I returned from Israel on Friday. It was a long return trip, waking up at 5 am IST (10 pm Thursday night ET) and leaving early in the morning from Haifa to get to Ben Gurion airport. The long flight to JFK was easy but was during the day so I didn’t sleep much. A 2 hour layover and I was on my flight home. I got to my house around midnight, 26 hours after I woke up in Haifa.
The long trip gave me a lot of time to think. Dealing with jetlag upon my return gave me more time to think. This was a different trip for me. I knew going into it that I needed to be in Israel for my soul. I wasn’t touring the ‘normal’ way and was going to spend a few days just being in Israel before a day of work in Jerusalem and then 3 days up north working. It was a day about my relationship with Israel and Israelis, not about the Jewish connection to Israel. I was in Jerusalem but not the old city. I didn’t visit the Dead Sea or Masada. I did spend time on the beach, hanging in restaurants with Israelis, visiting schools and youth programs, and being connected to ordinary people.
On the plane returning and in the past two days, I have found myself reflecting on the ordinary people of Israel. Israel is typically rated one of the happiest countries in the world. This despite living in a very tough neighborhood with genocidal terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah on their borders. Terrorists try to come in every day to murder Israeli people and Iran is an existential threat. This was before the horrors of October 7th. Yet in the 2025 survey of the world’s happiest countries, Israel ranked 5th. A country that was attacked and invaded in 2023 where over 1,200 people murdered in the attack. A country at war with so many of her citizens called back to serve in the reserves. A country being villified by the international community based on terrible lies, being called terrible things, all due to Jew hatred. A country that had the north evacuated due to daily rocket attacks and who spent time almost daily in bomb shelters. This is the country that was the 5th happiest in 2024?
This past week helped me really understand how a country facing all these challenges could be the world’s 5th happiest country (for comparison, the United States was 21st). In Israel, they focus on what they have rather than what they don’t have. They focus on gratitude not desire. It’s a country that realizes that gratitude is a far better way to live than envy.
It got me thinking about my life and the changes I have made in the past few years. My dad dying in September 2022 was a life changing event for me. Not just because I lost a parent and mentor. It was a realization that the end is closer than any of us want to acknowledge and the question is more about who we want to be and how we want to live than how much we can have.
So I have changed my life. I removed a great deal of stress. for decades, my job was filled with stress. I’m just as busy and working just as hard but now it is without the stress that I used to have. I make sure that I am rested and not burning the candle at both ends. I make sure to eat and eat healthy. No more skipping lunch because I’m too busy. I eat healthy now – whole foods rather than something quick. Today I had the time to make a fresh salad for lunch, cutting up lettuce, tomatoes and other veggies rather than grabbing something quick to stuff down my throat because I had no time between meetings.
On this Israel trip, I got to meet people who were doing the same thing. People who lived by their values so they moved their family to the north to repopulate that area after the war. While many people won’t move back, there are many who realize how important it is to live there and are choosing to do so. The high school student who had the opportunity to decide whether he wanted to take the exams for his bagrut (high school diploma) and decided not to take them. As he shared that with us, I could feel his trepidation as he was waiting for criticism. Criticism that he didn’t get. The early childhood teacher who loved his job and the children he interacted with. The little tricks he did for them and the joy in their faces as he did them. The care in his voice as he talked to them and way they were truly little people, not just kids.
I talked with people who are more concerned about the mental health of IDF combat soldiers than their personal income. They are volunteering tremendous amounts of time to do their part in providing for the mental health care needed for these soldiers. Each time an IDF combat soldier commits suicide, a little piece of them dies, so they work to reduce that number to zero. They invest their time, their money, and their heart and soul.
I went to visit Hapoel Jerusalem Football Club (HJFC), a team that is much more than a professional team in the Premier League for men and women’s soccer. Their social programs are changing the face of Jerusalem and the future of Israel. Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z’l) was one of the leaders of their fan club. I wear my Hapoel Jerusalem FC shirt with his face on it proudly. It speaks to people living by their values, choosing to make the world a better place which means they are happier in their daily lives. Read the post below which describes somebody’s experience with the girls program of HJFC. It’s extraordinary.
I used to believe that I could never make Aliyah (move to Israel) because I want to live like an American in Israel and to do so is extremely expensive. There is a saying about life in Israel that explains this well.
People don’t move to Israel to become financially rich. They move to Israel to be spiritually rich. To be emotionally fulfilled. To have meaning in their life. You don’t have to move to Israel to have those things. We can choose them in our daily lives. Yet in America, we rarely do. We place money ahead of our values. Our answer to the saying, “You can either be happy or right” is often to be right. The lesson I was reminded of on this trip is that we don’t have to make those choices. We can learn to focus on what matters. Being happy. Enjoying life.
When I came back from Israel, my oldest son was home for the weekend. It was great having him home for the weekend, even though we didn’t do anything. Just having him around was nice. My best friend’s son is getting married next weekend and I’ll be there to celebrate. A few days later, my younger son is taking the LSAT and has to go to Ft Myers to take it (that’s an entirely different story). So we’ll drive down to Ft Myers, stay in a hotel, he’ll take the LSAT and then we’ll drive home. 8 hours in the car together along with a night at the hotel together. Priceless. That’s the key to being happy – enjoying every minute and the opportunities they present.
I think of my dog, a now 10 month old chocolate lab. She gets excited to see me every morning, not because I’m going to take her outside and give her breakfast. Not because she’ll get treats and do a puzzle. She gets excited because we are together. When my wife comes downstairs and comes home from work, my puppy is filled with anticipation and realizes she is the luckiest dog in the world because she’s with her people, with her pack. That’s how I want to be.
Israel taught me that. Despite two years of war, they cherish every moment. Despite a year of rockets falling on them and rushing to their safe room day after day after day, they found ways to appreciate things. As I sat on the beach in Tel Aviv, breathing the fresh air, listening to the waves and people all around me, I realized just how lucky I am. It’s not about the things I have or don’t have. It’s not about the size of my house or my bank account. It’s about the people in my life. Recognizing the beauty in the world around me. The gifts of life.
I have been to Israel 24 times. Trip 25 is scheduled. What a gift. What a blessing. As I look at that image, my heartbeat slows, any stress disappears, I relax and realize just how lucky I am. And when we realize how lucky we are instead of thinking about all we don’t have, the world is a much better place.
The day we have been waiting for arrived. More than a decade after warnings about the need to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon began, Israel was finally forced to take action to ensure that this would not happen. The world has had many, many opportunities to avoid this action yet continued to believe in old, failed policies when it comes to the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.
