Tag: un

Our world and our country is lost

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I think today is when I finally acknowledge the reality we are all seeing and none of us want to admit. Our world is lost. We have reached the tipping point from which I am no longer sure we can recover. Today we had both a school shooting outside of Denver as well as the assasination of Charlie Kirk. I was no fan of Charlie Kirk. I didn’t agree with much of anything that Charlie Kirk said. Yet his assasination is the type of behavior that shows our country has no moral conscience. It shows how lost we are. We don’t shoot people we don’t agree with or don’t like. We don’t condone murder. This isn’t a left/right issue. If you haven’t seen the video of his murder, here it is. It’s something that is unforgettable once you see it.

We have already seen the efforts to blame him for his own murder. The media isn’t holding themselves accountable for promoting hate and divisiveness. They aren’t blaming the person who murdered him. They are blaming him. Matthew Dowd says it publicly on MSNBC. He won’t hold people like Francesca Albanese accountable for her lies about Israel. He won’t hold Hamas accountable for their actual genocide. But he will blame somebody he disagrees with their own murder.

We are seeing things like this all over the place. No outrage at murder. No outrage at the taking of a life. Because they disagree with Charlie Kirk, they celebrate his death and his murdered. We saw this with the shooting and murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 by Luigi Mangione (who has not yet been officially convicted) and the way Magnione has been celebrated and become a hero to many. With Charlie Kirk is now dropping to a new low.

Charlie Kirk’s murder has overshadowed the school shooting in Evergreen, Colorado. Think about how insane a statement that is. A person took a gun and shot up a school and it’s not the lead story. It’s not even the lead story related to gun violence. It’s not even the lead story about a shooting that occurred at an educational facility.

Three high school students were shot in Evergreen, one of them the suspected shooter. They are in critical condition. A fourth is also in the hospital. Students went to high school today to learn. Instead four are in the hospital, three in critical condition (including the suspected shooter). A community is traumatized. The country? Not so much. Only three, including the shooter, were shot. In today’s world, that’s barely noticable. Insanity. School shootings should NEVER occur let alone not be newsworthy. It’s far beyond reasonable gun laws. We have a crisis on our hands. A crisis of the soul.

The Spanish Prime Minister says that unfortunately Spain doesn’t have nuclear weapons to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Nothing about the hostages. Nothing about October 7th. Instead, he regrets they don’t have nuclear weapons to stop Israel fighting the terrorists. There is a reason they don’t and shoudn’t ever have nuclear weapons.

A European elected leaders expresses remorse for his inability to use a nuclear weapon on Israel to stop them from fighting an existential threat to their own survival. Fighting an enemy that tried actual genocide on October 7, 2023, that celebrated their horrific actions by recording and publishing them for the world to see. Yet no outrage is shown by the media or the world. Imagine a world leader saying that about any other country and what would happen. But nuking the Jewish state? Totally ok.

Canada continues to sink into its antisemitism and Jew hatred. Israel has provided more humanitarian aid to the enemy than any country in history. They do all they can to notify civilians ahead of time to evacuate an area before they attack. They target the leaders and put their own soldiers at risk. This isn’t about whether you like or hate Bibi Netanyahu. This isn’t about whether Israel is fighting a perfect war (not so subtle hint – they are not). This is about the existence of Jews and of the State of Israel.

These same people applauded when the US invaded Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin-Laden. They are pure hypocrites and Jew haters. As Hen Mazzig points out in the post below, President Macron of France, who criticized Israel for their action to target Hamas leadership, ignores the fact that France has bombed FIVE countries because of terrorism. What type of world do we live in when this is not only happening but encouraged.

What used to infuriate me the most, until today when a school shooting wasn’t really news and the murder of somebody was celebrated by many who disagree with his views, was the way the world leaders don’t care about the truth and continue their lies. Their demand that Israel make peace, when Israel accepted the most recent plan to end the war and it was Hamas who rejected it, is beyond insanity. Their demand for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza when it’s documented that approximately 700 trucks of aid are coming into Gaza DAILY is beyond ignoring the truth. The following was the announcement and report from September 9, 2025 from the IDF and COGAT:

Humanitarian Aid Data and Efforts on September 9:

Over the past day, more than 280 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

Additionally, 400 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations, while the contents of several hundred more remain on the Gazan side of the crossings, awaiting collection.

We have facilitated the entry of tankers of UN fuel for the operation of essential humanitarian systems.

In addition, a rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel has been successful completed.

We will continue expanding our efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Gaza.

There is no criticism of the United Nations who doesn’t deliver the aid when it comes into Gaza. There is no celebrating the efforts of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that is getting food directly to the people. There is only the lie that food and aid isn’t getting into Gaza. It is getting in. The UN makes sure it doesn’t get to the people, only to Hamas or that it sits out in the sun. It is Hamas that is starving the people with the assistance of the United Nations. Our world leaders don’t even attempt to pretend they are telling the truth. They just out and out lie because the world hates the Jews and is willing to believe anything they are told. The media helps them.

Our world is broken. I’m not sure that it can be fixed. For the first time in my life, I understand the story of Noah, the ark, and the flood in a way I never have before. I understand the story of Sodom and Gemorrah like I never have before. Tikkun Olam means something different that it ever has before. Today, I question if our world is even worth saving. Yet despite my questions and my misgivings, I won’t give up the fight. I won’t stop trying to do my part to make it a world filled with kindness, love, and care for each other. I don’t have another choice. None of us do. The future of the world literally depends on us to confront the evil, the lies, and the hate. We can’t sit by idly. We can’t bury our heads in the sand. We can’t stand by quietly.

At times like this I find myself thinking back to the three times that I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the great Elie Weisel. I think of the last time, when I brought my children, then both young, and what he said. How it was our responsibility to build the world we want. How much our actions mattered and that it was up to us to build the world we wanted for them. The world we have today is NOT the world i want for my children. So I fight the evil. I speak out. I write. I have tattoos to commorate October 7th. I proudly wear my Star of David with Israel in the middle of it. I have a Florida Stands with Israel license plate on my car. I have a big mezzuzah on my front door. I won’t hide. I won’t be silent. And I won’t accept evil.

As Elie Weisel said, we need to be held accountable. God will always do God’s part but we must do ours. Will you join me in the fight against evil?

We must fight the lies

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Genocide. Ethnic Cleansing. Apartheid. Famine. War Crimes. Collective Punishment. Hard words to type. Hard words to say. Yet very easy accusations for those who hate Jews or the Bibi Netanyahu government to throw around. They are short. They are powerful. They cut deeply and very quickly hurt. People use them without knowing the definition. People repeat them because they are short, powerful, and cut deeply.

When they are used, the typical response is to go into detail about how these words are not accurate. To go into a deep explanation and share the facts. To attempt to prove them wrong by using data and facts. This doesn’t work. Why doesn’t it work? Because those who use them don’t care about the facts. They are sure in their positions without any facts. They saw it on TikTok. They read it on social media. A celebrity said it. One of our virtuous media outlets that want to break the story first without confirmation decided to blindly report whatever the Gaza Health Ministry (i.e. Hamas) said.

It’s easy to yell “Genocide, Genocide, Genocide” while the other side tries to explain using a 1,000 word essay why it isn’t. Every time they take a breath during the essay, another “Genocide” is shouted. They openly say that the definition is flexible. It’s ethnic cleansing even though Israel tried to get the citizens not involved with Hamas and/or October 7th moved to the Sinai so they wouldn’t be harmed and it was Egypt who said no. It’s easy to say Israel is starving the people of Gaza and there is a famine even when unprecedented aid is being provided by Israel and it is Hamas stealing the food, shooting the Gazan people trying to get the food, and selling the stolen aid on the black market. If you want to understand how this is historically unprecedented, read this piece by John Spencer. They cry collective punishment when it is Hamas punishing the people of Gaza. They cry apartheid when Arabs have more rights in Israel than any other country in the region.

