Tag: un

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:

My head hurts as the world spins out of control

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

 Every day, I find myself getting more and more frustrated at the lack of leadership in our Jewish communities, in our country, and around the world.  The rise of Jew hatred is not just what we see on college campuses.  It’s not just the ICC and the charges from South Africa that other countries are now joining.  It’s not just the shooting at Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal or a synagogue in Vancouver.  There is a systemic effort going on to make us think we are safe while the walls close around us.  We are once again putting our heads in the sand and failing to see what is actually happening.  This scares me.

As things in the north of Israel are now literally on fire, we have reached a new point in both the war and the Jew hatred around the world.  Israel has been attacked from the south and many people are no longer living there while the war in Gaza continues.  Evacuations from the north are well known but not appreciated.  Kiryat Shemona, where I have visited numerous times, now has only 8 houses left standing because of the bombing.  Iran has said any offensive by Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon will result in a full war with Iran.  And yet the United States continues to kowtow to Iran and its role as the number one sponsor of state terror in the world.  Israel is literally being squeezed from three sides (the third is the Mediterranean Sea).  How much longer before the terrorists get an uprising in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria to squeeze Israel on all four sides while the United States plays games with Iran and our upcoming election?  This chalkboard image describes a scary future.

My great-grandfather told us that once, we could go traveling in Syria.

My grandma told that once, we used to be able to travel in Lebanon.

Mom tells me that once we could travel in the Galilee.

And yet, as Jews in the diaspora we continue to fight with each other.  We continue to ignore the existential threat to ourselves and work to defend those who openly declare their hatred and desire to murder us.  The Jewish apologists in the diaspora, specifically in America make me physically ill. Their efforts not only undermine Israel, they put every Jew in America at risk. They encourage the hatred of Jews by legitimizing it. The encourage attacks on Jews by legitimizing it.

Former Staff member of the US Department of the Interior, Lily Greenberg Call, was quoted as saying,

Instead of fighting for peace and the end of Hamas, true evil, her ‘Jewish values’ requires her to sacrifice the lives of Jews.  Instead of being a Queen Esther, a Hannah Senesh, a Golda Meir, she gives up the ability to save Jewish lives.  This is the same thinking in Spain prior to 1492 and in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.  It is what led to the destruction of the 2nd Temple by the Romans in 70 and our 2,000-year exile.  We refuse to learn.  We refuse to stand up for ourselves and fight back.  Thankfully we have Israel now who fights back.  Israel inspires many of us in the diaspora to also fight back and not put our heads in the sand. Lily Greenberg Call represents a generation that would have Jews eliminated because of their sense of fairness. They, like generations before them, believe that if they stand with those who hate Jews, they will treated as if they aren’t Jews. That never works out. History has shown us that a Jew is a Jew is a Jew.

Somebody I follow on Twitter posted this.

I would add to the bottom, “Don’t defend their actions.” the Lily Greenberg Calls of the world excuse this behavior and blame the victim. The wouldn’t do this for any other group, just for Jews. It is amazing how quickly the world has forgotten the horrors of October 7th. Of the videos made by Hamas of what they were doing that day. I’ll never forget the joy in the voice of the Hamas man who was telling his parents that he personally murdered 10 ‘Yehuds’ (Jews). The joy in his father’s voice. How proud his mother was of him. I’ll never forget watching a terrorist behead a Jewish man on October 7th. Of the father jumping on a grenade to save his children who, traumatized, are taken to their kitchen by the terrorist while he gets a drink. The pain in their voices will never leave my mind. I’ll never forget walking through Kibbutz Kfar Aza and seeing the destruction from not just Hamas, but the second and third wave of Gazan civilians who came in and did more damage, robbed and mutilated Jewish bodies. These were people who the day before had sat together, talking peace, sharing a meal, hoping for a better future. A day later, these Gazans had no problem mutilating them. My friend from the trip, Mikey, posted this on Instagram that captures the feeling of being in Kfar Aza better than I have.


I haven’t given up on the many Palestinian people I have met who do want peace. Who want to live next door to Israel. Unfortunately I am giving up on the world who would rather support terrorists that want them dead than those who want peace. Iran and their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah have been clear that they want a Caliphate. They want the world to be their type of muslim and sharia law to be the law of the world. No more England, France, or Spain. No United States, Canada, or Mexico. No China or Russia. Everywhere must follow their version of Islam and live under sharia law. It won’t take too much longer for the first of these countries to experience this impact. Some are struggling with it again. It continues to be a self-inflicted wound.

I can only hope that our American leaders wake up to the threat. That they decide it is more important to lead than it is to plan for the next election. That being a leader means you do what is needed for the benefit of the country, not what is needed for you to be re-elected. That the threat of Iran, almost a nuclear Iran, is so great that action must be taken. That the corruption of the UN, UNRWA, and the Palestinian Authority is so great than none deserve to survive. That the Abraham Accords, bringing never before seen peace in the region, are a good things and worth investing in. Saudia Arabia and Indonesia were ready to normalize relations with Israel prior to October 7th. The world was changing.

Today we have UNRWA turning their schools in Gaza into military institutions. Tunnels with openings inside or next to the schools. Weapons stored and fired from the schools. These are UNRWA schools, funded by the UN and by the world.

We have Hamas using homes as militiary bases and the world cries when these homes/bases are destroyed. The picture below was from a child’s bedroom in Gaza.

The world wants to be social justice warriors and ignore the realities. I am fearful for the future of not just the United States but the world as a whole. What happens when Europe falls? When mass casualty events are occuring in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and around the world? Are we really that far away from the post-apocalyptic world of the Mad Max movies? I’ve been watching the new TV show Fallout on Prime with my kids. Is that our near future?

I am also amazed at the power of the protesters who know nothing. They attend Ivy League universities. The attend top academic institutions and yet show their indoctrination and lack of knowledge every time they open their mouths. We all saw the Columbia woman who wanted food delivered to their illegally occupied building at Columbia. We have seen many interviews of people who don’t know what river it is nor do they know what sea it is. This woman might be the worst of them all, self proclaiming she spent a semester in Israel/Palestine yet not knowing anything when asked. She even thinks Israel is a muslim country!

I returned from Israel two weeks ago. I go back to Israel in four weeks. Just as I wasn’t sure what Israel I was going to in May, I’m not sure what Israel I will be returning to in July. Will the hostages, or at least some of them, be freed? Will there be a ceasefire? Will Hamas leadership still be in place? Will there be a full war in the north? Can we go further north than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem? What will my second visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the Nova site feel like? How will the world have changed in just the 6 weeks between visits?

Since my return from Israel, I have dug deeper into what is going on and it makes me sick the more I dig. The systemic hate. The lies that are told. Some of our ‘leaders’ who are filled with hatred and misinformation. I am usually a very optimistic person. I usually can find the good in any situation. I’m known for finding a pathway through challenges to a better place. As I sit here today, I am at a loss. As a world traveler, there are few places other than Israel that I would visit today. As an American, I don’t want to visit many of our states. Part of me thinks the only solution is what some of my Israeli friends have told me – to make Aliyah, to move to Israel where I will be safe. Yet I also know that running from the fight for security isn’t the answer either. The fight is here. There is no escaping it. Leaving it to people like the woman in the video who knows nothing isn’t acceptable. Abandoning people like Mikey who are fighting the fight here isn’t acceptable. Leaving it to apologists like Lily Greenberg Call is doing self harm and not acceptable. So I will stay and fight. I will urge you to join me. The future of the Jewish people is at stake. The future of the United States is at stake. The future of the world is at stake. Don’t sit by idly. Don’t stay uninformed or be quiet because you are afraid of the consequences of speaking out. I promise you, the price of your silences is far worse than the price of using your voice.

The words of Elie Weisel are more important now than ever.

We are the ones suffering and being humiliated. The people of Gaza are suffering and being humiliated because of Hamas, Iran, and those who would sacrifice them on the idol of Jew hatred. We cannot be silent. We cannot be neutral. We are the tormented. And we refuse to the victim once again.

Evil will win if Good doesn’t actively fight

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As a Jew in the United States of America, I have been struggling since October 7th.  It is difficult to put into words and explain but I am going to try to do so in many ways and hopefully one of them will be clear enough to understand.

I grew up with my Great-Grandma Rose, my grandparents and my parents teaching me the value of helping others.  Whether it was through Tzedakah (charity), Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), doing acts of random kindness, holding the door for others, or something similar, it was a core part of our identity and what we did.  As kids, we were taught to make the world a better place when we could and as a result, the world would end up being better.  If we were there to help others and were good people, others would be there for us and we would find good people.  We were taught that part of how the Holocaust happened was because people didn’t speak up, people weren’t allies, and our job was to change that.  To speak up, to build relationships and allies, to ensure that NEVER AGAIN would really mean NEVER AGAIN.  I believed that implicitly for a very long time.

I have spoken out publicly for more than a decade about the rise of hate in general and the rise in antisemitism.  I have publicly condemned all hate against any and every community.  Hate against the LGBTQ+ and the Trans community is not acceptable and must be decried.  Hate against the African American community is not acceptable and must be decried. Hate against the Muslim community, the Asian community, the Sikh community, the Hindu, the Christian – it doesn’t matter what community, hate only breeds more hate and being silent because it’s not against your group merely ensures that your group will end up being targeted. It is why I was one of the first to sign the Central Florida Pledge, a call to action for residents of Central Florida to create a safe and inclusive community for all. The pledge asks residents to commit to treating all people with kindness and respect, especially those with whom they disagree. 

Unfortunately, for the past few years, I have been amending that statement because of the realities of the world.  When talking with my kids, I have reminded them that ‘hate isn’t ok against any group, except the Jews’ because the rise in antisemitism was being excused and other groups chose not to speak up, not to speak out, not to stand up and be counted against hate when it was against the Jewish community.  I wanted my children to remember not only their responsibilities to stand up to hate but also set proper expectations that when the hate was directed at them, they may not have the support they expected.  I hated doing this but I wanted them to be prepared for reality.

The book, “Jews Don’t Count” called this out well before October 7, 2023 happened

The October 7th happened.  The horror was unspeakable.  I sat, staring at the TV, following news from Israel, flipping channels, reading updates of Israeli newspapers, sending whatsapp messages to friends in Israel, scanning the names of those confirmed murdered and those kidnapped and taken hostage for the names of friends and family.  As I spoke to my friend Maor, the Consul General for Israel in Miami, he told me to turn it off as it was too much for the soul of anybody to keep watching.  I tried but couldn’t do it. 

I started focusing on Twitter/X and getting angry at what was being posted and arguing back.  It only made me more angry and more frustrated at the lack of information, the strong hatred, and the absolute joy people were taking in the murder and kidnapping of Jews.  I started blocking people and trying to looking only at sports related posts which used to aggravate me but now seem inconsequential. 

Celebrities started advocating for Hamas and the terrorists and against the Jews.  Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, and John Cusack became new objects of disgust and the short list of celebrities who I no longer would watch or listen to their movies/music continued to grow.  Certain members of the US Congress actively spreading hate against Jews made me shake my head and beyond being angry, got me scared about what could be ahead.  The similarities to the 1930s in German were too real.  While many have been saying this about the far right for a number of years, I was now watching it happen in real time from the far left.  I began to question being safe living in the United States as a Jew.  I began to think where I would move if I had to and when that might be.  I began to think of who would hide my family and me if it was too late to leave and I needed to hide.  When I identified who that would be, I actually asked them if they would hide my family and me if/when the time came that we needed to hide. 

Mark Ruffalo apologizing for his Jew hatred before continuing to hate Jews publicly. Celebrities like him only apologize when called out and then go back to their Jew hating ways. 

Susan Sarandon clearly not know what River and what Sea they are talking about as she advocates for the destruction of Israel. Her later apology was insincere.

John Cusack was an active antisemite on social media before being called out here. Embarrassed, he defended and apologized for his stance but continues to hate Jews and continues to say things incredibly hateful, hurtful, and antisemitic.

When I visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam in 1989, I imagined what it would be like to have lived there, in hiding, fearing for your life from the leaders of your country.  In late 2023 it was no longer theoretical as I began to think what it would be like living in hiding in the United States and where I would be living.  Would I be freezing in the winter?  Would I be hot in the summer?  Would I be able to live inside?  Would it be living outside? 

I came across this thought about Anne Frank today and it struck home.  For many, the line in her diary, “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good heart.” Is inspirational.  I admit until recently it was inspiring to me.  Today I read it very differently.  There was a time that I shared her hope and optimism about people really being good at heart.  I might have even written something like that in the past decade.  Today I wonder.

Today I wonder how she felt when they loaded her on the cattle car.  Did she still have hope and belief in the goodness of people?  Had she no longer questioned it and only saw evil?  What about when they shaved her head and tattooed a number on her arm?  Was that when she no longer saw good in people?  Was it when she was starved and got sick that he lost her belief in the goodness of people?  Was it when she got typhus and began to die that she lost her belief in people being inherently good?  Was it when she finally realized that she was going to die in that concentration camp, alone, bald, starving, sick, dehumanized, that she finally came to grips with people perhaps being inherently evil instead of good?

It is frightening how easy it is to envison ourselves in this picture instead of them

The piece I read was clear that the Diary of Anne Frank is not meant to be inspirational but rather a story of horror.  It’s meant to show us the evil in people extinguishing the light in people.  It’s meant to show us that without our ACTIVE intervention, evil wins over good.  We have been reading it wrong all these years.  It’s a warning to us from a beautiful and innocent 13-year-old girl filled with hope and belief who, step by step, loses it all until she dies a horrible death.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a warning, not an inspiration. We’ve gotten it wrong for decades.

I hear that warning loud and clear.  We have many people who are good and who are fighting against evil.  Yet we have far more that are showing their inherent evil and hatred.  UNRWA and the UN and the Red Cross have been shown to be evil organizations, despite their stated goals of good.  The Red Cross still hasn’t visited the hostages, still has refused to ensure they get their needed medication.  It’s now 120 days.  UNRWA had at least a dozen employees ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in the atrocities of October 7th who were not fired until last week.   There are at least 10% of all UNRWA employees who are part of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, terror organizations.  Estimates are that at least 1,300 of the 12,000 UNRWA employees are part of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.  The UN’s mission, “maintaining peace, advancing human rights and promoting justice, equality and development.” applies everywhere except the only Jewish state in the world, who they constantly target and refuse to defend.  As countries begin to pause funding to UNRWA, there are now cries about the impact on the people of Gaza.  Yet there is plenty of documentation that UNRWA ensures Hamas gets the aid before the people.  That UNRWA aids Hamas and the people of Gaza need to riot and storm the supply areas to get the food, water, medicine and other supplies provided to UNRWA to dispense to those in need.  The people need help, not Hamas.  And UNRWA is effectively Hamas.  Will we ever learn?

Statement by US Representative Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on UNRWA

Today is February 3rd.  Tomorrow my mother-in-law turns 80 and my oldest child turns 24.  At the end of the month my father would have been 80.  Would my father even recognize the world he left in September 2022?  Would he be telling me how it looks just like his parents told him the 1930s looked?  Will my oldest live to 80 as a Jew in America?  Will he be able to live in America his entire life as a Jew? 

During Covid in October 2021, when Israel was still shut down to tourists, I had the opportunity to go on a special trip.  Instead of the normal 400 people, there were 80 of us.  The country was empty.  When we went to visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial, there were only two other people in the entire museum besides us.  It was a deeply moving experience and for the first time I identified with the middle-aged people in the pictures who were mostly murdered immediately at the death camps.  It was no longer me who was the freedom fighter.  I was no longer the leader in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.  I was no longer the person kept alive to work in the death camps trying to survive and help others survive.  Those were my children.  I was the either the one who betrayed my people by playing the role of ‘good Jew’, excusing what was happening in order to survive another day or sent directly to the gas chambers.  It was a shocking moment for me that I had to process with the group later on.

The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem. Will our pictures one day be there? Will our stories be told to future generations and if so, what will those stories be?

In February 2024, I know who I am.  While I am not the leader of the resistance, of the Warsaw ghetto, nor the active partisans fighting in the woods, I am also not going to excuse what’s going on for another day of survival nor am I going willingly to the gas chambers.  I will speak out, I will demand change, I will not allow the growing hate to continue to grow while I sit silent or excuse it.  I see others who choose to be quiet and fly under the radar.  I see others who find excuses for October 7th and the Jew hatred that has been shown day after day since then.  I get incredibly frustrated and angry as Jews excuse evil against our community that they would never excuse against anybody else. I will not be one of them.  I will not hide, nor will I be quiet.  While I fear another Shoah may be coming to Europe and America, I will not be someone who simply believes in the goodness of people and that good will win over evil.  Good only wins over evil with a lot of help.  We are facing evil like we haven’t seen in 80 years.  I’m in the army of good, fighting that evil, with whatever I have.  I will not let evil win because I believe in good.  I will fight for good to win over evil. I hope you join me.

It’s not just what side are you on. It’s are you actively fighting evil. If you don’t actively fight evil, it will win.

We choose in our hearts and our actions if we will actively support good or evil. Failing to support good is unconsciously supporting evil.

Good has the final say but only if you use it. We can’t be silent or we waste of final say.

Choose to actively feed the good. If you don’t feed good, it won’t win.

Evil will win if we don’t fight for good. Are you going to stand up and speak out for good or let evil win?

We must remain vigilant and continue the struggle for good or evil will take control

The evil of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi’s and the Iranian government are currently better organizaed, better trained, better armed, sneakier and gutsier than good. What are you going to do to change that or are you going to let evil win?

Gandalf is right. It’s the small, everyday deeds that we do that will defeat evil. We each have the power to change the world. Are you going to use the power you have for good?