As Iran was reported to be days away from having enough refined nuclear material to make 12-15 nuclear bombs and the 60 day deadline given to Iran from President Trump passed, Israel could no longer wait. In a daring attack, planned for the past 20 years, Israel did truly amazing things. The Mossad secretly built capabilities inside Iran aimed at damaging Iran’s strategic missile array and air defense systems. Mossad agents smuggled large quantities of specialized weaponry into Iran, deployed them across the country, and launched them at targets with precision and effectiveness. What Israel has publicly disclosed includes:
1. Commando Units: Mossad commando teams deployed precision-guided weapon systems in open areas near Iranian surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites to disrupt Iranian attempts to down Israeli aircraft.
2. Vehicle-Based Technology: Sophisticated technologies were installed on vehicles. At the start of the surprise attack, the weapons were launched and completely destroyed targeted Iranian defense systems.
3. Drone Base: Mossad established an explosive drone base inside Iran, which launched attacks on surface-to-surface missile launchers at the Aspehbad base near Tehran—launchers considered a strategic and civilian threat to Israel.
The NY Post posted this incredible graphic, outlining what the situation is like.
The Iranian military leadership has been decimated with more than 20 of their key military leaders assassinated in the inital attack with additional military leaders eliminated in the next two days. They are in shambles and what is left are sending drones and firing ballistic missiles at Israel.
Key nuclear scientists who were building the nuclear weapons for Iran were also eliminated. This included top nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a former member of the Iranian parliament who had conducted nuclear research at the defense ministry and Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi, a theoretical physicist, the president of the Islamic Azad University of Iran, and somebody who was on the US Department’s Entity List of actors “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests.” Four other top scientists developing Iranian nuclear weapons were killed. Two Iranian nuclear sites have been decimated. Iran’s efforts to gain a nuclear weapon have been set back years, if not longer.
The Iranian nuclear scientists eliminated, keeping the world safer.
Iran has responded by firing more than 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. Most have been shot down but there have been strikes that landed, killing civilians. Imagine this happening to us in the United States. Ballistic missiles coming at New York, Chicago, LA, Miami and Washington DC. This is what Israel is facing.
Rockets intercepted over Tel Aviv – imagine this image over NY, Chicago, LA, or Miami.Explosion in Tel Aviv after a rocket fell in the middle of the city. Imagine it was Times Square, South Beach, Michigan Ave in Chicago, or Beverly Hills
I have many friends and family in Israel. As I talk with them regularly, some are in their ‘safe room’ that has become the family bedroom. Some have been traveling and are now stranded in the United States, Europe, or other locations. They are all worried. We are all worried. One of the leaders at Dror Israel, a client of mine doing amazing work with children and families in Israel, wrote to us, sharing what they are going through. It’s a harrowing description. It broke my heart. It also reminded me what Iran must be defeated, why we must always fight to eliminate evil. I’ve watched her endure a year of daily rockets being fired from Hezbollah towards the north of Israel. I’ve seen the stress, worry, and concern every day. It must stop. The only way it will stop, is to defeat the Iranian regime and return Iran to its people. With her permission, I have posted her note below.
Dear friends, I’ve never wrote you an email on Shabbat morning. But this Shabbat feels nothing like Shabbat… Over the past two days, Israel has entered a state of war with Iran. The situation is still unclear and unpredictable, and we don’t yet know how long this reality will last. I wanted to share a personal update with you. On Thursday, June 12, my sisters and I flew to Athens for a weekend with our parents, who are spending three months in Greece. We were excited—this was our first trip together as a nuclear family in 30 years, just the five of us, without partners or children. At 3:00 a.m. on Friday, we were awakened by alerts from the Israeli Home Front Command on our phones—because even abroad, Israelis remain deeply connected to what’s happening back home. Slowly, we began to grasp the severity of the situation. Since then, all flights to and from Israel have been canceled, the airport is closed, and we have no idea when we’ll be able to return. For those of you who know my partner and our son: they are safe. At 4:00 a.m. on Friday, they drove to Kiryat Motzkin because being alone at home was too frightening. Both of them have been experiencing post-trauma following the recent escalation in the north, and she was especially anxious to be alone during such a tense time. They are now staying with her parents and will remain there for the time being. Meanwhile, at 8:30 p.m. on Friday evening, my parents’ building in Tel Aviv was hit directly by an Iranian missile. The damage is extensive. We feel incredibly lucky that my parents weren’t there. On most Friday nights at that hour, our entire extended family gathers in their home. We can’t begin to imagine what might have happened. The building was fully evacuated to hotels, and residents cannot return—not even to assess the extent of the destruction. In times like these, I’m proud to be part of Dror Israel. Over the past two weeks, and even more so in the last six months, we’ve worked hard to prepare our communities for moments like these. Many teenagers, members of our youth movement are now running programs in their local bomb shelters, arriving with emergency activity kits, and helping to calm and support children and neighbors around them. Thanks to major efforts in recent months, Arab communities across the country are now much better prepared—signs were printed, videos were distributed, and people are more aware and equipped to protect themselves, more educated about the recomandations of the home front commend. In the coming days, Dror Israel will reassess the situation and continue doing everything possible to support, calm, and educate our communities. I hope we’ll be able to return home soon. It is incredibly difficult to be far away at a time like this. Outside, everything looks like paradise—blue seas, white beaches. But inside, it’s worry, helplessness, and fear. I feel deeply grateful for the messages of concern I’ve received from friends, supporters, and partners throughout the U.S. and the U.K. Your care means more than you can imagine. Praying for quieter days
Dror Israel Educator
Video of a rocket fired by Iran, hitting a private home. Imagine this was your house, in your neighborhood. Two 70+ year old civilians were murdered by this rocket.
What has amazed me is not the brilliance of Israel’s attack on Iran. It’s not the resilience of the Israeli people who are enduring the indiscriminant ballistic missile attacks. It isn’t the success of the attack and the potential for regime change, making the world safe. What amazes me is the people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who are defending IRAN! The people who argue publicly that the attack was unprovoked, even after Iran has had two prior attacks of Israel with ballistic missiles. Even after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) formally found Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations. Evan after Israel presented proof to the United States and many other countries of the enrichment capabilities and how close they were to obtaining nuclear weapons, so convincing that none who have seen it have done anything but support Israel.
The worst of those Jews who so hate Netanyahu and are so out of touch with reality that they would rather defend Iran, a regime dedicated to their destruction, than acknowledge how Israel has just made the world incredibly safer at her own peril. They would rather defend a regime that is committed to their murder than give Israel credit for doing what had to be done. I find myself lost and truly understanding the sin of Sinat Hinam (baseless hatred).