Israel has not waged a perfect war. Far from it. There have been plenty of strategic mistakes. Innocent people have died, which is what happens in war. In fact, in 2022, the UN stated that 90% of war time casualties in are civilians. That means that 9 civilians are killed in war for every combatant. This is according to the UN. During the war in Gaza, the estimated civilians to combatant ratio is betwen 1-1 and 1.5-1. That’s is 6 to time times BETTER than the accepted rate in war. Yet Israel is accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide. It doesn’t make sense. The facts say one thing. The media says something entirely different.

It’s time for us to stop trying to win a debate tournament with dimwits. It isn’t a debate, it’s a street fight. We need to understand exactly who and what we are fighting. No more essays. No more long diatribes explaining how they are wrong. It’s time to realize this is a street fight and fight the way you would in the streets.

When they say Genocide, we scream Liar. When they say ethnic cleansing, we scream racist. When they claim apartheid, we respond Jew hater. If they say famine we say 2 million meals a day. If they claim war crime, we respond by Hamas. When they say collective punishment, we respond with by the UN. Make them defend their false claims. Put them on the defensive.

We can also use video and images. Pallywood (the nickname used to describe the fake imagery Hamas uses to sway world opinion) cannot be left unchallenged. Post and share videos like this one from Stand With Us UK showing the difference between the UN distributing aid (when they actually do) and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distributing aid. One is chaotic, overrun because the people of Gaza know they have to get it before Hamas does. The other is orderly, organized, becaus the people of Gaza know they are going to get the food and Hamas isn’t.

Who is actually getting food to the people? The UN or the GHF? Which one is clearly the problem?

Invest the time to identify sources that provide real information. TPS-IL (the Press Service of Israel) is one and you can subscribe to get a daily email. The Bernie News Network is another great resource for regular updates. My only warning is that the WhatsApp updates are frequent and you will get more information than you expect.

Don’t be afraid to use your knowledge and your voice. Don’t be on the defensive. When you are on the right side of history, make those on the wrong side be on the defensive. Make them explain and defend their baseless statements built on lies. From experience, they can’t. And when they try, it’ll be a bunch of BS saying things like ‘intent doesn’t matter’ or citing statistics that have been proven false.

We now know what the Jews are terrible at. Genocide.

You don’t have to defend the Israeli Government to defend Israel. Just like any country, it’s ok to criticize the leadership. We criticize the leadership of the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Spain, and throughout the world. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be countries. That doesn’t mean they are evil as a country. It does mean they are a country where the leadership makes mistakes. I will openly state that Israel has not fought a perfect war. But no war is perfect. Innocent people have been killed – that’s what happens in war and why war should be avoided whenever possible. It’s ok to say that. There is power in that.

You will hear those words thrown around. Don’t be afraid of them. Don’t be afraid to respond with short, powerful declarations right back at them. Don’t try to explain why they are wrong. Attack. The lies only have power when we don’t fight back against them. Because if we don’t fight back against the lies, the can look like this one and people will believe it.

The many faces of Jew hatred

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Since October 7th, I have been struggling with the violent antisemitism that occured then and that has continued to increase and occur. Having worked on a college campus for 15 years, it ripped my soul watching what happened on various college campuses across Canada and the United States. Seeing people attacked in the streets for being publicly Jewish broke my heart and watching the world stay silent about it infuriated me.

I watch some of our leaders excuse and defend this Jew hatred when they were publicly leaders against the hatred of other groups. What makes it ok to hate Jews? Why does the world not just permit it but celebrate it? Why is it ok to light the door of a synagogue on fire while Jews are inside praying, trying to kill them all? Why has it been ok to shoot Jewish schools?

This past week on the Fresh and Fit Podcast, a group of young people actually blamed the Jews for the Nazi’s committing Genocide. Listen to them speak and understand their hatred. Understand that we have now made it ok for people to openly hate, lie, and spew prejudice. They may as well be wearing white sheets and be the Klu Klux Klan. Except the Klan wore their sheets to hide from public scrutiny. They show their faces proudly as they spew their hatred. Watch the man, the supposed adult, smile with joy as the Jew hatred is shared. This is the world we live in today.

It gets worse. This week, a group of 50 Jewish children were returning from summer camp on a Vueling flight from Spain to France. These children were speaking Hebrew, joking, and signing songs in Hebrew. Totally appropriate teen behavior. Yet the crew, saying that Israel is a terrorist state, called the police and had them forcibly removed from the plane. For being Jewish. For speaking Hebrew. In America, this is equivilant to ‘Driving while black’, when African American people are pulled over and arrested or harrassed just because they black. This is what happens when we allow hatred to grow unchallenged. Watch the video below as the Director of the Camp, trying to understand what is happening and why they have been targeted and are being removed, is thrown to the ground, beaten, handcuffed and arrested. Not for being violent. Not for being a terrorist. Not for making threatening statements or causing a problem with other passengers. Simply for being Jewish.

The police knew they were in trouble for their behavior immdiately. They took the phones from the children and made them delete the video of what happened. They wanted no proof of their Jew hatred. The lies in the media began as soon as the story broke. Claims that the children were singing songs about killing Arabs. That they were behaving aggressively. The media does this with Jews regularly. Spin the lies fast and furious and the Jew hatred takes over. This time however, passengers on the plane spoke up. The passengers were clear that the children did nothing wrong and that it was the crew who wanted them removed once they realized they were Jews.

Then there is the issue of the ‘mass starvation and famine” in Gaza. The claims that Israel is starving the people of Gaza. The talk about the IDF shooting Gazan people who are trying to get food. While I’m sure accidents happen like in any war, it has been clear that it is Hamas who is shooting and killing the Gazan people who are trying to get food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Why would Hamas do this? Hamas has been stealing the food and aid since the beginning and using it to feed themselves and sell the rest on the black market to fund their purchase of rockets and weapons to kill Israelis. The complaint from the Gazan people, before the GHF began delivering food directly to them, was that ‘the food is too expensive’. The food that is provided for free is too expensive. I’ve heard the stories of Gazan people, coming to get food from the GHF double and triple checking that the food was actually free. In Daniel Gordis’s Israel from the Inside, the shared this video of a mob of Gazan people running towards an overturned food truck (how it got overturned isn’t clear or shown). The IDF is there as this mob runs towards them. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to see a mob this size running towards you, but I can imagine it is frightening. The commander instructs them not to shoot, not to fire on the people and they don’t. At the end, an extraordinary thing happens – the Gazan people stand and applaud and cheer the IDF soldiers. Forget what you are shown on the news – this is raw footage of the Gazan people appreciating the IDF. Perhaps the narrative you are being fed isn’t accurate.

A mob in Gaza rushing to an overturned food truck – there is no violence and what a remarkable end.

What is factual? The UN has over 950 trucks of food and aid sitting inside Gaza waiting to be delivered. The UN refuses to deliver it unless they are escorted by Hamas for protection. The IDF has offered to provide the protection so the food gets to the people who are hungry, not the terrorists. The UN would rather lt the food sit, undelivered, and have the people of Gaza go hungry that ensure that Hamas doesn’t steal the food and keep it from the people. Watch the video and see all this food, waiting to be delivered, while the UN refuses to deliver it and blames Israel for starving the people of Gaza. The UN has committed so many human rights violations since October 7th and the world refuses to hold them accountable. It’s better to blame the Jews and encourage Jew hatred.

Then there is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. They are delivering over 2 million meals per day directly to the people of Gaza. Hamas hates this, as they can’t steal the food and use the black market revenue to pay their terrorists and fund their terror. The UN hates this because it highlights how corrupt they are. The media likes to highlight the Gazan people being killed by Hamas waiting for food and blame Israel for their deaths. Yet the facts show something entirely different.

