Ever since October 7th, I have wanted to go back to Israel. I was supposed to go in November 2023, but the trip was cancelled, and my family was uncomfortable with me going to volunteer. Every day I would struggle with the deep desire to be in my homeland, doing my part to help. Serving in the IDF is not an option at my age and without any military background. But I can cook, clean, pick fruits and vegetables, and do whatever is needed. The needs of my family for me not to go overrode my need and desire to go. It has not been easy or comfortable, being in the US and my heart and soul in Israel.
This changes on Saturday night when my flight departs for Israel. I have the opportunity to go both for my own needs and for work related business. It is getting me there which is what I need. To be with my Israeli friends who have been serving in the IDF. To visit the kibbutzim that were attacked on October 7th, go back to Sderot, also attacked. To pay tribute at the Nova music festival site. To spend time in Hostage square in Tel Aviv.
There is a saying that ‘Leaders lead’. You take risks. You do the right thing regardless of the consequences. For me, going to Israel right now falls into that category. As a Jew, as a proud Zionist, it is my obligation to be there, to be part of my homeland, to give back, and to support my Israeli brothers and sisters. Too many leaders in our world are so afraid of the backlash of doing the right thing that they do nothing. As a result, they are merely a leader in name.
We saw that today when President Biden said, “if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem.” Going into Rafah is a necessity to both rescue hostages and defeat Hamas.
This came a day after he said, “My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish people and Israel is ironclad, even when we disagree.”
Yesterday’s statement caused him potential electoral issues in Michigan and Minnesota and with the Progressive wing of his party. Rather than do what is right, supporting our ally, fighting against terrorism and evil, he backtracked and tried to play both sides. Yesterday he was against terrorism, hatred, and antisemitism. Today he was in favor of terrorism, hatred, and antisemitism. That’s not what leaders do.
This isn’t a partisan take. Representatives John Fetterman and Ritchie Torres are leaders. They have taken a position with our ally, in support of good over evil, against terrorism and hate. They haven’t forgotten the hostages and aren’t afraid to speak out, even when they take incredible criticism. Doing the right thing is more important than poll results.
Senator Fetterman’s office has posters of the hostages hanging on the walls
Senator Fetterman remains Pro-Israel, wants the hostages back, and is anti-Hamas and terror
We live in a world where our “leaders” are more concerned with being liked and tracking their approval ratings than actually leading. We see this in our Jewish community, in our local community, in our states and in the federal government. They aren’t trained properly. They aren’t mentored properly. Many don’t want it and think they know what it means and what it entails. Others want it but can’t find it. The vast majority of our leaders have not had anybody provide them with the guidance and instruction needed.
I often think back to the people who trained and mentored me. One was very hard on me. Very critical. I used to say that he was ‘crusty’ on the outside and ‘gooey’ on the inside. You had to deal with the crusty exterior to get to the gooey interior. He wouldn’t take excuses from me. He wouldn’t accept anything but excellence. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. He told it like it is and didn’t try to soften it up to save my feelings. He made me a better professional and a better person. He would often challenge me about my own personal desires. Did I want to be excellent, or did I want to be mediocre? If I wanted to be mediocre, then he didn’t have to spend time with me. If I wanted to be excellent then I had to do things differently. I learned tremendous lessons from him.
The other mentor I think about was much softer and nicer in his presentation. He explained things and sent the message in a kinder way. He also wouldn’t take excuses. He wouldn’t let me off the hook from doing things the right way. He challenged the way I thought and the reasons behind my thought process. He laid out his expectations if he was going to invest his time and if I wasn’t willing to do what we required to meet them, he would invest his time elsewhere. He shared his own personal experiences and what went right and where things went off the tracks. He wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable about the times he wasn’t successful and what he learned from those times. He would listen as I would share the things I learned from my mistakes and share in the joy of my successes.
Throughout my career, I have leaned on these lessons. Both men made a significant impact on my life. They taught me about integrity, especially as a leader. They taught me that at the end of the day, I have to live with myself, my choices, and my actions. They taught me that it’s better to do the right thing and get negative consequences than to do the wrong thing and get positive recognition. I’ll always be grateful to them for their time and their investment in me.
It is something that I strive to do for others. Just in the last week, I have had former employees reach out to say hi, send me a picture of them together, check in on me, ask for help with career changes, to work on an exciting project together, to pick my brain as they prepare for job interviews, and to just say thank you. It is incredibly gratifying to know that I am paying it forward from what these two men did for me. I look at it as an obligation that I have to make the world better by helping train leaders. I have the privilege of working with a friend to do leadership training for college students through taking them to Israel. Together we are working on a young leadership training program in Israel for February 2025. If we want better leaders, we have to take action to develop them.
Leadership trip for 19-26 year olds. Highly subsidized. An amazing experience. Sign up now!
I also have the privilege of working as a mentor to a younger professional who reminds me a great deal of myself when I began working with my first mentor. I get a lot of gratitude helping him grow, helping him see things differently, challenging him to be excellent instead of mediocre, just as I was challenged. It’s incredibly rewarding as I watch him grow. Each time he ‘gets it’ and understands the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’, I get a lot of joy. I can only imagine that my mentors felt the same way when I finally ‘got it’.
We live in challenging times. We need our leaders more than ever and true leaders are in short supply. It brings me back to my trip to Israel. I want to show my children what it means to be a leader. What it means to do what you think is right despite the risks. I want them to understand how important it is to do what is right no matter what. They have seen me live my values throughout the years. Doing what was needed for my dad during the last few weeks of his life. Being there for my mom during that time and afterwards. Staying true to myself and my values, morals, and ethics in spite of situations with others that it would be easy to abandon them for personal gain. Being there in DC as one of the 300,000 people there for the big rally in support of Israel.
I can’t wait to go to Israel. It’s only a few days and it feels like an eternity. I will get to see my friend Grace. My friends Margot and Tamar and their children. My friends Yaron and Yoni who are volunteering and speaking to us. I plan on going to East Jerusalem and having a long coffee and conversation with my Palestinian friend Mahmoud. I hope to see my friend Noam who lives in Boston but as it happens in the Jewish world, will be in Israel for a few days when I am there. I’m having dinner with my friend Tamara and her kids. I’ll get the personal meaning that I need in Jerusalem, at the Nova site, at hostage square, and at the Kibbutzim in the south. I’ll give back by picking fruits and vegetables and having dinner with IDF soldiers to say thank you.
Paratroopers in the IDF running up Masada to finish their training. What a celebration. Something I will never forget. Incredible personal meaning for them and for those of us who joined their celebration.
I’ll lead by following my values, morals, and ethics. I’ll lead by taking the time to learn and grow. I’ll lead by spending time with friends from America on the trip, talking about our lives and the challenges we face along with the experience we are having. I’ll lead by writing about the experience and sharing it publicly to inspire others. And I’ll lead by showing my children not only what it means to be a leader but also how important it is to do it with grace. To stay true to your values, morals, and ethics. To do what’s right no matter what.
At the Passover Seder we end with “l’shana haba’ah b’yerushalayim, Next Year in Jerusalem”. I’ll end this blog by saying “Next Week in Jerusalem”.
For the first time in the existance of this blog, I am not writing it. This was written by Yotam Berger, and Israeli PhD student at Stanford. I couldn’t have said it better or clearer so I’m letting his words say what I think and feel. Please read Yotam’s words and think hard about them. You can read the original post (in Hebrew) here. This translation came from Daniel Gordis’s substack Israel from the Inside.
Man in a Hamas costume on the campus of Stanford this week.
Five lessons from Stanford, California
The academic year in the United States is coming to an end. In a few weeks, the university students graduating will stand on the grass, in caps and gowns. They will excitedly take pictures, shake hands with the deans, and then fly away, making way for a new generation of their ilk.
