Rabin’s 102nd birthday!
When I read about Rabin, I’m always shocked that he was Israel’s 5th Prime Minister. I forget that he took over for Golda Meir in 1974 and think of him much more during his 2nd term of Prime Minister from 1992-1995. I also am always shocked at how short his second term was as it seems he accomplished so much during that term. It speaks to how young the country really is that somebody who played a prominent role in virtually all of Israel’s history is somebody that I recall so vividly. In many ways it would be like experiencing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin in the US.
Rabin in his Palmach uniform in January 1948
Rabin, the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born in Eretz Yisrael (Palestine at the time), served in the Palmach and as a commander in the 1948 Independence War. As Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he was in charge of the 1967 Six Day War. Following the War, he was appointed Israel’s Ambassador to the United States from 1968 until 1973. Fifty years ago, he was already an icon. After returning to Israel, Rabin was elected to the Knesset and became Prime Minister Golda Meir’s Minister of Labor. Upon her resignation in 1974, Rabin became Prime Minister.
Being Prime Minister in Israel means you live in interesting times and your leadership is constantly tested. As Prime Minister, Rabin signed an interim agreement with Syria in May 1974 and one with Egypt over the Sinai in 1975. One of his most famous actions occurred in 1976 when terrorists hijacked an Israeli plan and flew it to Uganda. Rabin ordered the rescue of Israeli, Jewish, and other hostages from Entebbe in Uganda in 1976.
The raid on Entebbe was a huge success and raised the profile of the Israeli military further beyond the 6 day war. The only casualty was Yonatan Netanyahu, Bibi’s older brother.
Israel is an interesting country with some interesting laws and scandals. In 1977, it was discovered that he and his wife, Leah, had maintained an American bank account from their time in the US as the Israeli Ambassador. Leah publicly confirmed that she opened and operated the account alone however, then Attorney General Aharon Barak decided to prosecute both Leah and Yitzhak for this violation which normally only incurred a civil fine. Named by the media as the ‘Dollar Affair’, Rabin chose to resign over the lapse. When we look at our leaders today, it’s hard to imagine them taking such a moral and ethical stance over such a small infraction when they are involved in much larger scandals and choose to deny, minimize, and deflect. Unlike Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin chose to live his values, morals, and ethics, no matter the cost.
Rabin returned to the Knesset and also served as Minister of Defense from 1984-1990. In 1992, he again assumed leadership of the Labor party, and was elected to his second term as Prime Minister in June of 1992.
The 1992-1995 years of his second term as Prime Minister, Rabin oversaw some amazing breakthroughs that most people hoped would be transformational in the peace process. The Oslo Accords were negotiated and signed by Rabin with Yassir Arafat. In 1994 Rabin was able to negotiate with King Hussein of Jordan on a peace treaty that remains in place 30 years later. These efforts inspired the world and in 1994, Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.”
The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize winnersThe famous picture of Rabin and Arafat shaking hands with President Clinton
Sadly, on November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by a right wing, nationalistic Israeli who didn’t want peace. The assassination came minutes after Rabin gave a pro-peace speech in Tel Aviv to more than 100,000 people cheering and hopeful about a different future.
I remember when Rabin was assassinated and the shock that was felt around the world. The fact that it was a fellow Jew who murdered him made it even worse. Hope for a brighter future seemed to disappear and in the 28 years since, has never recovered.
Every time I am in Israel, I seem to find my way to Rabin Square, the location of the pro-peace speech and his assassination, named for him after his murder. I’ve been there for Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations and for concerts. It’s an empty space until there is a reason to gather. I can imagine the energy that night and the power of hope. In the back, there is the area where he was shot. It’s preserved as a mini-museum documenting what happened. You can see where everybody was standing and even stand in their footsteps. You can see where Rabin’s security failed, allowing the murderer access to shoot Rabin. You can learn about the chaos that happened after the shooting, resulting in him being taken to the wrong hospital, wasting key time that may have been able to save his life. I am always humbled when I stand there and find myself dreaming of what could have been.
The memorial where Rabin was assasinated.