The UN and the other NGOs refuse to work with the GHF because it gets food directly to the people of Gaza and does not go through Hamas. When food goes through Hamas it ends up in the tunnels, feeding Hamas, and it goes to the black market where the money funds Hamas’s terror and efforts to kill every Jew. The complaints by the people of Gaza have been that ‘the food is too expensive.’ The free food that is being provided is too expensive! When the GHF began distributing food directly to the people of Gaza, they kept getting asked over and over again, “Are you sure this food is really free.”

The world wants to blame Israel and say that Israel is starving the Gazan people and the children in Gaza. There is no doubt that there is food insecurity in Gaza but the blame is not on Israel. It’s on the world. The world would rather blame Israel than ensure the food is properly distributed. The world would rather invest in Jew hatred than fill the stomach’s of the people in Gaza. The world would rather see starving and dead Gazans than see Israel exist. In his Israel from the Inside blog today, Daniel Gordis addresses the food issue. He shares this video which clearly addresses the problem – food distribution. This is entirely solvable by the world if they wanted to. They don’t. They’d rather blame Israel

From Daniel Gordis’s Israel from the Inside. If you don’t subscribe and read it, you should.

So here is the real question. Do you care about the people of Gaza, the children of Gaza, or do you hate Jews and Israel? If you truly care about the people and the children, you’ll fight against the UN and the NGOs that refuse to deliver the food unless it goes through Gaza. If you care about the people and the children, you won’t tolerate the media slandering the GHF and will hold them accountable for reporting the reality that the food distribution by the UN and other NGO’s has been the problem. If you care about the people and the children, you will hold Hamas accountable and not demand any ceasefire until they release the hostages and leave power. If you really just hate Jews and Israel, keep on blaming Israel, supporting the UN and Hamas. It will be clear if you are a humanitarian or a Jew hater by your choice.

If not now, when?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

This week, the bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, an Israeli who held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and her husband, Gad Haggai, 72, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, were recovered in Gaza and returned to Israel. Let that statement sink in. They were innocent civilians, murdered by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Murdering them wasn’t enough for Hamas. They had to take their dead bodies and bring them back to Gaza, further tormenting their families. Almost 20 months later, their bodies were found by the IDF and returned to Israel for burial.

This is outrageous. Murdering innocent senior citizens is horrific. Kidnapping their bodies to cause more emotional harm is inhuman. Yet the world wasn’t bothered by this. It was almost a non-story with no outrage. The fact that there remain 56 hostages in Gaza, 20 months later, and that 36 of them are dead bodies doesn’t cause the world any agita.

Judi Weinstein Haggai (z’l) and Gad Haggai (z’l). May their memories always be a blessing.

The United Nations security council, on the same day that the bodies of Judi and Gad were recovered, attempted to pass a resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza without linking it to the release of hostages. The United States veto stopped the other 14 other members of the council who voted in favor of the resolution from this bigoted resolution. The resolution described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory while not assessing any of the blame to the UN or Hamas. The UN doesn’t deliver the aid and Hamas steals the aid and sells it on the black market. The UN fails to support the efforts of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) who on its most recent day of operations distributed 1,441,440 meals and who over the 8 days of their operation have delivered approximately 8.48 million meals, all without the corruption of the UN or allowing Hamas to steal from them. How do we know that the GHF is actually working? Hamas and the UN are doing everything they can to shut it down. It’s a threat to their power. It’s a threat to their control. We see Hamas shooting those trying to get food from GHF.

Video of Hamas shooting and killing Gazans lining up to get food

With Hamas losing control and the people of Gaza believing they can speak their minds without the risk of being killed or having their family killed. As they speak out publicly, a different story is being told that what the media and the UN have been feeding the world. This is why you don’t see it on any media – it goes against their agenda. Watch and listen yourself.

Listen to the people of Gaza speak directly without the lies of the UN or the media

Despite the words of the people of Gaza, despite the proof of no famine and food getting directly to the people in Gaza through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, countries such as England, France, and Canada continue to blame Israel and try to force peace without the hostages being returned and without Hamas being removed from power. The antisemitism is coming from leadership of many countries along with people who need to have a cause to fight for because they have no meaning in their lives and need to find somebody to blame or need a cause to fight for, regardless of whether it is just or righteous. People like Greta Thunburg, who had her fifteen minutes of fame and needs to find a way to be back in the public eye. What better than to blame the Jews to become popular again? Why not take a small ship with enough food for those on it and a few people in Gaza, publicize it to the world, knowing you won’t make a difference but will get lots of media coverage. People like her care more about their own image and their own PR than the people of Gaza. They’d rather align themselves with Hamas, a terrorist organization, to get visibility and remain in the public eye.

Greta Thunburg once stood for something – now she’s just another Jew hater

Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national, was working in agriculture in the south of Israel on October 7th. He isn’t Jewish, isn’t Israeli, but was working in Israel which was enough for Hamas to kidnap and then murder him. This week, Israel recovered his body. That’s the evil of Hamas. They are born of hate. They feed on hate. If you are not part of Hamas or supporting Hamas in some way, you are a target of Hamas. Too many people don’t want to accept the truth. They want to find humanity where there is none. They’d rather see an underdog than true evil. They chant ‘Globalize the intifada’ and when it comes to them, to their city, to their neighborhood, and affects their lives, they will wonder what happened and try to find somebody else to blame.

Nattapong Pinta (z’l)

So we continue to fight. We fight Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran. We fight the Jew haters in the UN, France, and England. We fight those in Ireland and Australia who are terrorizing Jews under the guise of Israel. We don’t let people like Greta Thunberg, the members of the band Green Day, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandan, Kanye West, Cynthia Nixon, John Cusak, Roger Waters and others get away with their lies, hatred and bigotry. We wear our Stars of David, Chai’s, and Kippot proudly while ensuring we have a mezzuzah on our door to signal our pride. We thank our allies like Patricia Heaton, who has chosen to publicly support the Jewish community and created a movement of non-Jews who are putting a mezzuzah on their home to show their support publicly.

Actress Patricia Heaton putting a mezzuzahon her front door, showing her support of the Jewish community

And we both give money to help support Israel, Israelis, and our local Jewish communities while also going to Israel to volunteer and show our support. I’ve been to Israel 23 times and the last 3, all after October 7th, have not only been incredibly meaningful to me but have also been meaningful to Israelis. I will never forget all the thank you’s I received, the stunned Israeli’s who couldn’t believe I would come in the middle of a war, the leaders of the town of Shlomi, a small religious town in the north of Israel who had been relocated to a hotel in Jerusalem for well over a year who not only were inspired by seeing us in Israel but that we prayed, learned, and were proud to be Jewish.

If you have been fighting, keep fighting. If you haven’t begun fighting yet, it’s time to begin fighting. If you’ve been to Israel since October 7th, go back. If you haven’t been to Israel since October 7th, it’s time to go. As a friend of mine’s mother told her right after October 7th, “If you don’t go, you’ll never forgive yourself.” The time in now to fight for the Jewish people, for Israel, and for yourselves and your family. The words of Rabbi Hillel are often quoted and sometimes sound like a cliche. Today, they mean more to me than ever. I hope they inspire you. As he famously said, “If not now, when?”

Leslie Stahl, CBS, and the media should be embarrassed and ashamed

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

On their website, CBS states, “One of America’s most recognized and experienced broadcast journalists, Lesley Stahl has been a “60 Minutes” correspondent since 1991.” She should be embarrassed for her lead in to the interview she just did with Yarden Bibas for 60 minutes. Planting a false narrative to blame Israel, stating that Israel broke a ceasefire that expired when Hamas refused to move into phase 2 of the ceasefire, and holding Israel accountable for hostages being scared while kept in captivity, she showed herself to be a stooge for the media and their anti-Israel narrative.