Ahead of the graduation ceremonies, the anti-Israel student protests at American universities are also increasing. Let’s start with the “all clear” siren. Here at Stanford, at least, the students who sleep on the campus lawns and call for a “global intifada” are—as a rule—not dangerous in the physical sense of the word. But they are very dangerous in the medium and long term, as far as the image of the leader of the free world is concerned.
This is my second year at Stanford. When we returned here in September after the summer break, I intended to finish the year with an approved research proposal and a third of my PhD written. It’s hard to describe how far I am from meeting that goal. In my opinion, I’m not really unusual. Since October, many Israelis abroad have found themselves forced to choose between two options—to put their heads down or become ambassadors without a choice. Who can even write an article when his two brothers are fighting in Gaza? Instead, I found myself spending much of my time on “outreach” activities that I had no intention of taking part in.
Despite this, I learned some very important lessons this year that I will never forget. As the school year comes to a close, and in light of the wave of anxious questions from around the country in light of the current round of campus madness, I thought I’d share the five most important lessons I learned this past year at Stanford, California.
1. Whether we want it or not, we are always—first and foremost—the Jews.
The first year here was a fabulous academic experience like no other. I felt surrounded by international friends. I was given full access to the world’s brightest legal minds. The feeling was that endless opportunities lay ahead. Friends from Israel, who asked already last year if we suffered from anti-Israelism, sounded funny to me. No way!! I am a liberal Israeli. I wrote for the most leftist newspaper in Israel. I did my clerkship in one of the more liberal courts in the Western world. Why would anyone have a problem with me? I walked among those who I thought were friends as equals among equals. I could talk about Israel freely, criticize it and love it, have discussions that I thought were good and complex about the most sensitive issues even with those who clearly disagreed with me. I felt like a citizen of the world.
That was an illusion. There really is no such thing, it turns out, as a “Jew who is a citizen of the world,” as long as the Jew insists on his right to a national existence. For many of those whom I saw as friends, it turned out, I was first and foremost the Jew. At the moment of truth, few of them stood by me on a personal level. Almost none of them stood by me at the national level. Their double standards allowed Israel-hating students to say horrible things about me and my friends, but silenced our every attempt to oppose it. In some places, I had to choose between apologizing for my Israeliness and rejection. There was no choice to be made.
This eye-opening experience also has advantages. It is a litmus test for the human quality of those around us. Some of the people around me went out of their way to support me, or to show gestures of humanity. I found myself surrounded by strong and durable ties. I will not forget these friends easily.
2. America deserves Donald Trump.
An Israeli friend joked to me that if Trump is re-elected president in November, he will walk the halls of Stanford and hand out baklava. It’s a very funny joke only because it’s not entirely imaginary.
November 9, 2016 was a day that struck me with amazement. Like many all over the world, the fact that the United States of America elected Donald Trump as president was unimaginable. In a very deep sense, no matter how many commentaries I read, how many films and documentary series I watched—the appointment of this man seemed inexplicable to me. Unimaginable. Impossible. Even years later, when the words “President Trump” stopped feeling strange on the tongue, the choice of him seemed inexplicable to me. A glitch in the matrix. I couldn’t understand how his campaign could be successful.
This year I finally got it. No, if I were an American I still wouldn’t vote for Trump. But I now understand those who vote for him. Donald Trump is some Americans’ answer to the madness on the other side, a madness I didn’t notice until it turned its face in my direction. A madness no less terrible than Trumps’s madness. No, if I had the right to vote, I would not vote for Donald Trump. But America deserves him.
3. The progressive movement is not a political ally of liberal Zionists.
Last year, the progressive movement seemed like an amusing youth rebellion to me. Yes, the ceremony where everyone announces their gender at the beginning of class seemed strange to me, not always necessary, but not harmful. The fact that I had to declare my race on every form I filled out (and make sure to state that I was “Middle Eastern”) made me laugh, but didn’t upset me. I saw the American progressive movement as the infantile sister of liberal movements that I respected. I saw it as an ally. That was a mistake.
I saw the American progressive movement as the infantile sister of liberal movements that I respected. I saw it as an ally. That was a mistake.
The “progressive” movement is not an amusing anecdote. This week I was exposed to a particularly graphic expression of this. In the “Pro-Palestinian” encampment (in double quotation marks, since a significant number of its residents are unable to point to the country on a map, and it is doubtful that they are able to name a single Palestinian leader) that was re-established in the heart of the campus, a man was photographed in a full terrorist costume—including a black sock hat with a slit for his eyes, and a green Hamas ribbon on his head, next to students who are active for transsexual rights. This strange alliance [DG – since Hamas executes those it considers sexual deviants, which obviously includes transsexuals] is not funny to me.
The progressives are challenging much more than the state of Israel, or the right of the Jews to a nation state. I’m not sure how many of the people who identify as progressives actually hold these ideals, and how many of them are just repeating them over and over loudly, with the intention of gaining some kind of social sympathy. But those of them who hold this position really no longer believe in the existence of “truth,” or in the existence of facts.
I’m not referring here to those who express the opinion that it is difficult to get to the truth, or who think that the courts do not always succeed in finding out what the facts are, or who hold that different ideas are perceived differently through different eyes. I’m speaking about those who say unequivocally that there is no such thing as truth. They are not interested in presenting facts to support their arguments because they do not believe there is such a thing as facts, and they say so explicitly. They think that it is forbidden to use the term “jihadist” in front of jihadists, or to call supporters of terrorism by their names, because feelings are more important than facts (although, of course, first and foremost theirfeelings). They don’t believe there should be consequences for actions, because they don’t believe there should be consequences for anything. Everything can be disputed, because nothing is real. Life is a debate club. It’s not a treat, or at least not just a treat: it’s an ideology. This ideology challenges the existence of objective truth—attainable or unattainable—as an intellectual concept.
4. Always go straight. It is not so important what is said or written about you.
The denial and turning of the backs of those whom I saw as friends, or at least fellow travelers, came with a temptation: to lower one’s head. I do not belittle and I completely understand Israelis who chose this. At this stage, for now, being ashamed of being Israeli, suppressing Jewish symbols, trying to adopt the American accent—can ensure a reasonable quality of life even in places where hatred of Israel is very present. But when the temptation was placed in front of me—to some extent at least— I tried to remember what I had learned from two teachers in recent years.
Attorney Momi Lemberger usually tells his interns to “always walk straight.” When a decision is made in a case—should an indictment be filed? Should the charges be dropped?—The only thing that matters are the facts and the law. It is easy to be tempted to consider what was written in the newspapers. What the minister says. The chance to advance in the system. But considering such considerations inevitably leads to bragging, to losing one’s way. Judge George Kara used to tell his interns that “it doesn’t really matter what they say or write about you.” The facts are more important. Making the right decisions is more important. There is no reason to align with vanities, even if it has some social or public cost.
These lessons are true in relation to greater and much more important decisions than the personal decision of whether to keep one’s head down or insist on externalizing and being proud of one’s Israeliness, even in unpleasant forums. But they are infinitely true when the heaviest price to pay for going straight is that some American PhD students will turn up their noses at you. Since October, I’ve learned that there’s no point in keeping your head down, while there is intrinsic value in the decision to always going straight, to calling a spade a spade.
5. The solution to the university crisis cannot come from below, but it can be parachuted from above.
The kids protesting in these university yards worked very hard to get accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Columbia. Most of them are not the “Vietnam generation,” even if that is what they tell themselves. They are the equivalent of the 8200 children and IDF Radio in Israel. [DG – both very prestigious jobs in the army, the former in one of the most respected intelligence units, the latter on the radio, a position very hard to snag.] They worked very hard and paid a lot of money to get here, and they care a lot about how they graduate. More than that, they care what the characters they value think of them. True, they care what their classmates think. Most of them care just as much what the President of the University, the Dean of the Faculty, and even the lecturer in the course think of them.