I read the David Horovitz biography of Rabin, Shalom Friend, and was deeply moved by the man. Similar to Ariel Sharon, he was there from the beginning in the War of Independence and throughout all the wars that came after. Rabin remained committed to his core beliefs throughout and unlike Sharon, didn’t waver. Rabin was complicated in the fact that he was both a man of war and of peace. While Sharon faced significant questions related to his sincerity for peace, Rabin was seen by the world as the bringer of peace. I often wonder if Yitzhak Rabin was the last politician I will see in my lifetime who truly acted on his morals, values, and integrity rather than his electability. While I don’t doubt what I think Sharon would say and do after October 7th, I am challenged by what Rabin would say and do. As a Zionist who did everything he could to ensure Israel won every war, he also did everything he could to ensure Israel could win the peace. Would he bring clarity to the world at a time when it’s so greatly needed? Would he be able to unite Israel at a time when we are seeing divisions again about the hostages, finishing the war in Gaza, Bibi as Prime Minister, and so much more.
Despite the Oslo Accords not working the way we hoped, Rabin is a true hero. Unlike Sharon, a Lion of Israel, Rabin was a true statesman. He was a true leader. He had a clear vision for what Israel could and should be. He had a vision of a world where Israel lived in peace with her neighbors. Rabin understood America and diaspora Jews just as he understood Israelis. Perhaps the only thing he didn’t understand was the power of hatred, which cost him his life and has resulted in the Hamas massacre of October 7th. That’s a shortcoming I’d be happy to accept in a leader of Israel and the US.
As we celebrate the birth of two icons of the Modern State of Israel this week, we have a chance to learn from them both. Both taught and continue to teach us important lessons about moral character, about hatred and the short term and long term impacts of it, of leadership and of hope. Although both died before accomplishing their goals due to a stroke and an assassin, both died with hope in their hearts and in their efforts. Let’s not let the sacrifices of these two great men go to waste because we lose hope. Even in times of despair, we must hold onto hope for a brighter future. It is that hope which will sustain us through the difficult times and allow us to reach better ones.
Pictures of Rabin and Sharon. The last one also has Shimon Peres. These are the founding fathers of the Modern State of Israel.
The murder of Alexei Navalny (z”l) on February 16, 2024, has received a lot of attention. Navalny, one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been imprisoned in an Arctic penal colony for his crimes of standing up to Putin.
In his death, Navalny has taught us a great deal of powerful lessons. The more I have read about him, the more I am in awe of his dedication, commitment, ethics, and values. After being poisoned and recovering, he returned to Russia to continue his fight for the Russian people, despite knowing he would be arrested and imprisoned. Why would he return, knowing brutal imprisonment and likely death would be the result? In an Instagram post on Jan. 14, 2022, he wrote, “The question ‘to return or not’ never stood before me, mainly because I never left. I ended up in Germany, having arrived in an intensive care box, for one reason: they tried to kill me.”
Within weeks of his arrest, he sent a note to his friend and mentor, the journalist Yevgenia Albats. It read:
Zhenya, everything is O.K. History is happening. Russia is going through it, and we are coming along. We’ll make it (probably). I am all right, and I have no regrets. And you shouldn’t, either, and shouldn’t worry. Everything will be all right. And, even if it isn’t, we’ll have the consolation of having lived honest lives. Hugs!
I think about the courage and commitment it takes to think that everything will be alright, and if it isn’t, you still lived an honest life. Far too often today people need to be right. People need to win. People refuse to do what’s right because it’s not what is expedient or because it affects their ego. Navalny shows us that living that way isn’t worth it. It’s better to live honestly, where your word means something, where the focus is on the bigger picture, the long view. It is the famous line from Star Trek, The Wrath of Khan, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.” Far too many people focus on the needs of the one and neglect the needs of the many, of the larger community, of those that are impacted by the consequences of taking care of the needs of the one.
Spock and Kirk – the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
The Free Press posted his 2014 speech to the judges upon conviction of bogus charges. As I read it, I was struck by the power of both his words and that he addressed the panel of judges directly, calling them out on their behavior. When he said,
“I call you “people who look the other way.” Do you even notice that you are constantly looking down? You’re looking the other way. I am talking to you but you’re looking down all the time. None of you have anything to say.”
As I read the article, I could feel the shame of the judges as they were called out. He wasn’t willing to allow people to behave in an unethical or immoral manner without being made to face the choice that they made to sell out their values. Navalny was not afraid to hold those accountable who had not done what they were supposed to do. They did what Putin wanted. But as the Klingons in Star Trek would say, “You have no honor”. Navalny stresses the importance of honor. The criticalness of integrity. He understood and tried to communicate how without any of these things, life is hollow. Those who judged him had no honor or integrity because they didn’t stand for or live by their values. The lesson to us is to remember that. When we make choices in our personal and professional lives, do so with honor and integrity. Don’t look at the small picture of what it may do for us, look at the bigger picture of what it does for the world. Make sure you are able to live with yourself based on the choices and decisions that you make.