When Yarden told her that the Hamas terrorists wouldn’t give them much food, she took the side of terrorists, trying to blame Israel by stating that perhaps they just didn’t have any food. Yarden corrected her that they did have food and would eat it front of her. That Hamas terrorists would tell them that they were giving them just enough food to keep them alive for 5 years in horrible conditions. He further told her that they learned that one of the terrorists liked massages so they would give him massages for extra food. Her response? Silence. No condemnation.

Watch the 60 minutes piece in which Yarden Bibas is interviewed.

Yarden tells her that they told him he would find a better wife and have better children after telling him that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were dead. Her response was “did they really say that?” and nothing more. It’s disgusting. As I watched the interview, I found her repugnant and the CBS angle an attempt to take the barbaric actions of Hamas and make them Israel’s fault.

The pain of the stories told in the piece were clear. The horrific actions of Hamas were clear. Yet Stahl and the editors at CBS were unmoved. There was no condemnation. No shock and awe at this inhumane treatment. As I watched it, I got the feeling that both Stahl and the bigwhigs at CBS believed that they deserved what they got. They seemed only sad that they had to cover it at all and shed any light on the proof of Hamas being evil and terrorists.

The piece ended and they transferred to 60 minutes Overtime, and additional online peace to extend the “conversation.” In 60 Minutes Overtime, Stahl talks with Keith and Aviva Siegel, the “Hamas militants” according to Stahl. She can’t even call them terrorists. Once again, she begins the interview and piece by framing Hamas as simply “militants”. She talks about Kibbutz Kfar Aza and shows a little bit of video from the Kibbutz but nothing that comes close to what it really looks like. I’ve been to Kfar Aza twice since October 7th and the things I saw there will never leave my mind. The brutality that occurred there is something I will never forget. The stories I heard from the IDF and from residents who lived there and had just returned are beyond horrific. Yet Stahl and CBS show none of these images. They minimize what happened that day.

The roof in one of the young people’s apartments, destroyed by grenades while she was there.
Listen to the description of what happened at this house in Kfar Aza. CBS and Lesley Stahl won’t tell you

When she reports on Keith’s release from captivity, she calls it a ‘bizarre ceremony’, quite an understatement for what it really was. Ongoing terrorism. Brutal treatment of a hostage.

The emotion from the hostages and the videos was clear. How anybody can watch and listen and not be horrified, not be offended, not believe that what happened is not just criminal but also not want to outwardly speak out against it is beyond my comprehension. Stahl and CBS show their bias throughout.

The CBS Overtime interview with Keith and Aviva Siegel

It goes beyond just CBS and Lesley Stahl. This week, Tal Shoham testified at the UN in Vienna. The UN has showed itself to hate Jews and hate Israel. There are decades of proof that they treat Israel and the Jews differently than any other group or country in the world. Read Shoham’s testimony – it’s difficult to get through. After reading it, try to defend Hamas in any way. Try to defend Hezbollah, the Houthis or Iran. It’s pure evil that must be eradicated.

Tal Shoham testifying at the UN in Viennna

“During these 50 days in isolation, shackled and starved, it was not ordinary hunger, but survival hunger, where a crumb becomes your entire world. When your body aches constantly from hunger pains.

On day 34 two human skeletons entered my room. Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal. They told me they were beaten daily, forced to sit facing the wall, with bags over their heads, unable to move. If I thought my hunger was extreme, their was even worse. Their thirst was so intense that they would drink foul smelling salty toilet water contaminated with metals and filth.

In an act of deliberate cruelty, the terrorists forced Guy and Evyatar to watch me being released. Why, I ask you. Why would any human go to such length to inflict such torment.

During 505 days in captivity we were rarely not starving. There were many times we received just one pita bread for an entire day. We begged our captors, flattered them, even agreed to give them massages. Anything for another crumb of food. Traumatized by hunger, we collected crumb after crumb, dividing any grain of food after careful counting. Guy would sometimes spend an hour, ensuring fair distribution of every ounce.

You might assume this is the situation throughout Gaza. But the terrorists holding us always had abundant food, including fresh vegetables and fruits.

For the final 8 months of my captivity, we were held in a dungeon dozen of meter underground, with only a hole serving as a toilet. The humidity left our clothes and matrasses perpetually wet. We sweated and choked from lack of oxygen. In conditions so deplorable, no animal has ever been kept this way. We were constantly hungry and thirsty. Severe vitamin C deficiency caused Evyatar and me develop muscle inflammation.

Sadistic guards tortured us daily physically and mentally. Sometimes we were in darkness so profound, we could not see our hands in front of our faces. Meanwhile next door Hamas terrorists enjoyed a well-lit air conditioned room with plenty of food.

Hamas most dangerous weapon is not their rockets or their cruelty. It’s the fundamentalist education used to raise the next generation of terrorists. This education rejects the possibility of any state or people not governed by extreme Islamic law. In Hamas value system human life holds no worth. If we don’t recognize this, we live in illusion that will first doom Israel and then threaten the entire world. The International community must reject beliefs that foster terrorism.”

This is the reality of Hamas. They are not freedom fighters They are terrorists and pure evil. Those defending them are fools, bigots, and evil as well. Imagine being so thirsty that you would want to drink contaminated toilet water. Imagine being forced to humiliate yourself and give terrorists torturing and starving you massages for crumbs of food. Imagine living with constant hunger pains, choking from lack of oxygen…

Then imagine you are Leslie Stahl, hearing this firsthand. Talking to the parents of a current hostage who is being beaten, starved, and abused. Watch how she reacts with a flat affect. Watch and listen to how she responds. It’s as if she is a robot. No empathy. No compassion. As I watch her, I find myself thinking that she is trying to find a way to defend them, as she did earlier in the interview, and is upset that she can’t.

Watch and listen to Lesley Stahl and her lack of empathy, flat affect, and inability to condemn Hamas.

I am disgusted by Leslie Stahl and 60 minutes. How does she sleep at night? How do the higher ups at CBS keep their jobs? How do these people live with themselves?

How can the main stream media not make a major story as Hamas reduces their reported death toll by 3,400 names? They actually removed people’s names from the most recent death reports in Gaza, admitting they lied about people being killed who weren’t. For those who pay attention, this raises new concerns of inflated figures by Hamas.

This change included removing 1,000 children that had previously been reported killed in the war. Andrew Fox, associate fellow at the UK-based think tank Henry Jackson Society, was quoted stating, “If you were seeing indiscriminate killing, you would expect roughly 26% adult male deaths.” He continued, “In the 13 to 55 age group, which is Hamas’ fighter range because we know they use child soldiers, it’s 72% male in that age group.” 

“So all these things clearly point towards combatants being targeted rather than just indiscriminate killing.”

Yet the media remains silent. CBS, 60 minutes and Lesley Stahl make sure to tell their story based on lies. You won’t see this in the NY Times or Washington Post. None of the other major networks will cover this. They prefer the lies.

I know that October 7th and the aftermath has become a part of who I am. I spoke out against all hatred before October 7th. Now, I will never stop speaking out against evil and hate. There may be consequences as a result. It may impact my business and who will work with me. I don’t care. The fight against evil and hate is too important. If people like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Anwar Sadat, and Yitzak Rabin can risk, and lose, it all, then who am I to not be willing?

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Anwar Sadat, and Yitzhak Rabin (A.I. generated picture).

At the end of the day, we all have to live with ourselves and our decisions. When I close my eyes at night, I must live with my decisions and actions. How I sleep is determined by my decisions and actions. I want to be an example of morals, ethics, and values to my children and eventually my grandchildren. My children know what I have done, said, and written since October 7th. They can answer the questions my future grandchildren may ask with stories of my visits to Israel, volunteering there, and show them what I have written to stand up to hate and evil. What about yours? What do you stand for? Will you be one of those people that your grandchildren look back upon and ask where you were? What you did? Why you were silent? Only you can answer that question. Know that it is NOT too late to start now. The fight against evil and hate is nowhere close to being over. Join in the fight. Stand for something that is based on morals, ethics, and values.