For many of them, the current wave of protests can be an educational opportunity. American universities repeatedly emphasize the importance of freedom of speech in American culture, the centrality of the First Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees absolute freedom of speech in the American political atmosphere. They can’t shut them up. That is true. But the universities can, and are even obliged, to educate their students. They should not and cannot prevent these children from screaming their demands to spread the intifada or boycott Israel. But they can tell them that they hold very stupid positions.
If university presidents would stop trembling in their own shadows, they could tell their students that they have a right to express stupid views, but that shouting them out won’t make them any more correct. Lecturers cannot silence their students, but they can emphasize that anyone who expresses uninformed or unfounded positions with great confidence is an educational failure. An Israeli—as I discovered—cannot really convince his American counterpart that Israel is not committing genocide, even if there is not even a shred of evidence to support the argument that what is happening in Gaza is genocide. But if the president of the university were to look at his students and express sincere disappointment when they express such a preposterous position, something in a significant portion of those students might shift.
The effectiveness of the “direct information”—in front of the young students—exists, but is very limited and in any case organized bodies can hardly promote it in an inorganic way. The solution, in my opinion, lies in putting pressure on the presidents. And there is urgency in this—today’s generation of presidents and senior lecturers are still old and established people, who were educated in the 1970s and 1980s. They remember the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War. They are liberals, but they are liberals like Bill Clinton. They have respect for Israel. They have no intention of responding to the BDS demands that many of their students voice. In private conversations with Israelis, they also express their feelings of affection for Israel generously. But their feelings of fear of their American students are immeasurably stronger than their affection for their Israeli students. The pressure needs to be put on them. If they are freed from the terror that grips them of expressing their opinion, they can set boundary lines, and these may seep down—to those who want to participate in the “pro-Palestinian” festivals, to make an impression, but want more to be loved by important people in their professional lives.
If we do not take advantage of the present opportunity, we will find ourselves in a short time standing in front of a new generation of presidents and deans. It is not known if they will still have positive feelings—however repressed—towards Israel.
Columbia University has been in the news for the past few weeks due to their anti-Israel and anti-Jewish encampment. UCLA has been for the same reason. Portland State. Northwestern. Harvard. Yale. Penn. University of Michigan. George Washington. Cal Poly Humboldt. Brown. Cornell. Princeton. University of Southern California. Arizona State. CCNY. CUNY. Plenty of Universities where students went beyond free speech and protests, violated University policies, intimidated Jewish students, blocked access to campus, and in the case of UCLA, violently attacked and beat a Jewish woman, Yale where a Jewish woman was stabbed in the eye, and Columbia where two Jewish men were attacked.
Then there are Universities like the University of Florida, University of Texas, Florida State University, University of South Florida, University of North Carolina. University of Utah, University of Illinois, Mary Washington, Northeastern, Indiana, Wash U in St Louis, University of Pittsburgh, UConn, University of Utah. VCU, University of Georgia, Tulane, and Virginia Tech. At each of these Universities, the University Presidents and leadership allowed free speech and protests but enforced their campus rules and regulations. As such, when the protests went beyond free speech, they were broken up and people arrested.
For the most part, it’s the first group of schools that have been in the media. That’s because of the old news adage, ‘If it bleeds, it leads.’ We saw an incredible lack of leadership by the University Presidents at those schools. Columbia President Minouche Shafik, fresh off her testimony to Congress, enabled the protesters, didn’t enforce the campus regulations, finally called in the NYPD, and then promptly apologized for doing it. Jewish students were encouraged to finish the semester away from campus, being denied the equal protection of the law and equal access to the education they are paying for. Chants of “go back to Poland”, ‘We are Hamas’ and ‘Globalize the intifada’ occurred on campus. US Representatives Ilhan Omar and AOC showed up to support the active hatred of Jews on campus. Omar even said, “We should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”
Khymani James, a student at Columbia and one of the leaders of Columbia University’s anti-Israel encampment threatened to kill Jews in a live stream meeting with the school. Nothing happened until it became public when he was barred from campus. He was then let back on campus until they were exposed again and he was suspended. Columbia chose to be complicit with threats of violence against Jews.
“Zionists don’t deserve to live.”
Meet Khymani James, a leader of Columbia University’s anti-Israel Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
He said this during a live-stream which included a meeting with the school over threatening social media posts.
These are threats to Jewish students. The encampment grew and got more violent and more active. Finally, they took over a campus building, barricading themselves inside and doing damage to the building. After a ridiculous press conference with a student leader who demanded ‘humanitarian aid’ for those who chose to occupy the building and could leave at any time, did President Shafik relent and call in the NYPD to break up the protest. She wasn’t interested in protecting the Jewish students, only protecting her campus buildings.
Reporter grills Columbia student after she demands the university help feed protestors occupying Hamilton Hall:
"It seems like you're saying, 'we want to be revolutionaries, we want to take over this building, now would you please bring us some food'." pic.twitter.com/vNczSAM4T1
Northwestern President Michael Schill chose to give in to the student terrorists holding his campus hostage. Brown University did the same thing. Their leadership caved to the students’ bad behavior, breaking of the campus rules and regulations and criminal activities.
These Presidents and their administration have failed their test of leadership. They have abandoned their Jewish students. There are calls for their resignations as a result. I can’t imagine any other group facing what Jewish students have faced in which the actions and behaviors of these Presidents and administrations would be acceptable. At UCLA, their failure, along with the assault on a Jewish woman, resulted in Jewish students believing they had been abandoned and taking matters into their own hands, working to break up the antisemitic, illegal encampment resulting in a riot.
We have a serious leadership problem on our campuses. By not holding students and faculty accountable to the rules when it comes to Jewish students, they are guilty of endangering Jewish students’ safety. They are committing Title VI violations and there may be civil rights lawsuits against them. They have become a national joke, and the Universities are viewed unfavorably by most. There is a reason you don’t negotiate with terrorists. Reinforcing their bad behavior only ensures more bad behavior in the future.
Compare that to the University of Florida, who’s President, Ben Sasse, provided the campus rules and regulations in advance along with the consequences for violating them. When the protesters went beyond free speech and violated the campus rules, the consequences were enforced.
Other universities took action after letting the protesters know they were violating the campus rules and would be arrested if they didn’t disperse. When they didn’t, the police came in and arrested them. Actions have consequences. Failing to obey the rules and the law is illegal.
I want to be clear. Free speech is important. Being able to protest is important. However, when people decide to break the rules or break the laws, there are consequences for their actions. That’s what they were arrested for, their actions. Protests matter and there is a line that cannot be crossed. When the line is crossed, leadership has an obligation to act.
When I see some of our country’s leaders in an uproar because the protesters are held accountable, I get angry. They know better and they know it is only happening because it is against the Jews. When I see our country’s leaders and our Jewish communal leaders be silent about what is happening to Jewish students on campus, I get angry. We cannot put our heads in the sand and hope it goes away. We know better. We know what comes next. I’m grateful to our country’s leaders and our Jewish communal leaders who have spoken up and taken public positions. There are far too few of them.
Sen. John Fetterman, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Ritchie Torres, and Speaker Mike Johnson have been leading public advocates to protect Jewish students on campus. Others have joined them. Yet far too many have been silent or supporting these encampments designed to terrorize, intimidate, and block Jewish students and faculty from entering campus. In many cases they assaulted Jewish students. This has nothing to do with the war in Gaza. It has nothing to do with humanitarian aid. It has everything to do with antisemitism, Jew hatred.