Later in the speech, he said,
“But, in spite of all of this, it’s important to me to address you, the people who will watch or read my last words. It’s more or less pointless, but the people who look the other way are also a battlefield. On one side of it are the crooks who have seized power in our country, and on the other are people who want to change this. We are fighting over the people who look the other way, the people who shrug their shoulders, the people who are in a situation where all they have to do is not do something cowardly, who do it anyway.”
In today’s world we are fighting over the people who just have to not do something cowardly, and they can help change the world. Stand up to hate. Stand up to terror. Stand up to lies. It’s easy to be a coward and go along with another leader tells you. It’s easy to be a coward and look down, avert your eyes, as injustice is done. Navalny, through is actions and his words, is teaching us all not to be cowards, not to just go along, shrug your shoulders, and allow the wrong thing to be done, even when we know it’s the wrong thing. He is telling us that our job isn’t done because people don’t care. Our job is to make them care. It reminds me of the famous line in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers) that reads,
“It Is not up to you to finish the task, but you are not free to avoid it.”
It is not our responsibility for their choice of action or inaction. It is our responsibility to do what it takes to encourage them to take action. To act honorably. To act with integrity. In today’s world, too many people accept the status quo. They believe the lies they are told without asking any questions or doing any research. They take the simple way out, the way the judges in his case took the simple and easy path rather than the honest and difficult one. Navalny continues,
“There’s the famous quote from Dragon: “Yes, everyone was taught to be evil, but why did you have to be top of the class?” I’m not just talking about this court. A huge number of people are either forced to act like cowards or act like cowards without being forced or even asked to. They just look the other way and try to ignore what is happening. We are fighting for these people. We are trying to get them, you, to admit that everything that is happening in our society is based on endless lies.”
He isn’t giving up on those who are acting as cowards. He isn’t willing to write off this group of people who just go along, put their heads down so they don’t have to watch, and allow the lies to take root. Navalny is telling us that not only do they deserve a chance, but we need them to fight off the crooks, the bad people, often times our leaders. He is telling us that it is our job to inspire the masses who keep their head in the sand, don’t want to make waves, and let things be.
In today’s world, with the rising antisemitism and overall hatred, what could be more important? We live in a world where it has become challenging to have difficult conversations because people only want to be heard, not to listen. People want to be right, not to be informed. Navalny is telling us what Ghandi told us, that we have to be the change. We have to be the ones who will brave the tough discussions. We have to be the ones who will speak out. Who will take the risk? Who will work to inspire others to lift up their head, see the realities around us, and join in being the changemakers? He finished the speech by saying,
“Thank you, everyone, for your support. I know for a fact that when they isolate and imprison me, another will take my place. Nothing I did was unique or special. Anyone can do what I did. Live not by lies.”
I think this is perhaps the most important part of his entire speech. Many people hold him up to be a hero. To make him into something unique and special. And while he was unique and special, it was because of what he chose to do. We all can choose to do that. We all can stand up to injustice. We all can look for the greater good. All of us have the opportunity to not be silent and bury our heads in the sand. When I read this, I hear him saying that even when he is gone, he can be replaced by many others. It’s our job to make sure we are included in the group that is going to make a difference. That is going to stand up and speak out. That isn’t going to allow the lies to go unchallenged. That isn’t afraid of the consequences to speak up and take action because we know the consequences of being silent are so much worse.
I think of my Uncle Ralph Preiss who grew up in Berlin in the 1930s. He was there during Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass). He tells, with great emotion even today, the story of him being told in 1st grade that he could no longer pledge allegiance to the Fuhrer (Adolph Hitler) because as a Jew, he was not his Fuhrer. The praise he gives to President Quezon and the Frieder Brothers (from Cincinnati) who did all they could to save Jews from the Nazis by getting them to the Philippines. They spoke out and stepped up and saved many lives as a result. They didn’t put their head in the sand and pretend nothing was happening. Instead, they took action to save Jews. Many of us have seen Schindler’s List but few of us know anybody who was saved by Schindler. I am grateful to President Quezon and the Frieder brothers for saving my Uncle Ralph.