Or don’t, and let the future generation judge your inaction.

Holocaust survivors in 2025

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Three more hostages were released. Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy were all taken hostage on October 7, 2023. They were held by Hamas for 491 days. We shuddered as we thought of the abuse they were undergoing. When we saw them today, we realized how horrible it has been. How evil Hamas is. How useless the Red Cross is. That UNRWA and the UN are terror organizations. All you have to do is look at the before and after pictures of them to understand. These pictures bring tears to my eyes.

Pictures of Ohad, Eli, and Or, before they were kidnapped and upon their release. It is horrifying.

As Or Levy was being paraded before Hamas and the ‘innocent Gazan people’ before his release, you can see the condition he is in. He has to be help up on both sides to walk. He is barely able to stand. He looks like a Holocaust survivor. The images of walking skeletons from the liberation of the death camps in the 1940s are being repeated in 2025 as they come out of Gaza after 491 days of captivity. They are what famine and starvation look like. There will be no apologies or retractions from those who claimed Israel was starving Gaza, proven wrong once again. There will be no criticism of Hamas for how they treated these men and the hostages. The world doesn’t care. That’s the reality.

We have seen images of family members as they see their loved ones for the first time upon their release. Most images we have seen are those of joy and celebration. They know their loved one underwent terrible abuse. They know that the person coming home isn’t the same person that was taken on October 7th. But they have been able to watch them return with a sense of joy. Today’s release was different. While the anticipation was that of joy, when they saw the images of their loved one and what they looked like, there was shock and horror. This was captured best in the image of Ohad Ben Ami’s family as they got their first view of him. The shock. The horror. The pain in their eyes. I can’t get over the look in their eyes. It brings tears to my eyes. It makes me filled with rage and my jaw locks with anger. What the monsters of Hamas and those who support them, both in and out of Gaza, did to these men is horrifying. That the world allowed and enabled it is even worse. I think of the celebrities wearing their red hands pins, not even knowing the story behind them, who bear responsibility for what happened to these men. If looking at the images of Ohed, Eli and Or aren’t enough to wake you up to the reality of Hamas, let the faces of Ohed’s family show you.

We talk about cruelty. Eli Sharabi was held for 491 days and allowed to maintain the hope of reuniting with his wife and daughters. This is despite Hamas murdering them on October 7th. This is despite Hamas knowing they murdered his family. As they released him today, they allowed him to speak about how much he looked forward to reuniting with his family. They cheered and jeered him. They mocked his hopefullness because they knew. It was their final ‘fuck you’ to Eli. You may be free from out captivity but soon you will know that we murdered your entire familiy, destroyed what you loved the most, and we will always live in your head and in your heart. Monsters. It is not just the monsters of Hamas that are responsible. We see the people in the street cheering Hamas and what they do. We see some of our politicians and celebrities who support Hamas. We see students on campus supporting Hamas. They all own this as well. They are playing their role in this inhumanity.

Erin Molan spoke out powerfully today. She has been a powerful, clear voice since October 7th. When you listen to her talk, you hear her pain, not just as a human being seeing the abuse these men underwent, but how the rest of the world stood by and stayed silent. How the rest of the world blamed Israel and held Hamas blameless, while Hamas starved and terrorized the people they kidnapped. Listening to her talk captured my anger. Her words were perfectly stated. “The world is a disgrace.”

Why do we release 30 terrorists and murderers for every one of our people held hostage? Shouldn’t it be a 1-1 ratio? Why is Hamas emboldened to ask for an even greater ratio in phase 2 of the ceasefire agreement? It is because we love life. It is because we value life. It is because we all feel the pain of those murdered and kidnapped and desperately want their return. We feel for their families and what they are going through. And it is because of pictures like the one below of Or hugging his 3 year old son Almog after 491 days of captivity. It touches us deeply. It is core to who we are. We all feel the love from Or to Almog and from Almog back to Or. It makes us want to hug our children a little tighter, no matter how old they are.

Or hugging his 3 year old son Almog after 491 days of captivity.

The events on October 7th and since then have impacted me greatly. I wrote and shared about the two tattoos that I got related to October 7th. On my left arm, I have a tribute to the Nova festival with the Golani tree. When an Israeli sees it, they are taken aback. They can’t imagine that as a diaspora Jew, I would feel their pain so strongly that I would make it a part of my physical being. There are a number of people who have told me they didn’t see me as a ‘tattoo guy’. This image speaks loudly and strongly to me and I wanted to make it a part of who I am.

After seeing what Hamas did to Emily Damri, I was deeply moved, not only by what happened to her but how she responded. Her smile, her determination, and her wililngness to share what happened to her hand with the world was inspiring. Moshe Shapira, a father and artist who lost his oldest son, Aner Shapira, on Oct. 7, 2023, turned the image of Emily’s injured hand into a symbol of blessings. This symbol spoke to me in a powerful way. On my other arm, I had gotten the same tattoo that Mia Schem did after her release, saying “we will dance again”, reminding her and me of the resilience of the Jewish people. We will dance again. We will continue to live and to thrive. I found the art of Moshe a perfect fit with the words of Mia. On Friday, I went to get Moshe’s image added under Mia’s words on my right arm. I asked the artist to move the hands slighty apart so they would frame the October 7th date.

The addition to my arm. It’s a powerful image and reminder.

The image of Emily’s hand also is the same as the the American Sign Language symbol for “I love you”. It’s also the symbol of the priestly blessings, the first of which is inscribed underneath this image. In Hebrew it says, “May the lord bless and protect you.” Powerful words. And yes, this is the symbol that Leonard Nimoy, a Jewish man, used to create the vulcan image used by Mr, Spock on Star Trek.

The world may not wake up, even as the physicians have reported that the three hostages released today were in the physical condition of people who had spent a year in a concentration camp. That is Hamas. That is what some of our politicians and many Hollywood celebrities support. It is what the UN supports. The same with the Red Cross. The condition of these hostages was so alarming, so shocking, that Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon wrote the following letter to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN. The UN is a hate organization. They are a bank account for Hamas and Hezbollah. The letter documents Hamas’s inhumanity and crimes against humanity. The UN will do nothing which is why it is time for them to be disbanded. Secretary General Guterres will do nothing, which is why he needs to be indicted for crimes against humanity. UNRWA is a UN agency that participated in all of this. He is the leader of the UN which oversees UNRWA.

The images of today are shocking. They should spur us all into action. Those who are Jew haters will ignore it or celebrate it. We must continue our fight. We must continue to live and fight for our survival. If you haven’t spoken out yet, start now. This is no time to be silent. This is no time to ‘go along to get along.’ This is no time to put your head in the sand and hope they will leave you alone. Ohad, Eli and Or are images we cannot forget or they are destined to be images of us in the future.

Stand up. Speak out. Be loud. Be proud to be Jewish. Don’t let those who hate win. Am Yisrael Chai – the Jewish people live!!

Goodbye UNRWA and Good Riddance

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Yesterday, January 30, 2025 marked the end of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Many in the world are criticizing this action, claiming that only UNRWA can provide the aid and take care of the needs of the Palestinians. Those who do that have chosen to believe the lies and ignore the truth about UNRWA.

Every refugee in the world is covered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Every single one. Except for the Palestinians, who get their own agency despite not really being refugees. Gaza has been fully governed by the Palestinians, who elected Hamas as their leaders, since 2005. In Judea and Samaria, the Palestinian Authority fully governs Area A. They are in charge of the civil society in Area B. Yet they have to have their own refugee organization while the entire rest of the world gets their own?