Chris Cuomo, a TV talking head, spoke out eloquently against the rise of Jew hatred on these college campuses. His comment on Twitter when he posted it was shocking. “I never thought in America I would have Jewish people thanking me for arguing that they have a right to exist.” It is worth watching.
I never thought in America I would have Jewish people thanking me for arguing that they have a right to exist. pic.twitter.com/2QpToDVyr8
UNRWA came out with an announcement that there is plenty of food available in Gaza but there isn’t money to buy it. This is humanitarian aid, provided for free, that UNRWA is either allowing Hamas to steal or selling to Hamas who is selling it on the black market. The more facts that come out, the worse people like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Nancy Pelosi, Rashida Talib, and these protesters look.
#LIVE@UNGeneva: "There is more food available in the markets, but it doesn’t mean that the food is accessible – because there is absolutely no cash circulating in the northern part of the #GazaStrip"@UNLazzarini: "Far from enough" food to reverse spreading hunger. pic.twitter.com/EFZeTVX4af
May 1 starts Jewish Heritage Month. President Biden issued a proclamation in which he references protecting the Jewish community in the United States but fails to mention anything happening on campus. He talks about the hostages but has failed to pressure Qatar, who houses the leaders of Hamas, and continues to provide Iran, the funder of Hamas, with more money. His words don’t match up with his actions. We need to demand more of President Biden and of Congress. We need to make our voices heard loudly.
As antisemitism, Jew hatred, increases in the United States, I see and hear more and more Jewish people speaking up and being outraged. I am part of a group of parents who are concerned about what is happening on college campuses and I see the change as Jewish parents and students no long look to the Ivy League schools and look for safer campuses. I have received calls and emails from parents who want to take advantage of Governor DeSantis’s decree that he will waive many of the transfer requirements for Jewish students to transfer to Florida Universities. Yeshiva University extended their transfer deadline. The Technion in Haifa has openly offered sanctuary for Jewish students, graduate students, and faculty who don’t feel safe at their University.
This is America in 2024. We need to face reality and act. Raise our voices and speak out and speak up. We need to thank our allies in other communities. We need to thank our politicians who are supportive and make sure our voices are heard by those who hate Jews and fight for there to be more antisemitism, more Jew hatred. If you haven’t been an activist, it’s time to become one. Our collective silence has brought us to this point. It is our collective action that will defeat Jew hatred. It’s your choice, fight, flight, or die.
I decided to watch the new Sheryl Sandberg documentary “Screams Before Silence”. I have seen the 47-minute Hamas video as well as the documentary about the Nova music festival massacre. Both of those were incredibly impactful and hearing Lee Sasi, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre speak is something I will never forget. I’ll be in Israel soon and get to visit the site of the Nova music festival massacre, Sderot, and other areas in the south near Gaza.
Screams Before Silence – because of the topic it won’t embed here but you can click to watch
Since October 7th, I have been wanting to go back to Israel daily. My last trip was in November 2022 and while I have an ongoing desire to go to Israel, I have not been able to return since then. After October 7th, my family would not allow me to go to Israel. Every time I brought up the topic, I was instantly shut down by them. It wasn’t until this trip that, while they don’t want me to go, they aren’t stopping me. I leave in 12 days and am anxiously anticipating getting on the plane and heading to our homeland. There is a deep need inside of me to be back in Israel, connecting with the land and my people to help start healing my Jewish neshamah (soul).
Many people have asked why I would subject myself to watching the 47-minute Hamas video. And then also watch the Nova music festival documentary. And now Screams Before Silence, documenting the rape and abuse of women by Hamas. My answer used to be simple. I needed to bear witness for those who were murdered and abused. Now it is more than that. In a world where we already have October 7th deniers, where people are saying that Hamas had the right to murder, rape, kidnap and abuse innocent civilians, who call the war between Israel and Hamas “Bibi’s War” or “Netanyahu’s War” I have to do more than just be frustrated and angry. How can anybody watch these atrocities, much of it filmed BY HAMAS, and hold anybody else responsible? How can anybody who sees the actual footage, who listens to the survivors, not see the evil that is Hamas and Iran?
In all three videos, they show the IDF arriving at the Nova massacre for the first time. Each time I hear the soldier counting the dead as he begins to arrive, my heart breaks. Echad, Shtyim, Shalosh, Arba, Chamesh (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). When he looks into the food and drink tent and sees all the dead bodies strewn on the ground, the pain in his voice is palpable. “Oh my God. Oh my God.” His questioning plea, “Is anyone alive here?” “Give us a sign of life.” “No signs of life. Anyone? Please?” is haunting as we know there is nobody alive, but he doesn’t yet know that. In Screams Before Silence, they are interviewing him in between parts of the video. The look on his face, the pain in his eyes, cuts deep to my soul. I think about the students and professors on college campuses that are protesting and wonder if their watching this would make a difference. Are their hearts and souls already too filled with hatred for Jews that somehow, they would feel satisfied that we got what we deserved. What a terrible world we live in if that were to be true, yet I fear that it is.
The video of the IDF first arriving at the Nova Music Festival massacre.
When I see people, particularly Jews, who focus only on what is happening in Gaza, I find myself getting angry. They forget what happened on October 7th that was the cause of the war. They forget or don’t believe that Hamas uses human shields. That Hamas was shooting Gazans trying to leave the north for safety in the beginning of the war and it was Israel that created the safe corridors for them. They don’t want to believe that Hamas would actually turn hospitals, mosques, homes, and ambulances into military structures and make them military targets. It’s as if they have to find a way to excuse the evil that is Hamas because they can’t bear to believe that there really could be people that evil in the world. Once again, Jews become the scapegoat. Instead of Israel being the victim of a horrific and barbaric attack, Israel is the one in the wrong. Instead of Hamas being war criminals for the taking of the hostages, for the rapes and brutal murders of civilians, for using human shields, for using hospitals and mosques and ambulances as military structures, it is Israel, a country that documents how much they do to minimize civilian loss of life, that gets the blame.
When I watched Screams Before Silence, there are two moments that really stood out and impacted me. The first was when Sheryl Sandberg, who does the interviews throughout, asks the first responders to see some of the images that they saw in person. Each image they show her draws a more dramatic reaction from her. You can see in her eyes and in her face the impact of the images. She gasps at a number of them. The first responders are telling us what she is seeing. As horrific as the descriptions are, you can watch Sheryl’s face to see that the images are far worse.
The second is at the end of the documentary. Sheryl moves from the interviewer seat to the one where those being interviewed sit. You can see how much this has impacted her. The director of the documentary comes to the seat Sheryl just left and asks her about making this film and the impact. As Sheryl talks about the experience, tears came to my eyes. It was incredibly moving. I had a similar experience just watching it and I can’t imagine what it was like for her to talk to the survivors, hear their full stories, see the images that the first responders took. It was a beautiful and powerful interview that was emotionally powerful.
Today has been full of events related to Israel and the war with Hamas. The first lawsuit was filed against Columbia University for their failure to protect Jewish students.
Today, we filed a lawsuit representing Columbia students who have been displaced from campus because the school could not guarantee their safety. The complaint is here: https://t.co/EyBraKFLI6.
The Columbia University President set a 2 pm deadline for the end of the encampment and then let it pass with no consequences. Senator Bernie Sanders called the war “an illegal war”, forgetting or not caring that Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, murdering more than 1200 civilians, kidnapping more than 250 civilians and still has over 130 hostages. A number of members of Congress are calling for the federal funding to be removed from the Universities that aren’t protecting Jewish students. The body of an Israeli hostage was discovered near Gaza, somebody killed on October 7th that was thought to be a hostage. At UCLA, an anonymous group built a giant screen with loudspeakers outside the UCLA protest showing footage from October 7 on a loop.