My Uncle Ralph Preiss telling his story on International Holocaust Rembrance Day in 2021.
Alexei Navalny gave his life for what he believed in. In his letters to Natan Sharansky from the gulag, printed in The Free Press, he clearly knows what is in store for him, yet he and Sharansky are able to joke and laugh because they both fought for something far greater than themselves. Just like his 2014 speech, in his first letter to Sharansky he writes,
“Nonetheless, the “virus of freedom” is far from being eradicated. It is no longer tens or hundreds as before, but tens and hundreds of thousands who are not scared to speak out for freedom and against the war, despite the threats. Hundreds of them are in prisons, but I am confident that they will not be broken and they will not give up.”
In 2014 he talked about somebody taking up after him. Here he writes about tens and hundreds of thousands who are willing to speak out for freedom. The virus of freedom that Putin is trying to eradicate is instead growing. This is what happens when we take the risk and stand up for what we believe in. When we do the right thing and live with integrity, even if it makes it harder for us individually, as it makes it better for the entire community. Navalny may no longer be among the living, but his ideas and ideals live on far beyond him. And more and more people are now picking up the responsibility from him, taking it on themselves, and working to make the world a better place. Just like those in Russia that he writes about, we have that same responsibility in the United States. We cannot be silent. We cannot stand by while antisemitism and hate continues to grow. We cannot put our heads in the sand, hoping that it will go away or they won’t notice us and will leave us alone. We saw how that worked in the Shoah. We have thousands of years of history that show us how it doesn’t work. Navalny is reminding us, once again, that silence only helps those who want to harm others.
Sharansky, in his response to Navalny, had a passage that struck me deeply.
I was very angered by the question of a certain European correspondent the day after your return to Russia. “Why did he return? We all knew that he would be arrested in the airport—does he not understand such simple things?” My answer was pretty rude: “You’re the one who doesn’t understand something. If you think that his goal is survival—then you are right. But his true concern is the fate of his people—and he is telling them: ‘I am not afraid and you should not be afraid either.’”
Sharansky, who himself spent 8 years in the gulag for standing up for what he believed, understands that survival, while important, is not the most important driving force. Standing up for your beliefs, for what is right, having morals and ethics, living with integrity, is far more important. Showing others, through his own example, that they don’t have to be afraid and that they can make a difference is what matters. Sharansky did it himself. He will also be a hero to me as his struggle in Russia happened when I was a child. I remember him being sentenced to the gulag for wanting to be a Jew and wanting to move to Israel. I remember his release and the celebration that occurred upon it. And I remember meeting him in DC and truly feeling like I was in the presence of somebody great. The lesson from Navalny and reiterated by Sharansky is that we can all be that person. Both Navalny and Sharansky play down their own heroism to play up the role that each of us needs to take to better the world. We can, and should, learn from their teachings.
The time I met Natan Sharansky. I was with my best friend, Todd Sukol.
The final letter from Navalny to Sharansky had a simple but powerful line that resonated for me. He wrote,
“But I continue to believe that we will correct it and one day in Russia there will be what was not. And will not be what was.”
He doesn’t talk about in his lifetime. He doesn’t talk about survival. He doesn’t even talk about himself. It’s all about the future of the country and the people who live there. His concern isn’t for his well-being but for the greater good. The selflessness in this line is so incredibly powerful and inspirational. When I read what he and Sharansky wrote about taking action, I can relate to that and it inspires me to so. When I read this line, I see true greatness. Few of us can truly look beyond our own lives, sacrificing our lives, in order for a brighter future that is not promised but we believe in. It’s an inspiration to do better. It’s a reminder that the world existed before us and will exist after us. What matters is what we do while we are here, not how long we are here. We get to decide that.
In Sharansky’s final reply to Navalny, he quotes he first verse of Nikolai Zabolotsky’s poem “Ne pozvolai dushe lenitsa” writing,
“Do not let your soul be lazy, to not pound water in mortar, the soul is forced to labor, both day and night, both day and night.” In Russia, people struggle with this, but you do it effortlessly.”