UNRWA has been exposed for many human rights violations. Employees of UNRWA have been confirmed to be Hamas operatives. Employees of UNRWA have been proved to be active participants in the attack on October 7th. Employees of UNRWA have been proved to have hidden hostages in their private homes. UNRWA has failed to deliver the humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza. It isn’t that the food isn’t being sent to Gaza. UNRWA has left it on the docks to rot. UNRWA has given the food to Hamas and the local gangs who sell it on the black market. I have seen the pictures of the food on the docks, rotting. I have seen the pictures of Hamas taking the food from the relief trucks.

When I saw the post above, I was livid. UNRWA held her in captivity AND denied her medical care. This is the organization that is supposed to help people. This is a part of the United Nations (UN). If there was ever something that showed just how disgusting and vile UNRWA and the UN are, this is it. Yet the world is silent. You won’t see this information on the national news, read it in the NY Times or Washington Post. The ICC won’t be issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of UNRWA or the UN. They should, but they won’t.

When Arbel Yehoud was released from captivity on Thursday, she had to go through a crowd in Gaza of people shouting at her. She was surrounded by terrorists in uniform. The look on her face is terrifying. They are wearing pressed uniforms, the crowd looks well fed, which in a famine shouldn’t happen. These are the people Israel is supposed to trust and make peace with? Israel should trust the UN after learning that they held Emily Damari as a hostage since October 7th? That their employees are Hamas and Hezbollah members?

Hamas and people of Gaza as Arbel Yehoud is released

I’m grateful that UNRWA is no longer operating in Gaza, Israel, or Judea and Samaria. Why should Israel enable terrorists (and UNRWA is a terrorist organization) to operate freely? The world is an outrage over this but not that Emily was held hostage by UNRWA. The hypocrisy is beyond aggravating.

Along with the good news of no more UNRWA, there is also this heartwarming video of Agam Berger being reunited with her four fellow Nahal Oz comarades who were release last Saturday from captivity. The look on the faces of Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag as they see Agam, the sound of their voices, their hugs and compassion tears at my soul. What these women endured is unimaginable. Like the Jewish people at large, they endured, they survived, and they will flourish. It won’t be easy.

Hostages returning home. Three more scheduled to be release tommorow. We know Yarden Bibas is alive and hopefully we will get good news soon about Shiri Bibas and their beautiful children, Ariel and Kfir. We know 8 of the 33 being returned will not be alive. We can only hope and pray that most of the remaining 82 hostages are still alive. We do know that they must all come home.

With President Trump meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, we can only hope that this administration stands strongly with Israel and enables her to do what is needed to both get the remaining hostages back and ensure her long term security. Since October 7th, those have been the two clear priorities. Whatever it takes, both must happen.

Almost 400 days

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

It’s been almost 400 days since Hamas invaded Israel, murdered 1,200 people, raped women, and kidnapped civilians. 101 hostages, including 7 AMERICANS, remain in Gaza nearly 400 days later. To put it in context, Iran held 52 American hostages for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981. We don’t know when the hostages will return, or how many will return alive, but we hope and pray that it will be less than 444 days .

Recently we marked some significant dates that were once unimaginable. Oct 7, 2024 marked one year on the secular calendar since the Hamas attack on Israel. On the Jewish calendar, that anniversary was September 25-26, during the holiday of Simchat Torah. It is hard to believe that it has been over a full year since that horrible day. It’s hard to believe that we still have 101 hostages in Gaza more than a year later. It’s an embarrassment that there are still American hostages being held by Hamas and our government has not done all it can to get them back.

I saw this just before Simchat Torah and it struck me powerfully. One day, one murderous attack by terrorists, and 1,200 Yarzheits as a result. The explosion of antisemitism around the world. The hatred expressed on college campuses and at the United Nations, especially from leaders of the UN such as Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She is the Joseph Goebbels of today, spewing her Jew hatred and propoganda around the world from her bully pulpit. Her boss, António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, refuses to discipline her or refute he hate and lies. When I look at the image below, I can’t help but think of the Children’s Exhibit at Yad Vashem. The link is visible and powerful.

When I think of the hostages, my heart breaks. While not particularly religious, every day I sing the Achenu prayer for them to come home. It’s one little thing that I can do, no matter where I am, to ensure they are remembered and never forgotten.

One of the faces of the hostages has been Hersch Goldberg-Polin (z’l) and his parents, Rachel and Jon. Hersh was tragically murdered along with 5 other hostages by Hamas. Last week, Rachel released this powerful video. It’s hard to watch. It’s harder to listen to. But it’s also a must watch and must listen. Hear the brutality that Hersh and the other hostages had to endure. Understand that Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran want every Jew to suffer like this. While Israel has offered pathways to peace, they only want Jewish death. As my friend, Fleur Hassan Nahoum has so elequently stated, “The problem isn’t that there is no Palestinian State. The problem is that there IS A JEWISH STATE!“

I’ve grown so tired on the lies being told. Of those with no knowledge spewing hatred based on these lies. The use of words like genocide and colonizer about Israel and Jews. The blatent antisemitism from certain political leaders and many businesses. The changing of history because it doesn’t fit their Jew hatred. Former President Bill Clinton has been vocal about how hard he worked to create peace in the Middle East and have an independent Palestinian State that lives in peace with it’s neighbor Israel. This speech is so significant because just as then General Eisenhower mandated that pictures be taken of the concentration camps as he liberated them because he didn’t think people in the future would believe what happened, this video documents FROM President Clinton what happened. He speaks directly about what was offered, what Israel agreed to, and what Yassir Arafat rejected. It’s so powerful, I have both the video and the text below.

“And the only time Yasser Arafat didn’t tell me the truth was when he promised me he was gonna accept the peace deal that we had worked out, which would have given the Palestinians a state on 96% of the West Bank and 4% of Israel, and they got to choose where the 4% of Israel was. So they would have the effect of the same land of all the West Bank. They would have a capital in East Jerusalem.

 I can hardly talk about this…. And they would have equal access all day every day to the security towers that Israel maintained all through the West Bank up to the Golan Heights.

All this was offered, including, I will say it again, a capital in East Jerusalem and 2 of the 4 quadrants of the old city of Jerusalem, confirmed by the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, and his cabinet. And they said no. 

And I think part of it is that Hamas did not care about a homeland for the Palestinians. They wanted to kill Israelis and make Israel uninhabitable. 

Well, I got news for them, they (the Jews) were there first before there their faith (Islam) existed. They were there. In the time of King David, in the southern most tribes, Hadjardia and Samaria.”

Powerful words from President Clinton. They should be a wake-up call to the woke antisemites about the lies they are being fed. But they aren’t. Instead, people are angry at him for what he said. We live in a world where the facts don’t matter, only a person’s individual truth. Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel for a year and when Israel finally responds, they are the ones who are responsible. UNRWA steals the food and aid and gives it to Hamas, yet it is Israel who is starving the people of Gaza. Iran fires over 300 missiles at Israel and then fires nearly 200 missiles at Israel in a second attack. Yet Israel is required to limit the response. Not with a proportional response of 500 missiles fired at civilians like Iran did. Not attacking their oil or nuclear facilities. Lies and double standards.

I like to think that it won’t continue but I know better. We have nearly 400 days of proof. We have hateful people like Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Francesca Albanese, Candace Owens, and many more that prove it to us constantly. Our fight must continue. As my friend Tal, a Lt Colonel (res.) in the IDF said to me last week as he prepared to go back for Miluim once again, this time in Lebanon, we are all tired but we must fight on. We must win. And so togther, we fight. Together we advocate. Together we lobby. Together we educate. It’s day 393. We won’t stop.

The Ego of the West may cause it to be lost

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Israel just did what nobody thought they could. They not only eliminated the leadership of Hezbollah, destroyed many of their rockets and rocket launchers, and eliminiated Hassan Nasrallah, an evil terrorist responsible for murdering Israelis, Americans, Syrians, and Lebanese people in large numbers. You think that the world would celebrate the elimination of this evil man.