🚨BREAKING: An anonymous group has built a giant screen with loudspeakers outside the UCLA protest showing footage from October 7 on a loop.
After being instructed not to put up tents at the University of South Florida in Tampa, a few protesters decided they would anyway and were arrested. That’s what effective leaders do, they follow the rules and regulations in place for everybody. There are rumors of a potential peace deal brokered by Egypt. Sinwar was seen publicly in Rafah.
The lion of Gaza,Yahya Sinwar roaming in the streets of Gaza.🔥🔥
Caitlyn Jenner took on the anti-Israel crowd in a publicly shared video.
I am a lifelong champion of Israel and the Jewish people – some of the most oppressed in the world. The only thing to protest is Hamas and make no mistake these are normal protestors they are Hamas sympathizers. I will not be silenced by these cowards. pic.twitter.com/2rgapfIIsk
The leadership of Washington University in St. Louis put out a powerful statement about hateful protest on their campus and the arrests made because of the violation of their policies.
Israel is preparing for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for their leaders for war crimes. The United States seems willing to sit back and allow it to happen although there are members of congress who are urging President Biden to step in and stop this farce.
The rise of antisemitism is growing everywhere we look. At McGill University in Canada, a man dressed up as a terrorist with a mock suicide bomb attached to his chest. How long until they are no longer fake bombs and we see suicide bombers active in the US and Canada?
Jewish students are being blocked from entering campus at UCLA and Columbia. As students they have the right to be on campus and attend class. Their rights are being denied by people who are breaking the campus rules. Where are the Presidents of these campuses? Where are the Governors of California and New York?
Jewish student wearing a Star of David necklace DENIED entry to his own university because he is JEWISH.
“I’m a UCLA student. I deserve to go here. We pay tuition. This is our school and they are not letting me walk in.”
— Afshine Emrani MD FACC (@afshineemrani) April 29, 2024
We live in a world and a time where activism against prejudice and hate is more important than ever. The truth and facts don’t seem to matter. A group of Christians joined the pro-Israel counter protest at Columbia today. That’s what we need. People to stand up to hate, especially antisemitism, even when it’s not their group being targeted. Over the past few years, I have been interviewed on the TV news about the rise in antisemitism far too often. My message has always been the same. We need to stand together, speak out together, against all hate. When we allow hate to grow, we get the evil of Hamas. We get the uninformed students at Columbia, Harvard, Yale, NYU, and many other Universities who wouldn’t dream of saying what they are about Jews about anybody else.
The question for each of us is, what are we going to do? Are we going to sit back and hope it goes away? Are we going to hide so that we can try to stay safe? Are we going to speak out, speak up, and be loud about how this is wrong? Are we going to challenge our friends and family who spew Jew hatred couched in anti-Israel or anti-Zionism troupes? Are we going to reach out to our US Representatives and Senators and demand that they protect not just Jewish students on campus but Jews everywhere in the United States?
I started by talking about the film Screams Before Silence. It is something everybody should watch. It’s not easy. It’s painful. It’s hard. It’s necessary. It’s available to watch on YouTube. I urge you to watch it. I urge you to watch it with others. I urge you to have your friends watch it, especially those who are critical of Israel.
I’m doing my part with the film. And I’m going to Israel on May 11th to not just visit my homeland but to do my part in the healing after October 7th both for myself and for Israel. I’ll pick produce. I’ll visit the sites of the horrific October 7th attack. I’ll cook for IDF soldiers and serve them dinner. I’ll be there for Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) which will be very different than the other times I’ve been there for it. I’ll be there for Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) which will also be different than any other time I have been there. I’ll spend Shabbat at the Kotel (the Western Wall). I’ll spend time with my Israeli friends who are like family to me. And I am planning to meet with at least one of my Palestinian friends for a powerful conversation about how we move forward.
Wearing Tefillin and a Tallis at the Kotel (Western Wall) before I went to pray and connect spiritually
I’m not asking you to do what I’m doing. I am asking you to do something. Are you up for the challenge?
I took this picture – it always inspires me. I hope it inspires you to take action
I’ve been captivated by watching what is happening on the various college campuses in the United States over the last week. I admit that when I was in college, I was not an activist. It was the mid to late 1980s and while there were some protests on campus, it was largely calm and quiet and a wonderful place to be. I had way too much fun and not enough studying and almost no activism. When I began working at the University of Florida Hillel in 1998 that began to change and by the time my tenure at UF Hillel ended in 2013, I was a full-fledged campus activist. My focus was on understanding, partnership, friendship, communication, and inclusion. Focusing on our similarities rather than our differences became a passion of mine during those 15 years and remains one today. So as I watch these ‘activists’ on college campuses and how the ‘leadership’ at each University chooses to handle their behavior I am fascinated by what is happening.
I grew up in an era where we had a lot of freedoms. My mother was famous for teaching us, and our friends, that you do whatever you want as long as you were willing to pay the consequences. It was a lesson I learned early in life and have continued to use today. Actions have consequences. Take the risk, accept the consequences. This lesson is part of what I find so challenging as I watch what is happening now.
These ‘campus activists’ (I use quotes because many of them are not from the campus nor are they activists, they are imported to agitate and inflame the situation) fully expect that there will be no consequences to them for their actions. They expect others to have consequences. Delays in getting places. Inability to access campus. Having to take classes remotely. They don’t get the permits they need or if they get them, they don’t follow the rules that are affiliated with the permit. Their entitlement is amazing to witness.
You see it being taught by their professors. As the videos of professors being arrested because they thought they were above the law are shown, I find it humorous. These entitled individuals are shocked that anybody would actually hold them accountable. The students and the professors have grown up in a world in which nobody taught them that actions have consequences. That if they take the risk, they have to be willing to accept the consequences. We see it with the University Presidents who choose to allow these encampments to remain and who won’t discipline or remove the discipline from those who violate the rules. They aren’t doing these students or professors a favor.
Emory Professor being arrested because she isn’t follow police directions and is breaking the law
And then there are those who do hold people accountable for their actions. President Ben Sasse at The University of Florida ensured there would be no encampment by reminding everybody in advance what the rules are and what the consequences are for violating them. Nobody questioned whether he would enforce the consequences of their actions and as a result, free speech was maintained as was the safety of Jewish students. At places like The University of Minnesota, The University of Texas and Emory University, those violating the rules and/or breaking laws were arrested. When they chose not to listen to the police officers, they were forcibly removed. That’s the real world. Actions have consequences.
Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I admit my generation was different. It’s something that we need to look back upon and see how far we have gone off the rails in the name of ‘protecting’ our children. This video, while intended as humor, also shows the difference.
The rise of hate speech isn’t new, and it doesn’t begin in 2016 with Donald Trump like many want to believe. For proof, I offer this 2010 letter to the Editor that I wrote in the University of Florida campus newspaper, The Alligator, calling out hate speech
It was more civil in 2010
In July 2014, the Pacific Northwest head of the National Rifle Association (NRA) came out and said that The Holocaust wouldn’t have happened if Jews had guns in Nazi Germany. At the time, I called the statement, “Idiotic, simplistic, and simply wrong.” I stand by those words today. More Nazis would have been killed but likely more Jews as well. It was a statement based on the belief that Jews are weak and won’t fight back and need guns in order to be allowed to exist. I’m not anti-gun at all. You can ask those who know me. I am anti-hate and anti-stupidity. As a child, my mom would often complain that I had no tolerance for stupid people, and it caused me problems then as it does today. Smart people can act stupidly at times. We see that today. My fight with the NRA in 2016 over this person’s comment and antisemitism got national attention and you can read about it in the Seattle Times. Or just google me and the NRA and it comes up.