The brilliance of these two men who understand that the world is greater than themselves is astounding. The way they are able to communicate, not only to each other but to the world, the importance of taking action and not sitting by idly, is inspiring. Each of these men spent years in the gulag, in the arctic circle, living in terrible conditions, yet expressed no regret for their actions, no fear for the possible outcome of death, working to inspire others to follow their lead to change the world. As the poem expresses, we cannot let our souls be lazy, we cannot just stand by and do nothing while the world implodes. Our soul, our very beings, are forced to do the hard work all day, every day, to improve the world. We often talk about Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, and do so with periods of activity. Both Navalny and Sharansky remind us that the job is not to do occasional acts to repair the world, it’s to constantly be living and acting in a way that does repair the world. In that final sentence above, Sharansky recognizes that this struggle and effort is not easy for people and most struggle with it. He complements Navalny, who like Sharansky, were able to do it with such dignity and deep belief, that it looked effortless, even though they both know it’s anything but.
Alexei Navalny (z”l) was and is an inspiration to us all. While many of today’s youth only know Sharansky from his time in Israel, as a member of the Knesset, as the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and who he has become after his release from Russia, he was Navalny in the 70s and early 80s. These two men teach and inspire us to be better human beings and to do better. They remind us through not just their words but also their actions that freedom is not free, that to have the world we want to live in requires sacrifice and effort. They tell us point blank that if we want to sit back and let others do the work, the work will not get done.
My friend Ari Shabat finishes his weekly video blog on the torah portion by saying “This Shabbat, I’m going to think about……”. I’m going to copy him this week. This Shabbat I’m going to think about the things that I am doing to improve the world and the things I am willing to stand on the sidelines while others do the work. I’m going to focus on what I can and should be doing to live with integrity, in line with my values, and to truly be involved in Tikkun Olam all day, every day, like the poet that Sharansky quoted wrote. Today I am going to do what I can to make the world a better place.
On Monday I listened to Ambassador Michael Oren speak about what’s going on in Israel. He talked about many different topics, and each was fascinating. The one that struck me the deepest was the covenant created in 1948 between the Israeli Government and the Israeli people and how October 7th violated that covenant for the first time.
Ambassador Michael Oren and me
I found the use of the word covenant significant as this is the basis for the Jewish people, our covenant made between Abraham and God. I don’t think Ambassador Oren used it indiscriminately but rather intentionally to connect the two covenants: the one between God and Abraham and the one between the Israeli government and the Israeli/Jewish people. He told us that there were two covenants between the Israeli government and the Israeli people made in 1948, both of which were broken on October 7th.
The first covenant relates to the fact that literally almost 3 years to the day that the Shoah ended, David Ben Gurion issued the Declaration of Independence, creating the State of Israel. At that time, the covenant was ‘Never Again’. Now that we had a country and would have an army, something like the Shoah would never happen again. Yet on October 7th, Hamas terrorists murdered the largest number of Jews since the Shoah. The government and the army did not protect the people and allowed it to happen. The how and why will be determined at a later date, but the covenant was broken.
The second covenant was that the Government would never leave anybody behind. Whatever the cost to get Jews and Israelis back when taken hostage or captive would be paid for their return. When Gilad Shalit was taken hostage, the eventual deal to release him meant that Israel traded 1,027 prisoners, terrorists, murderers, in exchange for Gilad. It was a heavy price to pay, especially in hindsight since one of them was Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas and architect of the October 7th attacks. While being controversial at the time, it was this covenant that led to it happening. Since that trade and what Sinwar has become and done, Israel has not been willing to pay whatever the price required to release all the hostages. As a result, we are now in day 132 of the hostages being held. Israel’s security needs are outweighing the price being demanded by Hamas, breaking this covenant as well. This is why we see families of hostages blocking the road where humanitarian aid is being delivered by Israel. It is why former MK Einat Wilf recently stated that Israel should not have given or permitted any humanitarian aid to Gaza unless they released the hostages. It is why Israel hasn’t filled the tunnels with gasoline and thrown in a match, eliminating Hamas leadership, who are hiding in the tunnels. The hostages are also in the tunnels and getting them back is required.
In November 2013 I had the honor of meeting Gilad Shalit (pictured with his girlfriend)
As he spoke to us and shared these two covenants, I began to think about how many people have no understanding of what’s going on. The LGBTQ+ community in support of Hamas, who would execute them for existing. Women who stand up against sexual violence everywhere yet remain quiet when it’s Israeli/Jewish women because somehow it was justified. The cries of genocide as the number of people in Gaza continue to increase year after year after year. Calling Israel an apartheid state while not understanding the definition or how it goes against everything being Jewish is about. Ethnic cleansing when the exact opposite is happening and while the arab states in the region have removed all or almost of all their Jews.
The cries of indiscriminate killing by Israel is absurd. There is data, based on what Hamas has unreliably provided, that prove this fact. In December 2023, an article highlighted the data analysis that proved this to be false. This data analysis shows that
Our analysis of reported deaths in Gaza in the 2014 and 2023 conflicts rules out any allegations of “indiscriminate killing” of civilians; it suggests rather that the opposite is true. The data highlight a clear and significant excess of deaths amongst males, and particularly those aged 20-39 who would be the most likely in the combatant population. This finding was consistent in both the 2014 and 2023 conflicts, which refutes any such allegation in both wars.
In addition, in his most recent substack piece, Ambassador Oren breaks down the unreliable data provided by Hamas to show that the civilian to combatant fatality rate in Gaza is one to one. He also documents that according to The New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Watson Institute of Brown University, in America’s wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the ratio was four civilians killed for every combatant. The record for NATO’s 1999 intervention in Serbia was similarly four-to-one. Israel is 4 times better in Gaza than the United States was in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan as well NATO in Serbia, yet Israel is accused of indiscriminate killing.
A friend of mine who is very liberal, has reached out a lot since October 7th with questions. Things he didn’t know and after October 7th and the rise in antisemitism, he wants to learn. He is always stunned that the more he learns, the less things make sense. The clearer the situation becomes; the murkier reality is. We chat online regularly throughout the week. I appreciate his questions as they come from a place of inquiry. We need to continue to encourage the asking of questions and the often times hard answers. Hasbara is no longer enough. We must confront the challenges that exist in order to take advantage of the opportunities that come as a result.
Most days I find myself frustrated with the media and the lack of honest reporting. Another friend, who is not Jewish, asked me today, “How come we don’t hear much about the hostages anymore?” Since I hear about them every day, put my masking tape on with the updated number of days they have been hostages every day, wear my Bring Them Home Now dogtag and my We Will Dance Again dogtag every day and choose not to watch or listen to most of the main stream media, I didn’t realize the coverage has disappeared. As the cries for ‘Cease Fire Now’ continue, I wonder why ‘Bring the home now’ isn’t just as loud or louder? As the cries for more humanitarian aid get louder, I wonder why the fact that the UN and UNRWA aren’t even picking up the truckloads of aid that are dropped off for them to pick up daily. As the proof of UNRWA being both a funder of Hamas and that so many of the UNRWA employees are members of Hamas continues to grow, why the demand that they must continue even exists. Now that it’s been shown that the hostages never got the medication that was supposed to be given to them, why is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) still in existence? 133 days as hostages and not a single visit from the ICRC. Isn’t that their entire reason for existing?
This picture, from February 15, 2024, shows the content of 500 trucks of humanitarian aid on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom, AFTER Israeli inspection, waiting to be picked up and distributed by UN orgs. It was the 3rd day in a row that hundreds of trucks are not picked up and distributed to the people of Gaza by UNRWA.
I remember growing up and being told by my grandparents and my Rabbi that being Jewish wasn’t easy. That being Jewish meant we had to do more than the minimum. That we had obligations that went far beyond what was acceptable as the norm. That we have a history of being hated that wasn’t going away. In their wildest dreams, I don’t think my grandparents, my father, or my Rabbi could have imagined the world as it is today. I am 100% sure that my grandparents and my father would be cheering on the IDF and encouraging them to finish the job. Not because they hate the Palestinian people or the Gazan people. It would be because the loved the Jewish people and they know that if we don’t protect ourselves, nobody else will. We have thousands of years of proof of that. Luckily, today we have Israel and the IDF to ensure the survival of the Jewish people. It may not be pretty, and it certainly isn’t what any of us want to be happening. It also is what is necessary to ensure that the Jewish people and the State of Israel continue to flourish. My heart breaks for the innocent civilians who have been killed because of Hamas and their use of human shields and terror. My heart breaks for innocent people who have lost everything because of Hamas. I wish them no ill will. But my heart is broken and will remain broken for my Jewish brothers and sisters who were murdered on October 7th. For my IDF brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price for the survival of the Jewish people. For the families who have lost loved ones or still have loved ones as hostages. For all those displaced as a result of Hamas’s hatred
The creation of the modern State of Israel means the Jewish people will no longer be sheep led to slaughter. That may bother a lot of antisemites and I don’t care.
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