I was sent a powerful video clip of an Iranian Jew this week, not only reminding me that while ‘it starts with the Jews but never ends with the Jews’, but also reminding me of how the Iranian regime came to power. It was the radical Islamists partnering with college students who, in 1979, overthrew the Shah and installed this theocratic government that has continued to abuse and terrorize the Iranian people. As I listened, I thought about what we have seen on college campuses and the influence of radicals who drive their agenda and create chaos. Listen, think, and learn.
If we don’t stand up against the hatred of the Jews, the hate will spread and consume many other groups.
We live in challenging times. I spent this weekend in Central Illinois, hanging out with a group of friends. It’s an annual gathering. We spent time talking not only about Israel, Iran, October 7th and the war in Gaza but also about where we are as a country. After talking about how broken our system is and how both political parties are controlled by the extremes, one of my friends said, “I almost feel like I have to choose a side, even if I hate them both.” I challenged him that there is a third option. We can demand better. We can push and fight and argue for normalcy. For kindness. To allow people to live their lives especially when it doesn’t impact us in any way shape or form. Love who you love. Use the pronouns that you want to use. Give me grace if I make a mistake. I reached out to a friend of Iranian descent who still has family in Iran to check on her and her family. Because that’s what friends do. I had an online debate with a friend where we very much much disagreed. I made sure to tell them that despite our different views, I still loved them.
These are challenging times. There are many people struggling. Many people living in fear. It’s a dangerous time. From the story of my friend that I shared to those who have lost loved ones in the attacks by Iran, from those stranded both inside and outside Israel who can’t get home to those scared to leave their homes for fear of what might happen to them, and for the hostages in Gaza, who we must always remember until they are back home, the world is not a nice place right now. The least we can do is be kind. That kindness makes a difference. As we wait to see what happens in the war between Israel and Iran, remember that while we cannot control that, we can control if we choose to be kind.
I use a lot of sources to keep up to date on the news. Unlike the days of Walter Cronkite on CBS news, there is no single trusted source in today’s media. One of the people that I read is Danny Gordis. His “Israel from the Inside” substack posts are filled with a great deal of facts, stories, opinions, and thoughtful pieces. Today’s post was extremely powerful and hit me deeply, bringing tears to my eyes. Having been to Israel 3 times last year (May, July, and September), and working with many different organizations in Israel with daily contact with Israeli’s, it hit home. It’s what I have seen, heard and felt. While on a zoom with one of my partners last week, she let us know that she may have to leave in a few minutes because she got the “10 minute alert” that the Houthi’s had fired a ballistic missile at Israel. Sure enough, a few minutes later she said, “I have to go” and off she went to her safe room. The rest of us stayed and talked until she returned a few minutes later.
I urge you to read this story from Danny Gordis’s “Israel from the Inside”. It is an English translation of a Facebook Post (in Hebrew)from yesterday. And if you subscribe (paid or free), you won’t regret it.
I died on the 120th day of the war, but I didn’t tell anyone
I was killed on the 120th day of the war, but I didn’t tell anyone. The battles were raging and I didn’t want to hurt the guys’ morale. At the end of the month, I got leave.
My wife Talia picked me up from the train and hugged me tight, as if she were drowning in a frozen sea and I was a wooden door. So of course I didn’t tell her I was dead; everything had already fallen on her shoulders these past months. The moment I entered the apartment, Romi, my four-year-old daughter, came running from the neighbors, jumped on me and refused to let go—so I didn’t tell her either that Daddy was dead. Why break her heart?
After Romi fell asleep, Talia waited for me in bed with white wine. “I missed you,” she wrapped her warm thighs around my cold body. We made love. Not because I wanted to (the dead don’t need sex), but just to make her happy. It didn’t work; she stayed distant (or was it me?), and when she asked what I’d been through—I stayed silent (no reason to bring horrors into bed).
A few days later I went back to the battlefield, and two weeks after that I saved five soldiers from death. “You’ve got balls of steel!” the battalion commander slapped my back. I wanted to say I was dead, so I hadn’t really risked anything, but since my actions had revived the unit’s spirit, which still hadn’t recovered from the death of Gilad the platoon commander, I replied, “Thank you, sir.”
At some point I was sent home, back to “normal life,” but between me and it stood a transparent, impassable border, behind which I watched them like a fish in an aquarium. And the world that once excited me—turned faded; work at the computer store no longer interested me, nor did poker games with friends, and at home, with Talia and Romi, I felt like an invading germ.
Until… One Saturday, Romi fell in the living room. “Daddyyyy!” she cried and I froze, hypnotized by the sight of blood trickling down her forehead, the clear tears dripping from her eyes, the yellowish urine that escaped her, and I thought about how many shades of fluid are in the human body, and remembered Sergei and the bullet he took to the head. That night, after we got back from the ER, Talia said I had to get help, that she couldn’t reach me, that she was out of strength. But all I heard was blah-blah from someone who doesn’t understand how the world works and how bloody and stinking and monstrous it is. Better she doesn’t know. Let her put on an avocado mask and go to sleep.
But she kept nagging, so I went to the living room and stared at the sidewalk, seven floors down, and wanted to jump, because I felt like a foreign body that life had rejected. The window wouldn’t open. Turns out the frame was bent by a rocket that fell nearby. So I gave up and went to bed.
The next day, Assi, who’d been with me in high school and in the unit, came into the store. Since it was already noon, we went to the hummus place, gossiping about Victor who learned to jump with his new leg, about Barry who got a better hand than the one he lost, and about Udi who finally proposed. At some point, there was silence and I asked if Talia had asked him to come talk to me. Assi nodded, because there’s no bullshit between us.
“So why is she worried?” he asked. “It’s hard for her to accept that I’m dead,” I answered honestly, because I no longer had the strength to hide it. Assi wasn’t fazed and speared a pickle from the plate. “Remember when you died?” “The day Sergei was shot.” “Mmm… half a year.” He bit into the pickle. “And what’s the hardest part about being dead?” “That I don’t feel anything.” “Really?” He looked at me, picked up a fork and stabbed my hand. “Ow!” I jumped, “Are you nuts?!” “Turns out there are some things you do feel,” he grinned, like a kid who just egged the principal. I glared at him. Really? Seriously?! That’s your reaction to my death?! Seven years of psychology studies for this?! I got so angry I threw an olive at his eye. “You son of a—” he flung pita at me. So I threw a shish kebab at him. A wave of stupid laughter took over and we kept pelting each other with fries and falafel until the owner lost it and kicked us out.
“What if…” Assi wondered as we walked back to the store, “it’s not that you don’t feel, but that… you’re afraid to feel?” “Afraid to feel what?” I asked, and immediately thought of Ortal, Sergei’s wife, who after years of fertility treatments finally got pregnant, and how he came back from leave beaming and showed us the ultrasound of the boy. “Check out this mega-penis! Just like his dad!!!”