Over the last 8 years it pretty clear that I was right and the author of the second piece, who likely approves of the antisemitic, hate filled, violence driven campus actions, was wrong. Some people won’t learn even when they are the target.
Seven (7) years ago we got this warning from the UAE’s Foreign Minister and failed to heed it. It helps explain why were are where we are today.
7 years ago, the UAE’s Foreign Minister issued a warning to the West.
Today we see elected officials like US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) join the antisemitic and violent gathering at Columbia and publicly make the following statement while facing no serious consequences.
“I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”
While she is trying to say that Israel is committing genocide, a factual lie. In reality it was Hamas who did commit a genocide on October 7th. And intended to kill more Jews. And has openly stated that they will continue to kill Jews until they are all eliminated. That is the definition of genocide. Yet Rep. Ilhan Omar faces no backlash.
We see Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Ortiz (AOC) (D-NY) also visit the Columbia cesspool of hate and then posting on X (Twitter)
“Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act. It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
They are peaceful to her as a woman of color who isn’t Jewish. In this case, she is the one with the privilege she often rails against. Calling the police on people breaking the law is what we do in the United States, unless you live in New York. Enforcing our laws is what happens in countries ruled by laws unless you live in New York. I do agree with her that we have a ‘heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk’ but I assign that failure of leadership to Columbia University President Manouche Shafik who chooses daily not to enforce the rules of Columbia. I assign it to the leadership of Columbia University who continue to allow President Shafik to remain in her role when she is showing daily that she isn’t able to do her job and protect ALL students, which includes Jewish students.
Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was also at Columbia University, not protecting the Jewish students from his district but to encourage those breaking the law and violating Columbia’s policies to continue doing it. To continue to chant things like ‘Death to America’ and ‘We are all Hamas’. To harass and threaten Jewish students. As one Jewish student recounted,
“They were pushing and shoving me. . . They threw rocks at my face. At that moment, my life was totally threatened. And there was no safety authority on campus.”
At least Representative Bowman is losing his primary race and will hopefully not be in office in just a few months.
I grew up in a Zionist home with parents and grandparents who were Zionists. We all support the existence of a Jewish homeland, the State of Israel. The fact that there was a country that we could be a citizen of just by showing up sounded really amazing and empowering. The thought of actually making Aliyah, moving to Israel and claiming citizenship, was a fantasy throughout my youth. My cousin actually did it in 1980 and was the outlier we all used as our token Israeli relative. During and after college I had a few friends who made Aliyah and I thought it was cool for them. During my 15 years at UF Hillel I had many students who chose to make Aliyah, become lone soldiers and serve in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). It wasn’t until the 2000s that I thought maybe some day it would actually be something that I would want to do. The more I went to Israel, the more time I spent there, the more the fantasy became a dream and maybe even a goal and objective.
Just a couple of years ago, in my mid-50s, I realized that I didn’t really want to make Aliyah. It was a fantasy. I wanted to live as an American in Israel. Expensive apartment. Eating dinner out at fancy restaurants. Not have a real job to go to every day. I changed my fantasy to spending a month in Israel every year at some point. That seemed more realistic. It became something to being to save and plan for. I knew my wife would never really want to make Aliyah and be that far from our kids and her parents and siblings but a month a year was something I could discuss with her.
Since October 7th, I have been questioning everything. As America becomes more and more unsafe for Jews, my fantasy of being an American spending a month in Israel every year has gone back to considering if maybe we did need to move there in order to be safe. A country under attack from at least 4 fronts (Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iran), in an active war zone, was safer than America. What a scary thought. Yet I also know I am not the only one who struggles with that concept and that thought. I talk about it with friends. We look back at those who saw the signs in Germany and Europe and left when it was possible compared to those who were stubborn and stayed until they went to the death camps and want to learn from their sacrifice. From their murder.
And then I find Arabs speaking out against Hamas and trying to speak sense to these radicalized students and professors. People like my friend Ali Abu-Awaad. People like Loay Alshareef, who I have reached out to, who is traveling to campuses all over America and posting on social media. Watch a few of his posts and you may have hope that there is a future with peace.
⚠️
This video is going viral on Instagram!
Islamists and extremists despise witnessing the unity between Muslims and Jews.
I'm unapologetic and will continue this work despite the hate.
— Loay Alshareef لؤي الشريف (@lalshareef) April 26, 2024
Dear White Americans and Gen Zs who support or tolerate Hamas supporters on US campuses, a gentle reminder from a credible Arab Muslim voice from the Middle East:
You are supporting a terror group with the same Islamist/ Muslim brotherhood pathological creed that brought down… pic.twitter.com/ltfKJRFVHJ
— Loay Alshareef لؤي الشريف (@lalshareef) April 23, 2024
⚠️WATCH
I recently spoke at the University of Southern California, I explained to students the dangers posed by Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas’ ideology to the region.
I also debunked common misconceptions, such as the claim that their opposition is only against Zionists, not Jews. pic.twitter.com/wT2rKbfKqi
— Loay Alshareef لؤي الشريف (@lalshareef) April 24, 2024
So maybe I need to stay and fight. Maybe there is a third option that our ancestors in Germany and Europe didn’t have. Instead of running to safety or sticking our heads in the sand, maybe we can stand up together and fight back. We can be the nonviolent version of Mordechai Anielewicz, who at 20 years old was trying to get Jews to return and fight against the Nazis. Who just before he turned 20 began to fight back in the Warsaw Ghetto. And who at 23 led the actual uprising against the Nazis. Their valiant effort didn’t defeat the Nazis but it showed that Jews could and would fight back. It inspired the future leaders of the new State of Israel to fight and defend themselves. He and those who fought with him inspire me not give up hope and to keep fighting.
Mordechai Anielewicz didn’t do it along. There were other leaders who joined him. Icchak Cukierman, Tosia Altman, Marek Edelman, Cywia Lubetkin
One of the great things about being Jewish is we have thousands of years of role models. Not just the biblical ones we learn about but recent ones like Mordechai Aneilewicz. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Natan Sharansky. David Ben Gurion. Moshe Dayan. Golda Meir. Elie Wiesel. Betty Freidan. Harvey Milk. Louis Brandeis. Judy Blume. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. There are many more. And that’s just recent role models.
I choose to follow the role models I mentioned and fight. I choose to not give up and not be quiet. I choose the third option. What will you choose?
I’ve been thinking a lot about responsibility lately. Personal responsibility, parental responsibility, spousal responsibility, family responsibility, community responsibility and worldwide responsibility. What about the responsibilities as a leader and of our leaders?
I was inspired to think about this by a number of different things happening right now. The lack of leadership being shown by University Presidents both in their testimony in front of Congress and recently with the pro-Hamas demonstrations on many campuses. Columbia University gets the most attention, but they are going on at 40 campuses, highlighted by Harvard, Penn, Brown, The University of Michigan, Yale, MIT, Cal Tech, Northwestern, and George Washington. We have also seen University Presidents and administrators break up these protests at University of Minnesota, University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California, Emory, Princeton, and Emerson College. The difference in the two groups of campuses is entirely based upon the University’s leadership.
Columbia University has turned into a cesspool of antisemitism and Jew hatred. Much of this is due to a lack of leadership from the University President.
There is little doubt that had these encampments been created to protest any other ethnic group in existence, all of the Universities would have shut them down. An anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-Christian, anti-Hispanic, or anti-woman protest with racial/sexual epithets being shouted at these students and threats of violence along with actual violence would not be tolerated. So, what is the difference? Why is it ok when it’s Jews being targeted?