Many did, with meme’s like this filling the internet.

Even the Lebanese people are celebrating his death. It gives them a chance at freedom.

Yet there were so many more who mourned him, despite his despicable life of murder and terror. The Irish Republicans have idolized him and created things like this.

In America, we see far too many mourning his death and attempting to make him into a martyr. In Dearborn, Michigan, three separate mosques are holding martyr mourning sessions that they are live streaming as well.

In Ottowa, the antisemites pretending to only be against Israel, went to a Jewish neighborhood to hold a protest. They didn’t go to the Israeli embassy. They didn’t go to the Israeli consulate. They went to a Jewish neighborhood. But this has nothing to do with hating Jews. Their hypocrisy is obvious.

The college campuses continue to reek of antisemitism and Jew hatred. The University of Pennsylvania continues to fight with Columbia to see who can treat Jews the worst and who can be the most antisemitic school in the country. Students for Justice in Palestine (most of whom aren’t students, don’t want justice, and couldn’t pick out the countries in the middle east without help) posted this. Will the University do or say anythig? The odds say no.

SJP is really a hate group on college campuses

McGill University says, “Hold my beer!” to UPenn

McGill University wants to compete for the most antisemitic campus in North America

Then there is the media. I don’t expect anything different from them but I thought with how evil Nasrallah has been, with as many American’s he has murdered, with his mass murder in Syria and the acknowledged leader of a huge terrorist organization, they would at least be factual. It seems that is way too high a bar for them, as seen by the Washington Post and the Guardian

Yet the people of Lebanon, Iran, and Syria feel differently. Take a look at these signs and messages. They send a powerful message from the people of Syrian, Iran, and Lebanon about what they want. It speaks to the evil of Hezbollah from those living under their rule. Unfortunately, the elitists in the West and the antisemites in America, Canada, and Europe think they know better.

Please bear with me for posting so many videos and pictures. It’s simply amazing that the people directly impacted are clearly saying one thing yet the Western Elites think they know better. It’s the ultimate superiority complex. It is pretentious, ego-centric, and arrogant.

Syrian people with the sign in hebrew that says, “Thank you very much Netanyahu. By killing Nasrallah you light the path of peace”

Then there is one of my all-time favorites, Abu Mazen/Mahmoud Abbas. The President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), who is now finishing his 20th year of a 4 year term. Despite this incredible fact, the UN, Europe, and the United States give him credibility as a ‘democratically elected leader’. While many of the liberal elite fear that a Trump presidency would be more than the 4 year term, they have no issue supporting a man who is in year 20 of a 4 year term. The hypocrisy is brutal.

Mahmoud Abbas has had many opportunities for peace. Three consecutive Israeli leaders – Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon and Olmert – sought to hand over permanent control of territory to the Palestinians. First to Yasser Arafat and then to Abbas. Olmert offered Abbas a map that showed Israel would give Palestinians nearly 94% of the West Bank, with Israeli territory in the remainder that would have been compensated for via a land swap, and a corridor connecting Gaza and the West Bank. Yet Abbas rejected it outright.

When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, they gave the PA an opportunity to build a state. Instead of building a state, instead of building the Singapore of the Middle East, Abbas and his leadership squandered the opportunity before Hamas took control in 2007. He has shown through every action he has taken that he doesn’t want a Palestinian State that lives next to Israel. He wants a Palestinian State with NO ISRAEL. Yet he has the chutzpah (yes I used a yiddush word with a terrorist) to say to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) that, “We want a solution that will protect both countries – the State of Palestine and the State of Israel – so they can co-exist in peace, stability and security.”

The man who responded to the Olmert peace offer by starting the second intifada also said to the UNGA, “we cannot fight Israel, and we don’t want to fight, we want protection.” This from the man who sent suicide bombers into Israel, who denies the Holocaust, and ensure terrorists in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria and places like Jenin have become a breeding ground for local terrorist groups. And the UN loves him.

When Nasrallah was killed, Abbas mourned his loss. He offered his condolences to the Lebanese Hezbollah members. Once again he showed he doesn’t care about the people of Lebanon just like he doesn’t care about the Palestinians. What does he care about? Lining his own pockets. Arafat died a billionaire. Abbas is a billionaire. The money that comes in goes in his pocket first. As long as he can stay in power and not have peace, he gets wealthier and wealthier. Yet the world closes their eyes, continues to send him money, while the people hate him and everything that he represents.

Condolences to Hezbollah from Mahmoud Abbas

So what’s the point of this rant? We have clearly seen that bowing to pressure from the US or the UN does Israel no good. As important as the relationship with the US is, Israel must do what it needs to do for the safety and security of her people. When Rafah was said to be a ‘no go’ and that it was impossible to evacuate that many people, Israel went ahead and evacuated the people and went anyway. When the pressure from the US was to leave Hezbollah alone and try dipolomatic efforts that never work with terrorists, Israel proceeded to eliminate the leadership of Hezbollah in about 2 weeks and is reportedly preparing a ground incursion to push Hamas back to the lines agreed upon in the UN Resolution 1701 that the UN, the US, and the world has failed to enforce over the past 18 years.

Israel can no longer sit back and cowtow to the US or the world’s opinions. After October 7th we have seen that most of the world would happily let Israel die. The US does not exude strength which means listening to them only emboldens the terrorists. Israel must do what Israel must do in terms of security. Otherwise they have no country.

As former Ambassador Michael Oren said when he spoke at a local JNF event earlier this year, “Israel was founded with 2 covenants between the government and the people. The first was “Never Again” and on October 7th that was broken. The second was that “the IDF will always be there.” On October 7th, that was broken. Israel needs to renew that covenant. They need the citizens who live in the north to return to their homes. They need the hostages to come home. They need to rebuild the south where Hamas destroyed the kibbutzim. They need to rebuild the trust between the government, the IDF, and the people of Israel.

And then, in the words of Mia Schem, “We will dance again”. I can’t wait until there is another Nova dance party to remember the last and celebrate life. I plan on being there.

Am Yisrael Chai

Leadership. Are they failing us or are we failing them?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I write a lot about leadership and the challenges we face with our leaders.  World Leaders.  United States Leaders.  Jewish communal leaders.  It isn’t limited to one specific area.  It’s about a lack of leadership in general.  I often wonder what happened and where we went wrong.  The days of leaders leading is long gone – now it is about what the followers want.  It reminds me of the Henry Ford quote:

Leadership is a word used often but rarely seen. We call people our ‘leaders’ because of their position, either professional or volunteer. Because of their titles. Because of their income or philanthropic giving. None of that makes them leaders. And that certainly does not make them good leaders, talented leaders, or effective leaders. They often cause more harm than good as a result.

Leadership is something that requires learning. Many people are born with the charisma to lead but if they don’t have the education about effective leadership, they merely lead people in the wrong direction. As Steve Jobs famously said, and as Apple famously marketed, you must “Think Different.”

Leaders lead. It sounds like a silly thing to say but far too many leaders simply follow. They follow group think and don’t think differently. They give people what they say they want rather than what they need. The group they lead ends up with faster horses, not cars.

We saw this when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to address the US Congress. Here is the list of who chose not to attend the speech. Instead of showing leadership, they showed cowardice. Instead of showing up to hear what one of the elected leader of one of our staunch allies had to say, they chose to make a political statement by not showing up. In fairness, VP Harris and Sen Vance had prior commitments, they did not officially boycott the speach, but the choice to prioritize their prior commitments over this critical address showed a lack of leadership. All those who chose not to show up or to boycott, sent a message to Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, to continue their attacks and to continue their terrorism. Their actions make the world a less safe place.