48 hours later, he took a sniper’s bullet. A bullet that wasn’t even meant for him. I was supposed to go to the window, but I was breaking a record on a dusty Game Boy I’d found, so I asked him to go instead and… I started to cry, because he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t.
“Now I know you’re alive,” Assi said, “Know why?” “Why?” “Because dead men don’t cry.”
He put a comforting hand on me and suddenly there was wild gunfire, fighter jets tearing through the sky, which stank of smoke, of decay, someone cried “Yama! Yama!!” Or maybe it was “Mama! Mama!!” And my hands searched for a weapon, but I was in civilian clothes, in the middle of Bialik Boulevard—
“I’m losing my mind,” I told Assi. “You’re not, bro! You’re feeling, don’t run from it, don’t run!” And he hugged me tight and didn’t let me fall.
That evening I went to Talia, who was folding clothes, and said I wanted, like before, to read Romi a bedtime story. “Not sure that’s a good idea,” she refused to look at me. So I pinched her butt, like we used to do to annoy each other when we were dating. It surprised her, even confused her.
“Assi came to visit me at the store,” I said. “And…” she glanced at me. “He stabbed me with a fork.” “Too bad it wasn’t a pitchfork,” she looked at me for a few seconds and must have seen something that changed her mind, because she picked up a book from the couch and handed it to me.
I read Romi a story about a turtle who wanted to be a butterfly, and the night lamp painted colorful animals on the walls. She fell asleep before the end, where the turtle, drawn in black and white the whole book, suddenly glowed with colors. And even though it was a predictable and silly ending, I teared up, and stroked her tiny, sweet fingers, moving with the rhythm of her dreams, and I couldn’t understand how in the same world horror and love could live side by side.
And I thought of Sergei, of his wife, of the baby in her belly, of corpses and kisses, screams and butterflies, and everything inside me stormed and raged and cried… and I didn’t run from it… I didn’t run. I didn’t run.
I know far too many people like this brave man. Far too many Israeli friends that have been through hell and back since October 7th. Rami Davidian, the farmer who saved 750 people from the Nova Festival on October 7th – the look in his eyes as he told us how he untied dead women from the trees he was looking at, their bodies abused, to give them dignity, is something I will never forget.
I have heard stories from my friend Yaron about October 7th, the first four months of the war in Gaza, and the most recent hostage release during the last ceasefire, that I will never forget. There are more that he cannot share. My friend Tal goes back into reserves in what seems like every other week. I’ve been to army bases, had barbecues with IDF soldiers and families from Kibbutz Alumim. Hearing the members of Kibbutz Alumim who fought the terrorists on October 7th is something I will never forget. As one member pointed out the 3 places he was shot that day, the places where bullets still remain in his body, I often wonder how, or if, they will ever recover.
Then I think about the work Dror Israel is doing with children and families in Israel. I think about Hapoel Jerusalem Football Club and the work they are doing with Trauma Soccer and their neighborhood leagues which get Jewish and Arab children in Jerusalem to play and learn together. I think about Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z’l), one of the leaders of their fan club and how much a future of peace and healing mattered to him. I think about Israel Volunteer Corp-Sword of Iron, mobilizing a community of over 44,000 people who want to volunteer in Israel to help rebuild both the physical and emotional state of the country. I think about what I do and what else I could do, to make a difference.
The Jewish people and the citizens of Israel have a long road ahead of us – first to win this war against evil and get the hostages back, and secondly to recover from what we have seen and what we face on a daily basis. It won’t be easy but we can do it together.
My question to you is what will you do? Will you be like Talia and Assi and do the difficult thing to help? Will you stand by while the author of that piece and so many others suffer in silence? Will you shake your head in sadness at the murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left a Jewish communal event or at the firebombing in Boulder during a peaceful march to have the hostages in Gaza returned or will you take action and do your part.
History is waiting to be written – the question is what will your role be. I hope that the writer of the piece in Danny Gordis’ “Israel from the Inside” inspires you to take action. I know it inspired me to do more.
Yesterday and today I am consumed with the Bibas family. Shiri Bibas and her children, Ariel and Kfir. Hamas has reported them dead and that their bodies will be returned tomorrow, February 20th. I think of Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and Ariel and Kfir’s father. My heart is torn in two for him. He endured nearly 500 days of brutal captivity and torture only to be released into a different type of brutal captivity and torture.
Yet we cannot think that the Bibas family is the only situation where beautiful young Jewish children were murdered simply for being Jewish.
On Oct 7, savage barbarian Hamas animals shot & killed 9 month old Mila Cohen in Be’eri.
This isthe Siman Tov family, an Israeli-American family. Johnny and Tamar, along with their children Shahar (5), Arbel (5), and Omer (2), were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel. They were burned alive.
Hamas set fire to the family’s house in an attempt to force them out of their safe room and kill them, but they stayed inside. Johnny, the father, sent a final text to his sister: “They’re here. They’re burning us. We’re suffocating.”
Johnny’s mother, Carol, a 70-year-old woman, was also murdered by Hamas terrorists with her dog in her own home
The Siman Tov family. Johnny (z’l), Tamar (z’l), Omer (z’l), Shahar (z’l) and Arbel (z’l).
On that day, over a dozen other children under the age of 10 were brutally murdered among the 1,200 victims. Thirty eight (38) children were murdered on October 7th with 42 children abducted to the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Here are pictures of some of them so we never forget their faces. Note that they are not all Jewish but they all lived in Israel, killed by genocidal terrorists that the world and college campuses glorify.
Yet today it is the Bibas family that is in my soul. For 500 days I hoped and prayed that they were still alive and would be returned alive. I wanted to see Ariel and Kfir play and laugh and grow up. I wanted to see Shiri and Yarden raise their beautiful children and maybe even add to their family. It appears that will not happen as Hamas has reported that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir’s bodies will be returned to Israel on February 20th. This has not been confirmed by Israel.
This is a picture that should haunt us all forever. It shows the evil of Hamas. A panicked mother, holding her children close, fear exuding out of the image into each of us. What would she have done to save her children that day? What would any of us have done to save our children? Anything and everything that we could. She was powerless and so were we.
I read this powerful piece about this picture and Shiri Bibas and her family. My blood boils. My heart breaks. Imagine it was your children, your grandchildren, your siblings. Imagine it was your nieces and nephews. Babies. This is the face of evil. We cannot let the world close their eyes, bury their heads, and tell more lies. We have gone beyond the place of reason and directly into the fight against evil where there is only one acceptable outcome. Evil is eliminated.
Someone filmed this moment Someone stood there Looking at a mother holding her two babies Protecting them with her body, her heart, her soul. Someone stood there And saw And watched Someone and another someone and another someone and maybe even another mother And no one reached out and said “Come on mama, come on mama…” And all the light went out long ago And what if I were there in her place And what if I had to choose who to keep holding And of whom to let go Because there isn’t a single mother Who can contain her pain over her children And the look in her eyes – this is every mother’s greatest fear It’s a look that stares at the devil And starts a negotiation Take me Leave them Take me, leave one Do with me whatever you want Just have someone take them to a safe corner Only a mother can understand a look like that And I I wasn’t there either…..
Lisa Davidson Oren
When I look at the pictures of the beautiful Bibas children, tears come to my eyes. Sweet, innocent children. A toddler and an infant. Ripped from their home by terrorists. How scared must they have been? How much did Shiri and Yarden try to comfort them? I think back to when my boys were that age and tears come to my eyes, pain in my chest, rage filling my heart.
Rabbi Mendy Kaminker of Chabad of Hackensack wrote this powerful and beautiful poem. It struck me powerfully as I think of this beautiful child, kidnapped, tortured, and murdered simply because he was Jewish. This picture cuts deep in my heart. Evil took him and yet the world responds by encouraging evil to continue.
Oh, young redhead toddler You like a little angle With a smile from heaven But you are stuck in hell
If you were An endangered whale The world would have stopped at nothing To save you
Heads of countries Would have spent millions To bring you back home
But you are not a whale You are just a small Jewish toddler
We prayed for you Your brother, your mother And even now, we keep on praying
And whatever happens We will not forget your smile Because you are our brother
Oh dear Oh G-d Your people have suffered enough We beg you to bring Moshiach And end suffering forever
Far too many of our ‘leaders’ have remained silent or spoken up for the ‘innocent Gazans’ without speaking up for the innocent Israelis. They have been silent about the hostages, complaining about a response by Israel that was too much. How would they respond if the United States was invaded, our citizens mass murdered, kidnapped, taken hostage, and tortured. We saw the results of September 11th which was smaller in scope. A 20 year war. When the claims are that too many people are dying, let’s take a look at what happened after September 11th.
U.S. military personnel
Between 2001 and 2021, 2,459 U.S. military personnel died in Afghanistan
1,922 of those deaths were in action
18 CIA operatives were killed
20,769 U.S. service members were wounded in action
Civilians
The Costs of War Project estimates that 46,319 Afghan civilians died in the war
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that 212,191 people died in the war
Opposition fighters
The Costs of War Project estimates that at least 52,893 opposition fighters died in the war
Other casualties
1,822 civilian contractors died
Thousands of Afghans died
The war also resulted in injuries, illnesses, displacement, malnutrition, and environmental degradation
The war in Afghanistan began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The U.S. government spent $2.3 trillion on the war.
The Jew haters and antisemites try to make Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack, declaration of war, murder, kidnapping, and torture of her citizens as more than normal in war. They try to paint Israel and the Jews as overreacting and going beyond the scope of war. This is a bald faced lie. The numbers above prove it. Displacement is a part of losing a war. We have seen that throughout history. It’s part of what discourages countries from engaging in war. Otherwise there is no risk in losing a war so it would happen more frequently. The world is asking Israel to enable Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran to wage continuous war in an attempt to eliminate Israel and the Jews. That is unacceptable.
When our leaders do speak out, it is important to note it and thank them. Unfortunately they are rare. Representative Ritchie Torres has been one of them. His post below is clear, powerful, and on-target. I thanked him and encourage you to do the same.
Thank you @RitchieTorres for continuing to be a voice of compassion and clarity against evil. I only wish more of your members of the US House of Representatives would follow your leadership. https://t.co/l6Hab1RMg7
My friend Rabbi Leor Sinai reminded us of an important fact that the world fails to recognize. He wrote, “Shiri, Ariel & Kfir Bibas were taken by Gazan civilians, not Hamas. In fact the majority of 3,000+ invaders on Oct 7 were Gazan civilians. Let that sink in. It is a culture and society in disease. This Thursday is going to be hard. All of Israel will mourn.” The media and the world fail to acknowledge that much of what happened on October 7th were civilian driven. I’ll never forget hearing from a man at Kfar Aza who was there on October 7th. His front porch became the headquarters for Hamas leadership as he and his wife hid in their safe room. His description of watching a man come from Jabaliya on crutches, crossing the fields and the broken fencing, going into a home and coming out with a television strapped to his back as he used his crutches to return to Jabaliya, will always remind me that this was not just Hamas. This was civilians. On November 20, 2024, Prime Minister Netanyahu offered $5 million and safe passage out of Gaza to anyone returning a hostage. We know hostages were being held and are being held by private citizens. Three (3) months later, not a single person has taken him up on this offer. It’s not just the Hamas militants that are involved.
On the same day that Hamas announced that the Bibas children and Shiri Bibas were murdered, in the United States, in New York, in Borough Park, we had this violence. There is no condemning of this from the media. Even New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the weak statment of, “Last night we saw protesters in Boro Park targeting Jewish New Yorkers with hateful rhetoric and antisemitic chants. This is unacceptable. We are grateful to @NYPDnews for their diligent work keeping all New Yorkers safe.” Nothing about the violence. Only about ‘chants’.
The violence in Borough Park from an anti-Israel, Jew hating, ‘pro-Palestinian’ mob.
On November 7, 2023, just a month after the horror of October 7th, Senator John Fetterman not only put up the posters of every hostage on the walls of his office, he also posted this on X and pinned it to his account where it remains today. It’s sad that our allies are so few and inspiring when they are so public.
In my front office I have displayed the posters of the innocent Israelis kidnapped by Hamas.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) November 7, 2023
I am conflicted. With stage 1 about to conclude, with Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas likely confirmed dead tomorrow, with most of the remaining hostages likely dead, where do we go from here? I hope that Israel demands all the hostages back immediately for there to be a phase 2. I hope the US will back them up. I hope Hamas will agree. I don’t think they will agree. I’m not sure a phase 2 will happen otherwise. The slow process cannot continue. After 500 days it is enough. The hostages have suffered enough. The families of the hostages have suffered enough. The people of Israel have suffered enough. The families of IDS soldiers and those serving in milium (reserves) have suffered enough. The Jewish people have suffered enough. It’s time to put an end to this once and for all. Whatever it takes.
I am reminded of a few quotes from former Prime Ministers Golda Meir and Menachem Begin to ring true more than 40 years after they said them. Read and them and think. Read them and ponder. It’s clear to me what we have to do, no matter how much the world doesn’t want to let us because the world doesn’t want us to exist. I won’t apologize for wanting to live. I won’t apologize for fighting those who want me and all Jews dead. For those of you who do apologize, think of how your words of apology will look on your tombstone if you are lucky enough to have one and not be in a mass grave. That’s the harsh reality we face. The truth isn’t easy and neither is the path forward. But if we want a path forward, we must do whatever it takes to ensure there is one.
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Before October 7, 2023, I have been concened about hatred and antisemitism. I have spoken about it frequently for more than a decade. When the hate groups started their public attack on Jews in Orlando, I spoke about it on the news with regularity. October 7th was still shocking and I haven’t stopped since then. This week I have reached a breaking point.
What brought me to my breaking point this week? The reaction to Hezbollah bombing a Druze village where kids were playing soccer. The Druze are are an Arab and Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion. They are citizens of Israel and serve in the IDF. They love Israel and are a part of Israeli society and culture. When anybody calls Israel an apartheid state, the Druze are one perfect example of how that is a lie.
I have been to Druze villages, met Druze people, and had a meal together. They are wonderful and warm people. This bombing broke my heart. 12 children were murdered as of this time with 4 coming from one family.
Not in order – 10 of the 12 names of the murdered children. Fajr Laith Abus Saleh, 16, Amir Rabie Abu Saleh, 16, Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15, John Wadie Ibrahim, 13, Izel Neshat Ayoub, 12, Finis Adham Safadi, 11, Yazan Naif Abu Saleh, 12, Alma Ayman Fakhruddin, 11, Naji Taher Halabi, 11, Milad Muadad Al-Sha’ar, 10.
The bombing made me angry but the response to the bombing and murder of these children playing soccer is what took me past the breaking point. The BBC headline was offensive. The example below shows what they wrote and what they should have written.
Then there are tweets like this where Hezbollah terrorists are celebrating the murder of these children. We saw the celebration on October 7th as Hamas recorded themselves ecstatic over murdering Jews.
Hamas has vowed to do October 7th over and over again. Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy, will do the same. The Iranian regime wants the eliminate the Jews and Israel. If the celebrations on October 7th weren’t enough (and they were more than enough), the celebrations of the murder of these Druze children shows the world who we are dealing with.
Audio recording of a terrorist celebrating killing 10 Jews with his parents on October 7
Yet the response from the world is shocking. Instead of being angry and seeing the evil of these terrorists, the Biden administration is urging a ‘measured response’. Vice President Harris (and prospective Presidential nominee Harris) has not said anything publicly. The UN remains silent. Amnesty remains silent. UNICEF remains silent. These are children, citizens of Israel, that were massacred. Unlike Hamas, there are no military bases here. There were no attacks from this Druze village. This was purely an attack on civilians but Hezbollah using rockets provided by Iran.
Victims from the Hezbollah bombing of Druze children playing soccer. May their memories always be a blessing.
Speaking of Iran, reports have come out that not only has Iran threatened war should Israel retaliate but American leadership has been talking with Iran to ensure them that they won’t allow Israel to respond in whatever way Israel determines necessary. Iran, two weeks away from breakout for nuclear weapons due to the disasterous JCPOA. Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Iran, who wants to establish a caliphate and calls America ‘Great Satan’. Iran, who murders their own people.
I talk a lot about leadership and the lack of leadership that we face in today’s world. Our leaders are more interested in appeasement than leading. Their willingness to cave in and show weakness to avoid war has emboldened others to create war. Russia-Ukraine. Hamas-Israel. Hezbollah-Israel. China is threatening Taiwan. Iran, Russia, and China have joined forces to create a new axis of evil. Our leaders have forgotten that peace comes through strength, not through weakness and appeasement. They have forgotten that our Declaration of Indepence clearly states:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That is the promise of America and we are not living up to it. These children murdered in the Druze village and their families and friends have been robbed of this. Our leadership is more interested in staying in power than doing their duty and living up to American values and morals.
We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t know how Israel will respond to this attack. Will it be full scale war with Hezbollah? Will it also be war with Iran? What will the United States do if it is war with either or both? How will the UN blame Israel for being attacked?
One thing we know is that Israel will protect her citizens. This Druze village was an Israeli village. The people murdered were Israeli citizens. It will not go unanswered. The question is how will the world respond? Will they support Israel’s right to defend herself and exist? Will they stand on the sidelines quietly? Will they criticize Israel, refuse to support her, and potentially support Iran and Hezbollah? Will they pay attention to the fact that the children murdered were Druze-Israelis and not Jewish Israelis?
Approximately 83% of the Druze population serve in the IDF. They are passionate about their country Israel. They are patriots. In Lebanon, 5% of the population is Druze. When Israel attacks, will the Lebanese Druze help Israel with Hezbollah? So much is unknown as a result of our approach of appeasement. Is this the time when China will attempt to take Taiwan? Will Russia use this as an opportunity to increase their efforts in Ukraine?
The world is unstable in a way it hasn’t been for decades because of a lack of leadership. The fear of war has only created the reality of war. Having just returned from Israel less than 2 weeks ago, my heart breaks for this Druze village and the Druze people. It breaks for the IDF soldiers who are now preparing for war with Hezbollah and their families. Leadership is hard. It is challenging. It is making tough decisions because they are the right ones, not because they are easy or because that’s what a section of the vocal public says they want. Leaders lead. They take risks because they understand that playing it safe often ends up doing just the opposite.
We are all Druze
I went to minyan this morning. It’s not something I do regularly but it is something I do monthly because it’s run by friends and the Rabbi who I learn with. The people there are friends and I enjoy being together as a community. I use the time to really think about both what I have been learning with Rabbi Ehrenkranz and my connection with God. Today, I chose to wear my IDF Tzizit. I don’t wear tzitzit and haven’t since I was in Jewish Day School in 5th grade. Yet today, I had to wear them. I had to do whatever it may take to help the Jewish people. I put on Tefillin and my tallis. I prayed with my friends. I asked God to keep Israel, the IDF, and the Jewish people safe. I prayed for the souls of the Druze children who were murdered. I was an active part of the Jewish community.
We all have a role to play. We need to hold our leaders accountable. They need to hear our voices. We need to be connected as Jews, whatever that means to you. Some do it through prayer. Some do it through actions. Some do it through Tikkun Olam. Some do it through study. Some through ritual and some through holidays. Others through food. It doesn’t matter what you do, only that you do something and it is meaningful to you.
How will you take action today to benefit the Jewish community, Israel, and the world? What role will you play in ensuring a bright future? Our actions matter, whether it is with our friends, our neighbors, our local community, our statewide community, or our country. Every one of us has the ability to change the world one person at a time. I urge you to take the time to do that before it is too late.
As most of you know, I am a passionate and unapologetic Zionist. Being a Zionist simply means that I believe that the Jewish people have a right to their own country and their own self-determination. No matter what else you may THINK Zionism is or means, that’s what it really does. The rest is simply propaganda created and spread by those Jew haters who want no Jews to exist and those who aren’t willing to actually learn something about Zionism.
As a result of my love affair with the State of Israel, I got connected with Dr. Ken Stein and the Center for Israel Education (CIE). Each week, CIE puts out ‘This week in Israeli history’. Some weeks there are nuggets that I learn about and other weeks there are monumentous events. This week it’s of the monumentous variety.
On February 27, 1928, Ariel Sharon was born is born in K’far Malal (near Hod Hasharon). For those of you who know much about Israel, Hod Hasharon is the home of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel. My cousin Eric attended there in 1984 and I have many friends who have attended as well. This would have been Ariel Sharon’s 96th birthday.
Sharon, like many of that generation, took an Israeli last name, changing his birth name of Scheinerman to Sharon. A true Zionist and patriot, he joined the Haganah in 1945 and served in the War of Independence. His reputation, which continued through his life, was having a lack of restraint and being very aggressive. He served as a paratrooper commander in the 1956 war, a Major General in the Six Day War (1967), and the commander of an armored division in the Yom Kippur War (1973).
Ariel Sharon in 1982 at the Suez Canal after peace with Egypt
Sharon was elected head of the Likud party in 1999 and became Israel’s 11th Prime Minister in 2001. As Prime Minister, he approved construction of the security fence, advocated for settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and despite his reputation as a military hawk, oversaw the disengagement from Gaza, hoping it would jump start peace talks with the Palestinians. In 2006, he suffered a stroke that left him incapacitated and was no longer Prime Minister. He passed away in January 2014 after spending 8 years in a coma.
Ariel Sharon is a complex figure and a good lesson in the complexities of Israel and the region. Most of his career, he was considered a far right, war hawk. He was a military hero whose leadership was critical to the victory in the Six Day War. His leadership and actions in the 1973 war were essential to Israel turning the tide and capturing the Suez Canal and almost marching to Cairo before America and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stepped in to stop the war.
His resignation after being found negligent in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps by the Christian Phalange troops have many branding him a war criminal. He certainly did not use good judgment at the time, doing nothing to stop Christian militiamen allied with Israel from entering the camps, despite fears they might seek to avenge the killing of their leader the previous day. War criminal or not, it was a poor decision that helped define his life, career, and legacy.
In 2000, he went to the Temple Mount and visited the Al Aqsa Mosque. To many people this would be seen as no big deal. It’s the historic site of the ancient first and second Jewish temple. The ‘Rock’ in Dome of the Rock is supposed to be both the rock that Abraham bound Isaac to, prepared to sacrifice him, as well as the rock that Muhammad rose to heaven from. It’s also a flashpoint for violence as Jewish access is limited and many attribute the 2nd intifada to this visit. It’s a place I have never been to and hope that one day I will be able to have access. I remember this visit and wondering why he chose to do it as it was clearly going to incite violence.
Ariel Sharon on Temple Mount – this is considered by many to be what incited the 2nd intifada
In 2005, he made the decision to withdraw all Israelis and Jews from Gaza, returning it to Palestinian control, as an effort to jumpstart peace. The settlers and many Israelis were very upset that he would take this action as 21 Israeli communities were forcibly removed from Gaza and relocated inside Israel. His hopes for peace as a result never materialized, his stroke a few months later meant that he never had the opportunity to follow up on his vision. The Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, is tied back my many to this action in 2005 which led to the creation of modern Gaza.
The removal of Israelis and Jews from Gaza in 2005 was highly controversial. In the end, it didn’t accomplish the goal of peace and resulted in the Hamas massacre of October 7th
Sharon is an Israeli hero that I have always struggled with. My grandparents loved him because after the Shoah, he was the face of an Israeli and Jewish warrior. He kept safeguarding the Jewish people as his top priority and his actions were very public and visible. From 1957 through 1973, he played key roles in winning wars to ensure Israel’s existence and inspiring Jews in Israel and the diaspora. When I look back on those years, I see a headstrong officer who I can say thank you to for ensuring Israel exists.
A young Ariel Sharon with Moshe Dayan, another of the great Israeli leaders.
The Sabra and Shatila massacre cause me great pain and challenges. While he didn’t actually murder anybody and it wasn’t IDF soldiers under his command who committed the massacre, he had the opportunity to stop it or at least intervene, and he didn’t. From what I know of Ariel Sharon, I believe it to be a tactical choice that he made. I cannot reconcile the Jewish hero I wrote about with the man who would allow this to happen. I remember struggling with his being elected Prime Minister because of this. This struggle was enhanced by that 2000 visit to Temple Mount. As I’ve said, it’s a place I have always wanted to go and have never been able to visit. While there have been times when it has been permitted, the access is limited and as meaningful as it would be to pray on the Temple Mount, that is forbidden to Jews. Most people don’t know of this prohibition. It is hard to believe that his visit was not intended to incite violence. At the time the impeding visit was discussed with this being the likely outcome. Yet he did it anyway. Just like Sharon in battle, who did what he wanted, and thought was right, he did it with this visit, with the 2nd intifada as the resulting outcome.
And then there was the withdrawal from Gaza. I grew up being taught that when we finally got to the point of land for peace or money to release the Jewish people from oppression (like in the USSR), the battle was won. We would always give up land for peace just as we would pay for the freedom of our people. 21 Jewish communities were relocated. I hated seeing the families uprooted from their homes and forcibly removed. I hated seeing their crying and outrage. Yet I was hopeful that it would be for the greater good and that perhaps, the Palestinians would create a ‘Singapore of the Middle East’ in Gaza, and we might have peace.
As Israel faces all sorts of calls from countries around the world for a ‘Ceasefire Now’ and the creation of a Palestinian State without conditions. It’s worth remembering what President George W. Bush said in his August 27, 2005 radio address about the withdrawal from Gaza and the hope for a different future and what was required.
During the past two weeks, Prime Minister Sharon and the Israeli people took a courageous and painful step by removing Israeli settlements in Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank. I congratulate the Prime Minister for his bold leadership.
Now that Israel has withdrawn, the way forward is clear. The Palestinians must show the world that they will fight terrorism and govern in a peaceful way. We will continue to help the Palestinians to prepare for self-government and to defeat the terrorists who attack Israel and oppose the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state.
We remain fully committed to defending the security and well-being of our friend and ally Israel. We demand an end to terrorism and violence in every form because we know that progress depends on ending terror. And we will continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows two democratic states – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security.
It is obvious this didn’t happen. There was no Palestinian fight against terrorism, nor did they govern in a peaceful way. The demand for an end to terrorism and violence remains a key requirement for peace and security. The withdrawal from Gaza was an abject failure even before October 7th. My hopes didn’t come to fruition and while I respect Sharon’s efforts to find peace, it turned out to be yet another failure of his leadership decisions.
Ultimately, I find myself viewing Sharon as a Lion of Israel, one of the key people who ensured the survival of the Jewish state, but also one who struggled with political leadership. He isn’t a role model, there is far too much that is troublesome, but he is an icon in the history of the modern State of Israel and one worth studying and discussing to learn from.
Remember that in the start of this post, I used the work momentous. The birth of Ariel Sharon in a week is significant but not momentous. On March 1, 1922, Yitzhak Rabin was born. They celebrated their birthdays just a few days apart. Two amazing leaders of the Modern State of Israel and the Jewish people. This would have been Rabin’s 102nd birthday!
When I read about Rabin, I’m always shocked that he was Israel’s 5th Prime Minister. I forget that he took over for Golda Meir in 1974 and think of him much more during his 2nd term of Prime Minister from 1992-1995. I also am always shocked at how short his second term was as it seems he accomplished so much during that term. It speaks to how young the country really is that somebody who played a prominent role in virtually all of Israel’s history is somebody that I recall so vividly. In many ways it would be like experiencing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin in the US.
Rabin in his Palmach uniform in January 1948
Rabin, the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born in Eretz Yisrael (Palestine at the time), served in the Palmach and as a commander in the 1948 Independence War. As Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he was in charge of the 1967 Six Day War. Following the War, he was appointed Israel’s Ambassador to the United States from 1968 until 1973. Fifty years ago, he was already an icon. After returning to Israel, Rabin was elected to the Knesset and became Prime Minister Golda Meir’s Minister of Labor. Upon her resignation in 1974, Rabin became Prime Minister.
Being Prime Minister in Israel means you live in interesting times and your leadership is constantly tested. As Prime Minister, Rabin signed an interim agreement with Syria in May 1974 and one with Egypt over the Sinai in 1975. One of his most famous actions occurred in 1976 when terrorists hijacked an Israeli plan and flew it to Uganda. Rabin ordered the rescue of Israeli, Jewish, and other hostages from Entebbe in Uganda in 1976.
The raid on Entebbe was a huge success and raised the profile of the Israeli military further beyond the 6 day war. The only casualty was Yonatan Netanyahu, Bibi’s older brother.
Israel is an interesting country with some interesting laws and scandals. In 1977, it was discovered that he and his wife, Leah, had maintained an American bank account from their time in the US as the Israeli Ambassador. Leah publicly confirmed that she opened and operated the account alone however, then Attorney General Aharon Barak decided to prosecute both Leah and Yitzhak for this violation which normally only incurred a civil fine. Named by the media as the ‘Dollar Affair’, Rabin chose to resign over the lapse. When we look at our leaders today, it’s hard to imagine them taking such a moral and ethical stance over such a small infraction when they are involved in much larger scandals and choose to deny, minimize, and deflect. Unlike Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin chose to live his values, morals, and ethics, no matter the cost.
Rabin returned to the Knesset and also served as Minister of Defense from 1984-1990. In 1992, he again assumed leadership of the Labor party, and was elected to his second term as Prime Minister in June of 1992.
The 1992-1995 years of his second term as Prime Minister, Rabin oversaw some amazing breakthroughs that most people hoped would be transformational in the peace process. The Oslo Accords were negotiated and signed by Rabin with Yassir Arafat. In 1994 Rabin was able to negotiate with King Hussein of Jordan on a peace treaty that remains in place 30 years later. These efforts inspired the world and in 1994, Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.”
The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize winnersThe famous picture of Rabin and Arafat shaking hands with President Clinton
Sadly, on November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by a right wing, nationalistic Israeli who didn’t want peace. The assassination came minutes after Rabin gave a pro-peace speech in Tel Aviv to more than 100,000 people cheering and hopeful about a different future.
I remember when Rabin was assassinated and the shock that was felt around the world. The fact that it was a fellow Jew who murdered him made it even worse. Hope for a brighter future seemed to disappear and in the 28 years since, has never recovered.
Every time I am in Israel, I seem to find my way to Rabin Square, the location of the pro-peace speech and his assassination, named for him after his murder. I’ve been there for Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations and for concerts. It’s an empty space until there is a reason to gather. I can imagine the energy that night and the power of hope. In the back, there is the area where he was shot. It’s preserved as a mini-museum documenting what happened. You can see where everybody was standing and even stand in their footsteps. You can see where Rabin’s security failed, allowing the murderer access to shoot Rabin. You can learn about the chaos that happened after the shooting, resulting in him being taken to the wrong hospital, wasting key time that may have been able to save his life. I am always humbled when I stand there and find myself dreaming of what could have been.
The memorial where Rabin was assasinated.
I read the David Horovitz biography of Rabin, Shalom Friend, and was deeply moved by the man. Similar to Ariel Sharon, he was there from the beginning in the War of Independence and throughout all the wars that came after. Rabin remained committed to his core beliefs throughout and unlike Sharon, didn’t waver. Rabin was complicated in the fact that he was both a man of war and of peace. While Sharon faced significant questions related to his sincerity for peace, Rabin was seen by the world as the bringer of peace. I often wonder if Yitzhak Rabin was the last politician I will see in my lifetime who truly acted on his morals, values, and integrity rather than his electability. While I don’t doubt what I think Sharon would say and do after October 7th, I am challenged by what Rabin would say and do. As a Zionist who did everything he could to ensure Israel won every war, he also did everything he could to ensure Israel could win the peace. Would he bring clarity to the world at a time when it’s so greatly needed? Would he be able to unite Israel at a time when we are seeing divisions again about the hostages, finishing the war in Gaza, Bibi as Prime Minister, and so much more.
Despite the Oslo Accords not working the way we hoped, Rabin is a true hero. Unlike Sharon, a Lion of Israel, Rabin was a true statesman. He was a true leader. He had a clear vision for what Israel could and should be. He had a vision of a world where Israel lived in peace with her neighbors. Rabin understood America and diaspora Jews just as he understood Israelis. Perhaps the only thing he didn’t understand was the power of hatred, which cost him his life and has resulted in the Hamas massacre of October 7th. That’s a shortcoming I’d be happy to accept in a leader of Israel and the US.
As we celebrate the birth of two icons of the Modern State of Israel this week, we have a chance to learn from them both. Both taught and continue to teach us important lessons about moral character, about hatred and the short term and long term impacts of it, of leadership and of hope. Although both died before accomplishing their goals due to a stroke and an assassin, both died with hope in their hearts and in their efforts. Let’s not let the sacrifices of these two great men go to waste because we lose hope. Even in times of despair, we must hold onto hope for a brighter future. It is that hope which will sustain us through the difficult times and allow us to reach better ones.
Pictures of Rabin and Sharon. The last one also has Shimon Peres. These are the founding fathers of the Modern State of Israel.
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