Many people say it’s the influx of Arab money, specifically from Qatar. Others cite the latent antisemitism that has existed for generations at many of these schools. Still others cite the woke movement in which Jews are considered white and privileged and not deserving of protection. While all these play a part, I think it is entirely about a lack of leadership at these Universities. The leadership of those Universities are choosing not to protect Jewish students and instead protect the racists, bigots, and those assaulting other students. Columbia actually created an arguably apartheid situation where Jewish students must take classes and final exams online while those who harass and attack them are allowed to take them in person. The lack of leadership enables and encourages bad behavior. The lack of leadership means there is no consequence for inappropriate actions. After giving a midnight deadline for the encampment to be taken down, Columbia President Minouche Shafik promptly did not enforce it and a few days later, nothing has happened. That’s a serious lack of leadership. USC cancelled graduation ceremonies because they can’t control the protestors. That’s a serious lack of leadership. At the Universities where there were involved leadership, these encampments were taken down, often by law enforcement, those not following the campus rules and regulations were arrested and face consequences. Their graduation ceremonies are not in jeopardy of being cancelled. In a country ruled by law, this is how things need to be handled.
Compare that to the University of Florida, where the Chabad Seder had over 1,000 in attendance, including UF President Ben Sasse. President Sasse addressed the crowd, stating, “What is happening on campus at Columbia and Yale the last few days is grotesque, and we don’t want anyone here to be confused. We are delighted that the University of Florida is the most Jewish campus anyplace in North America. We don’t want anyone to be unsafe, or to feel unsafe….” That’s leadership. Two sentences is what it took. And there is no doubt that had he been speaking to any other group that was facing similar situations that he would have said the same about and to them.
UF President Ben Sasse at the 1000+ person Chabad Seder on campus. He continues to show great leadership.
This week, an anti-Israel, anti-Jewish protest happened on the campus of University of Florida. Why is it not in the news? Because the leadership of UF did what leaders do. They led. They set in place the enforcement of their campus rules and regulations THAT WERE ALREADY IN PLACE. They promised to hold students, faculty, and anybody else attending the rally accountable for their actions. Look at the rules that UF published for everybody to see and follow. There was no encampment at UF, no violence and calls for death of Jews. Free speech is being permitted. That is how leaders act.
University of Florida shared the existing rules for any gathering and the consequences for not following them. This should be the expectation for all Universities.
It’s not just on the college campuses where leadership is missing. President Biden finally made a big deal about the hostages held by Hamas on Thursday April 25th when he issued a statement along with leaders of 17 other nations calling for their release. Why it took over 200 days of captivity for this to happen is beyond me.
How we still have members of Congress calling the war between Hamas and Israel “Bibi’s War” or “Netanyahu’s War” is beyond me. Hamas began the war on October 7th with their attack. If Hamas released the hostages and surrendered, the war would be over. This is Hamas’s war. This is Iran’s war. Israel is doing what is needed to protect herself but has not nor been the aggressor. While we have seen some of our leaders being very public about the war and antisemitism on campus, particularly Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rick Scott (R-FL) along with Rep Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY), Cory Mills (R-FL), and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), many others have been silent or playing both sides for election politics. That’s not leadership. Hamas and Iran are evil. The people of Gaza and Iran want regime change. Instead, we get Rep Nancy Pelosi and Sen Chuck Schumer calling for early elections in Israel, which is totally inappropriate for an ally and another democracy.
President Eisenhower is the example of what is needed. Jason Riley in the Wall Street Journal says it best:
“In 1957, white mobs in Little Rock, Ark., in defiance of the [Brown vs. Board of Education] ruling, were preventing black students from safely attending school. President Dwight Eisenhower decided to do something about it. In a prime-time television address, the president explained that ‘demagogic extremists’ and ‘disorderly mobs’ were thwarting the law and that he had an ‘inescapable’ responsibility to respond if Arkansas officials refused to protect black students. ‘Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts,’ he said. Then Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne Division. The particulars then and now may differ, but the same principle is at stake. The federal government was obligated to come to the aid of an ethnic minority group being threatened by mob violence. Jews in 2024 deserve no less protection than blacks in 1957. And if university officials can’t handle the situation, or won’t let police deal properly with the unrest, Mr. Biden needs to step up.”
When will our leaders actually lead instead of worrying about re-election campaigns? I’ve said for a long time that I want leaders who lead and will support them for doing it. And when they worry about being re-elected instead of doing their job, I won’t. It goes back to the classic line in the movie, The American President, when Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepard, says the following line, “I was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job.” It’s time for our leaders to remember to do their job instead of being busy keeping their job.
The full speech that includes the line above. Inspired leadership.
Recently, Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), an avid antisemite, began accusing those who disagree with him and are supporting his primary opponent, George Latimer, of only doing so because of his race. We cannot tolerate this any longer. Rep. Bowman has a history that is being attacked which has nothing to do with his race or ethnicity. He has taken public stands that people disagree with and that’s why he is being targeted in the primary and that’s why he will hopefully lose the primary. When our leaders fall to this level of excuse, it minimizes the situations when it is real. When students are targeted on college campuses. When a Jewish woman is raped in France to ‘Free Palestine’. When people are attacked for being Jewish or wearing things that identify them as Jewish, Muslim, or a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Even J Street finds Jamaal Bowman not worthy of being in Congress
Our Jewish communities struggle with leadership as well. The time when significant leaders went through a serious training process and there were being mentored and trained by significant and serious leaders is gone. In some communities there are still roles and a pathway to leadership positions. In most there is not. Whoever is willing to take the board leadership position often gets it, whether they have the training, experience, and knowledge or not. The serious involvement in the National Young Leadership Cabinet of JFNA is no longer emphasized by most Jewish organizations.
Our Jewish professionals are not getting the training they need either. There are some excellent programs available however not enough of them nor are there enough participating. I was lucky to have an incredible mentor/coach when I was first beginning my career. He spent a week a month on the road with me for an entire year and we spoke weekly when we were not together. I learned at his feet, and I will always appreciate his mentorship and teachings. I still think of the lessons he taught me and hear his voice in my head on a regular basis, guiding the decisions that I make. As I have now taken on that role for others, it is a combination of my profession and paying it forward. If we want to have excellent Jewish communal leaders, investing in our volunteer and professional leadership training and development is essential. Great leaders don’t just happen. They are taught. They are given experiences and responsibilities to build upon and grow and develop. I talk with a number of my friends and former colleagues about the challenges in the Jewish world and leadership is one of the big ones.
I always think of the stories I heard about the old guard in Seattle. The “triumvirate” of Seattle, Jack Benaroya, Sam Stroum, and Herman Sarkowsky, would make sure that the people they did business with who were Jewish were investing philanthropically in the Jewish community. They would make sure that anybody who was going to ‘make it big’ in a deal with them, understood that part of their new wealth included a responsibility to philanthropy and giving back. If people didn’t want to follow their lead, they would do business with other people instead. They taught many of the large philanthropists of today about the importance of giving. Some of those they taught also taught others. Far too few people do that today. Without the guidance and training from ‘the old guard’, there will be no ‘new guard’.
Which brings me to my favorite leadership development program, The Jewish Leadership Institute (JLI). Founded more than 30 years ago by Rabbi Mayer Abramowitz (z”l) and now run by his son and my friend David Abramowitz, this is the premier leadership training program in the country for college students. Taking students to Israel for 2-3 weeks for an immersive and intensive leadership development program, they get results. I admit I am biased. I had the privilege of sending students on this trip for the 15 years that I ran University of Florida Hillel and got the benefit of the experience when they returned. It changed their lives. It changed our campus. And it continues to change the world as the students who had the experience are now adults and making a difference in the world. There is going to be a trip in July 2024 (July 2-16) and this incredibly subsidized trip (only $395 INCLUDING AIRFARE FROM MIAMI) will change lives, change college campuses, and change the world. I encourage Jewish student campus leaders to apply and go.
JLI participants. This program changes lives and changes the world.
In addition, we are working on a JLI young leadership trip in early 2025. This will also be a highly subsidized trip and I can’t wait to share more information about this as it is developed and confirmed. As somebody who believes in leadership development, believes in leadership training, mentoring, and role modeling, I am excited to work on this with David and make it into a reality.
Leadership and responsibility go hand in hand. We have many people who have the title ‘leader’ but are not. In the words of Winston Churchill, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” Many of our ‘leaders’ merely think they are great but shirk their responsibility. Those who are truly great, embrace the responsibility. I found this quote by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus about great leaders and believe it to be true.
“While great leaders may be as rare as great runners, great actors, or great painters, everyone has leadership potential, just as everyone has some ability at running, acting, and painting.”
Leadership potential doesn’t become true leadership without training, mentoring, and guidance. The same is true with responsibility. People don’t understand responsibility and how to act that way without training, mentoring, and guidance. We’ve seen enough of our ‘leaders’ exhibit no leadership and no responsibility. It is time for us to change that by investing in our future leaders. By holding our current leaders accountable for their actions. For not settling for what we can get but demanding what we desire. It’s only through our efforts to improve our future leaders and to hold our current leaders accountable that we will get the change we so desperately need.
I grew up in an interesting community. In the 1970s and early 1980’s, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was very middle America and a very integrated place. My friends growing up were of various ethnicities and backgrounds. We went to school together, played together, and grew up together. I like to joke that because 1/3 of my public school was Jewish, we were closed for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and you would see tons of Matzo at lunch during Passover. But because it was Central Pennsylvania, we were also closed the first day of deer hunting season, because 1/3 of the school (including teachers) wouldn’t be there.
My friends were Christian, Jewish, and Hindu. They were African American, Indian, and Caucasian. They were gay and straight (although nobody had come out at that time, we all knew). They were in the gifted program and in the regular educational program. They came from different socio-economic backgrounds. We were kids who liked each other and hung out together and were friends. It’s amazing how many of them I keep in touch with even to this day.
Growing up in this environment, I didn’t see the challenges that some of my friends faced. They were my friends, so the fact that they were African American or gay wasn’t an issue to me and I wrongly assumed it wasn’t an issue in general. I was ignorant because I made a key false assumption that people thought the way I thought. As a result, I never saw the challenges they faced or would face in the future.
When October 7th happened, not only was I horrified, I also expected that the world would be horrified with me. When I saw that not only were they not horrified but they also wanted more October 7th type violence against Jews, that they blamed Jews for being attacked and murdered by terrorists, and that the world openly turned against the Jews, I got it. I finally understood what my friends dealt day in and day out that I never saw. Just like I saw them as people first, there are those who see Jews as people first. But there are far more who are filled with hatred towards Jews. I felt guilty for how I missed what my friends dealt with and deal with.
Protests defending the rape, murder, and kidnapping of Jews by Hamas after October 7th
I used to get frustrated when I would see things like ‘Queers for Palestine’ and think to myself, “Don’t they know that they would be persecuted and killed there?” I would think, “Israel is the only place in the Middle East where you can be openly gay. Don’t they know that?” I would wonder, what’s wrong with them? Since October 7th and in the aftermath, I no longer think that way. I now wonder what did we do wrong? How did we let them identify with a group that hates them instead of with Israel? How did we abandon them? Sure we fought for gay rights, marriage equality, the right to adopt, and many other things. But we didn’t understand their challenges in the world. We didn’t identify WITH them. So instead they identify with those who would kill them, who want to kill us, because they did identify WITH them.
I used to wonder how the African American community could have forgotten the civil rights movement and how the Jewish community played such an integral role in fighting WITH them. How could they abandon the people who helped found the NAACP, who fought so closely in the 1960s for equal rights? Since October 7th and the aftermath, I now wonder, “How did we abandon them?” Where did WE go wrong? How did WE move on and no longer serve as allies, creating an identification with terrorists who hate the very freedom we fought together to have?
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marching with Dr. King
The same is true for a part of our Jewish community who fights against Israel. I used to wonder how THEY went wrong. How could THEY be self-hating, how could THEY not understanding their homeland, how could THEY be so misinformed? Since October 7th and the aftermath, I now wonder, how did WE lose them? How did WE not provide what they needed? What do WE need to change to ensure the future generations understand the real meaning of Zionism, the importance of Israel to all Jews, and that it’s ok to disagree with the ruling government without trying to delegitimize the only Jewish country in the world.
If it’s really on US to change then we have to do things differently. We have to not only invest in the relationship but also work to understand the barriers they face on an everyday basis.
I read about Bayard Rustin, an openly gay black man during the civil rights movement who was the architect of the 1963 March on Washington. He was the right-hand man for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. until he was blackmailed and chose to step away rather than risk damaging Dr. King and the movement. A man who formed BASIC – Black Americans to Support Israel Committee in 1975. There was a movie made about his life in 2023 that is available on Netflix. I am fascinated by this amazing man that I never knew about and it made me wonder how many more people like him do I not know about. How many historic figures do our schools do not teach.
Bayard Rustin, a man I knew nothing about yet we all should.
I knew a little about the Tuskegee airmen but just a little. I read an article in The Free Press about them and the lesson in excellence that they taught us. It’s a lesson I never learned because schools don’t teach about them. There is a lot for me to learn about the Tuskegee airmen, much to read, much to understand. A few of the remaining airmen spoke in Orlando recently and I was disappointed that I had a conflict and couldn’t hear them speak. If I get the opportunity again, I won’t miss it. I heard a story from the event that really hit me. One of the airmen said that many years later he met a white pilot who the airmen had supported and escorted many times in battle. The white pilot had never met or known who escorted him so many years later, he went up and thanked him. I can’t even imagine doing what they did with that little recognition or acknowledgement. True heroes. I was so inspired by the article that just like the author, I am getting a piece of artwork signed by some of the actual airmen to hang in my office to remind me what excellence, bravery, and commitment are really about.
One of the autographed prints I am deciding amongst which will hang in my office
When I lived in Seattle, a friend of mine who is gay, made a comment, complimenting me and talking about Harvey Milk. I had heard the name but didn’t know much about him at that time. Since she was saying it as a compliment, I wanted to learn about him and his story. What I learned was fascinating and once again, I was stunned and disappointed that I never learned about him in school. I had always heard of the ‘Twinkie defense’ in California and we used to joke about it growing up and even in college. That was common knowledge. The fact that the man who murdered Harvey Milk was who got away with murder for using the Twinkie defense wasn’t something I learned until I started reading about him. I was stunned that such an important part of the story of the Twinkie defense was never taught. I watched the movie Milk, starring Sean Penn, and was amazed at what a great job they did telling his story.
Harvey Milk, who should be taught in our schools
I wrote earlier about my Palestinian friends and how I reached out to them to check on them. After Iran attacked Israel, I reached out to friends in Iran to see how they are doing. The people of Iran are not the government, and they have publicly supported Israel. They have painted things like “Israel bomb the Ayatollah’s house” and cheered for Israel in the streets. I am concerned about the safety of my friends in Iran, both from the government and potential attacks. Since October 7th and the aftermath, I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes we have made with other communities. So I reach out. I share empathy. I do my best to understand what they are going through and share what I am going through with them. Build on commonalities so we see our similarities.
I don’t know if it’s too late for the generation who thinks those that hate them are the ones they need to support. I don’t know if we can educate or change their minds. I know that I have to try. I know that I have an obligation to make a difference with those that I can. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. finished his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech with the following words:
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
We need to speed up that day with our actions. I am committed. I ask you to join me.
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.
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