Vice President Kamala Harris (D)

Senate:

  • Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
  • Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
  • Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
  • Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
  • Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)
  • Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
  • Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
  • Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
  • Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT)
  • Sen. J.D Vance (R-OH)

House of Representatives:

  • Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
  • Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA)
  • Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX)
  • Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
  • Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
  • Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
  • Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)
  • Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
  • Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
  • Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY)
  • Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA)
  • Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL)
  • Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)
  • Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
  • Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)
  • Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL)
  • Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
  • Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
  • Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
  • Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
  • Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
  • Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
  • Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)
  • Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA)
  • Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
  • Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO)
  • Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA)
  • Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
  • Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT)
  • Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)
  • Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM)
  • Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM)
  • Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)
  • Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
  • Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
  • Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX)
  • Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA)
  • Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX)

We live in a time when leadership appears to be missing on so many levels. We see it at the top. We see it in congress. We see it as the Supreme Court code of ethics is an issue. We see it in our state governments and we see it in our Jewish communities. Being a leader is going where we need to go, not where the people want to go. Being a leader is taking a principled stand and leading the people there. Following the guidance of the people isn’t being a leader. It’s being a sheep. Leading is being willing to take the risk and get that ‘first follower’, another leader, which attracts others. Our leaders today are not willing to take that risk. They don’t believe they will have that first follower that will start a movement. They prefer safety to leadership and risk.

We see that regularly among our leaders when it comes to Israel. Too many of our Jewish leaders stay silent. They don’t want to take a position out of fear that people will be upset and they will have to defend their position. They are worried they will lose their donors, lose their job, lose status. They don’t lead from vision, passion, and belief. They lead from fear.

We see that with our elected officials. They try to take both sides of an issue, saying nothing, standing for nothing, and trying to be liked by all instead of being a leader for all. The amount of lies that continue to be told about the war in Gaza is staggering.

  1. The death toll. The UN has come out publicly with a report reducing the number of women and children who have been killed. The overstated number is what is continually used, even by VP Kamala Harris this week.
  2. The famine is because Israel won’t allow the food in. Another UN report has documented that plenty of food is coming into Gaza. More calories per person per day than is required to be sent in. The food doesn’t get to the people because UNRWA and Hamas divert it. The commonly heard complaint from people in Gaza is that the food is too expensive. This is humanitarian aid, coming at no cost. It’s only too expensive because it is being stolen and diverted to be sold or used by Hamas.
  3. Israel is bombing schools, hospitals, medical clinics and mosques. Hamas is using these sites as military bases and storing and firing weapons from them. Hamas has committed and is committing war crimes by doing this. Hamas places the entrance to their terror tunnels either inside these buildings or next to them. They are actually FORMER schools, hospitals, medical clinics and mosques after Hamas turns them into military bases.
  4. Israel is targeting civiians, commiting genocide. There are two parts to this lie.
    • First, Israel notifies civilians IN ADVANCE of bombings so they can leave. They do this with flyers dropped from airplances, text (SMS) messages and phone calls. They warn civilians because they do not want to harm them. In fact, the person who fires the weapons can call off the attack if they think it’s too dangerous to civilians, even if it has been approproved by the highest in command!
    • Second, based on the death toll reported by Hamas/Gazan Health Ministry/UN, there have been a total of approximately 38,000 people in Gaza. While this number includes approximately 19,000 Hamas terrorists along with those who died of natural causes, they don’t break it out at all. Since the start of the war, the UN has documented 50,000 new births in Gaza. This means that the population of Gaza has INCREASED per Hamas/Gazan Health Ministry/UN since the start of the war. That fact alone makes it clearly not a genocide.
  5. Israel is targeting UN Aid workers. It has been proven that these ‘UN Aid workers’, employees of UNRWA, not only participated in the attack on October 7, they remain currently involved with Hamas. They are and have housed hostages. They are giving the food to Hamas. They are using their houses and buildings to store Hamas weapons and let them be used as Hamas headquarters. Tunnel openings are just outside or inside these facilities. These are not humanitarian workers. They are terrorists. These are not relief buildings, these are military installations.
  6. Israel is stopping a ceasefire. Israel has offered many ceasefire options. It is Hamas that rejects every ceasefire offering. It is Hamas that uses the fact that our leaders in the US and around the world spread these lies to delay and attempt to stay in power. For there to be a ceasefire, Israel has said the agreement must include the following:
    • All the hostages released. Those who are no longer alive must have their bodies returned.
    • Hamas must surrender and the new government must be demilitarized and cannot include Hamas
    • Israel must maintain military control to ensure terrorists cannot take over and that there can never be another attack like on October 7.
  7. Israel is not providing vaccines to to the people of Gaza. Israel has documented that they have provided vaccines for over 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN GAZA since the start of the war. It is up to UNRWA to actually take the vaccines provided and give them to the people. It is UNRWA that is not doing this. It is UNRWA, working with Hamas, who keep the people of Gaza in chains.

Since 1967, the same attempt has been made by our leaders to create peace. Pressure Israel. Make Israel give up safety and security for peace. It has never worked. What has worked is when the Arab leaders saw it was in their best interests to make peace with Israel. Anwar Sadat, after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, realized it was in the best interests of Egypt to make peace with Israel. As a result, in September 1978, the Camp David Accords were signed, resulting in a lasting peace with Egypt. In 1987, King Hussein of Jordan realized it would be in Jordan’s best interests to have peace with Israel. It took while but in October 1994, the Wadi Araba Treaty was signed by Jordan and Israel, creating peace. In 2016, a number of Arab countries realized it would be in their best interests, both economic and security wise, to have peace with Israel. This resulted in the 2020 creation of the Abraham Accords in which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalized relations with Israel. Since then Sudan and Morocco have joined the agreement and normalized relations with Israel. Prior to October 7, both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia were preparing to normalize relations with Israel.

Our leaders are not leading. They are continuing failed policy because the sound bites are good. Because it doesn’t get people upset. It doesn’t pose any risk to our leaders to take these failed positions. We saw with Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump that these agreements are possible but only when you don’t follow the tired script that has failed for 55 years.

The war in Gaza will end. The attacks from Hezbollah and the Houthi’s will end. The real question is what are our leaders going to do about Iran, a true threat to the world. What are they going to do with Russia and China? These three countries have joined together to create a new Axis of Evil. Since the discussion of JCPOA under President Obama, we have heard from our leaders that Iran will not be permitted to have nuclear weapons, yet we heard last week from US Secretary of State Tony Blinken that Iran is only 2 weeks away from a breakout to have a nuclear weapon. Our leaders continue to fail us. Our leaders continue to fail the world.

How long are we going to tolerate this from our leaders throughout society? From our national, state, loca and Jewish leaders? How long are we going to continue to elect and support failed leadership that continues to follow failed policies? How long are we going to tolerate the lies being told to us, especially when we know we are being lied to? When are we going to stand up and demand our leaders show real leadership and do what is necessary not what is politically or socially expedient. When will we demand that they take a stand and stick to it rather than play the middle and try to say just enough that everybody doesn’t get outraged at their lack of a position? Our leaders have and continue to fail us but just as importantly, we continue to fail them. We continue to pick ‘the lesser of two evils’. We continue to allow money to decide who is nominated and who leads. We continue to enable them and their failure.

As long as we are willing to accept the status quo, nothing will change. As long as we fail to demand more from our leaders, they will give us less. The responsiblity lies with us. What are you going to do? Are you going to remain a lemming and blame others? Are you going to continue to accept the lack of leadership? Are you going to choose not to get involved with Jewish life or with our elections? Or are you going to stand up and demand more? Demand better.

The United States was founded on demanding more and demanding better. We have never been perfect but for a long time we worked to be better. In a January 1787 letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, Jefferson wrote:

“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccesful rebellions indeed generally establish the incroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them.”

We often cite our founding fathers. Are we going to listen to Jefferson? Or are we going to sit back and allow failed approaches and failed leadership throughout all aspects of our community? The choice is ours. Don’t ever forget the classic lyrics from the rock band Rush: