As I step into retirement from my position as Community Relations Director, I want to use this opportunity to say a few thank yous to our community.

First, thank you, Marsha Brook, Barb Lerman and Ron Silverman for the honor of the Lisa Lerman Community Bridge Award. It was Lisa Lerman (z’l) who set the example for all of us for community service and building bridges of understanding.

I also want to thank Executive Director Moshe Kruger, Board President Cristyne Porile, Treasurer Mara Boettcher, and our Federation leadership for the creation of the Israel Endowment Fund in my name. This fund will help support our shaliach program and Israel programming. I am truly humbled by this honor.

As some of you know, I’m an old high school football player. I know that nothing good happens without a team. First and foremost, thank you Shoshana for encouraging me to take this job after retiring from a career in teaching.

It has truly been my honor to be part of this amazing Federation team under the great leadership of Moshe Kruger. The team includes Dan Cossman, Nancy Kennedy, Steve Lotter, Rabbi Nebel, Judy Sassler, Ben Barwick, Dr. Louise, and last but certainly not least, Omer Karavani. For the past two years Omer has been my partner for all things Israel. He has become like a member of our family to Shoshana and me.

It was also my honor to work with previous Federation Executive Directors Ben Davis, Mara Boettcher and Debby Barton Grant who hired me for this position.

A highlight of my career has been the privilege of working with many great shlichim. These young Israelis who we host here in our community represent the very best of Israel, and they connect our community to Israel in a very personal way. They are an important expression of our dedication to Jewish peoplehood.

My thanks and appreciation to the many community members who have provided hospitality for the shlichim for Friday night meals and on holidays. To borrow a phrase: “It takes a village to host a shaliach.”

Our team also includes the many volunteers that are the foundation of this Federation.

The volunteers include the Holocaust Education Speakers Bureau including Sid Shroyer and Terry Tulchinsky. They have dedicated many hours to presentations in schools to share the lessons of the Holocaust and help prevent antisemitism in our community. I am proud to say that Deena Abraham will be joining the speaker’s bureau to share the story of her grandmother.

Over the years, our Federation has been blessed to have strong leadership in our board of directors.

We should all be grateful for the tremendous time, effort and care they dedicate to our community. I have been privileged to work with great board presidents including current president Cristyne Porile and past presidents Alon Shemesh, Mike Kirsch, Lisa Lerman (z’l), Dave Ravitch, Terry Feldbaum, and Mitch Wayne.

I was also honored to work with the Parternship2Gether (P2G) committee under the leadership of Cristyne Porile and Dave Ravitch. The events we have hosted, especially the interfaith women’s delegation from Western Galilee, could not have happened without volunteers like Cristyne and Dave.

And finally, what a privilege it has been for me to work with the Community Relations Committee (CRC) under the amazing leadership of Chairperson Barbara Lerman.

Barbara is truly a great visionary who puts words into action to fulfill the mandate of CRC in advocacy for Israel, combating antisemitism and building interfaith relations. Our community can be very proud of Barbara and the CRC for the dozens of community events sponsored by this committee to fulfill its important mission.

Just two examples of Barbara’s active leadership are the unforgettable interfaith dinners she has hosted in her home and the home hospitality she and Dave have provided for many delegations from Israel. Thank you, Barbara, and Dave, for your generous hospitality.

It is also important for me to thank our community partners at Temple Beth-El for co-sponsoring many events that we do at the Federation. Together with Temple Beth-El’s Simon Foundation, currently headed by Marzy Bauer, and The Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance, headed by Joe Bauer, we have a true partnership that will continue to enhance the Jewish life of our community.

I want to extend my good wishes to my successor Jordan Price who I know will do a great job. His experiences having lived in Israel and his continued work with Livnot will be of great value to our community in his new position.

Thank you everyone; it’s been an honor to be of service to this community, and now I will take my place alongside you all as a volunteer.

Bob Feferman
Community Contributor

A Righteous Cause in a Complicated War

Brett Stephens begins with moral clarity: Israel's response to October 7 was both justified and inevitable. He compares the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis to “12 or 15 9/11s,” noting the profound intimacy of grief in such a small nation. His insistence that Israel could not not respond echoes historical analogies—D-Day, Sherman’s March to the Sea, the firebombing of Hamburg. As General Sherman said, “war is cruelty.”

Ross Douthat pushes further, asking not only whether Israel's actions were justified—but whether they are wise. Is there a moral threshold, he asks, beyond which even a justified war becomes morally corrosive? If so, how do we measure that threshold, and are we honest enough to apply it to ourselves?

It’s an uncomfortable but essential conversation—especially for American Jews who want to support Israel proudly yet find themselves grappling with the moral weight of the war and a surge in antisemitism that has made such support feel increasingly fraught and unsafe.

The Realignment: Gaza’s Impact on U.S. Politics

The most sobering takeaway from this discussion, however, lies not in battlefield tactics but in battlefield consequences. The Gaza war has acted as an accelerant to trends already simmering in U.S. politics.

On the far left, the shift is stark. Terms like ‘settler colonialism,’ ‘genocide,’ and even calls to ‘globalize the intifada’—have become widely accepted, particularly on college campuses. This trend has been fueled in part by over a decade of Qatari funding to major U.S. universities—totaling billions of dollars—which has helped legitimize anti-Israel narratives in academic and activist circles. Protesters no longer veil their positions behind policy critiques; some now openly call for the end of the Jewish state. And it began—Stephens notes pointedly—not after Gaza’s destruction, but on October 8, before Israel had even launched its counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, on the right, traditional evangelical support for Israel remains robust—but new undercurrents emerge. The “America First” wing, skeptical of foreign entanglements, is growing louder. Contrarian voices like Tucker Carlson and Candance Owens question the very basis of foreign aid, even to democratic allies. The old bipartisan consensus around Israel is eroding, and what replaces it is unclear. Both columnists agree: the war has moved the needle. But for Jews in America, the consequences are deeply personal.

Anti-Zionism vs. Anti-Semitism: A Dangerous Conflation

One of the most poignant parts of the dialogue revolves around the difference between criticism of Israel and denial of Israel’s right to exist. Stephens is unambiguous: “Anti-Zionism is not criticism of Israeli policy; it is criticism of the existence of the state of Israel.” This, he argues, is where anti-Semitism reveals itself—not in protests over bombings, but in demands that Jews abandon the only place in the world they can call home. Douthat adds another layer: for many on the far left, Israel has become a stand-in for unresolved guilt and conflict over America’s own settler-colonial past. The United States is viewed as a colonial project—but one that is already ‘settled,’ with no viable path to undo its foundations. Israel, by contrast, remains a live battleground, still fighting for recognition as a legitimate, sovereign state. That contested status—unrecognized as legitimate by some—makes Israel a more convenient target. At stake is not merely a nation’s policies, but the very right of the Jewish people to a sovereign refuge in a world that has expelled, persecuted, and massacred us for generations.

Israel’s Burden: A Refuge and a Mirror

In one of the most moving moments of the conversation, Stephens recounts the Jewish historical trauma—pogroms, expulsions, genocide—and argues that Israel’s fundamental responsibility is not to satisfy diaspora Jews’ PR concerns, but to ensure there is always a safe place to go. Yet both speakers agree: Israel’s actions reverberate. The country must not only survive; it must consider how its behavior influences the fate of Jews elsewhere, particularly in a time when anti-Semitism—online, on campus, and in politics—is resurgent. The tension is real: Israel cannot base its national defense strategy on American political optics. And yet, ignoring those optics may lead to the unraveling of Jewish safety in the very place where most Jews still live—the United States. A long-term solution may lie in gradually weaning off the $3.3 billion in U.S. military aid—funds that largely cycle back into the American economy through defense spending with companies like Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Israel must remain a close ally of the United States, but true sovereignty means developing the capacity to produce its own munitions and defend itself independently.

What Comes Next?

On a brighter note, one unexpected consequence of this moment is a renewed desire among many Jews—especially younger ones—to reconnect with the Jewish community. As antisemitism rises and discourse around Israel grows more hostile, many are seeking spaces where they feel understood, supported, and connected. Synagogues, Jewish student groups, Federations, and Israel volunteer programs have all seen a resurgence in engagement. While diaspora communities are turning inward for strength and solidarity, Israel itself is navigating a complex and shifting strategic landscape. In the short term, it may well emerge from this war with more secure borders, weakened Iranian proxies, and new regional diplomatic openings through the Abraham Accords. Yet these strategic gains come at a time when Israel’s actions are reverberating far beyond its borders—reshaping how it’s perceived globally and how Jews experience their identity and safety abroad. This conversation is not the final word. But it is a rare example of two thinkers, from different ideological perspectives, confronting the moral and strategic complexities of our moment with clarity and humility.

Jordan Price
Director of Programming
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley
(574) 233-1164 x1811
Click here to email Jordan

Working with him and being part of the Federation’s many programs, I have found Bob’s meticulous attention to the detailed arrangements for out-of-town speakers and groups as well as local organizations to whom we reached out made their visits and our programs outstanding at all levels. Our guests felt honored and cared for while we were informed and enlightened by hearing of their experiences.

Dave and I have had the privilege of having Bob at our dinner table on many occasions. His insights and tactful, thoughtful approach to providing perspective added so much to our discussions. His correcting of misperceptions or errors made in conversations around our table were not only thought provoking, but extremely helpful in allowing our guests to understand the situation in Israel at more sophisticated levels.

We will sincerely miss Bob at the Federation and wish him and Shoshona a wonderful retirement as they spend more time with their kids and grandkids.

Barbara Lerman
Chair, Community Relations Committee

In order to understand the decision of Israel’s leadership to attack Iran on June 13th, we have to look at the combination of two factors. One, is the immediate threat of Iran’s race to develop nuclear weapons and its rapidly expanding ballistic missile program. Second, is the historical context: Iran’s 30-year war for the destruction of Israel.

Since the 1990s, the leaders of the Iranian regime have been obsessed with the destruction of Israel. This obsession is symbolized by the “countdown clock” in a square in Tehran that predicts the destruction of Israel.

Based on a statement in 2015, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei predicted that after 25 years — by 2040 — Israel will no longer exist.

Yet, these are no empty threats.

The rapid expansion of Iran’s nuclear program and their production of ballistic missiles were imminent threats to the existence of Israel.

According to a report by David Albright, America's leading expert on Iran's nuclear program, Iran was weeks away from the ability to produce weapons grade uranium. That is the key component for producing a nuclear bomb.

For a civilian nuclear program, you only need to enrich uranium to less than 5%. Iran was enriching uranium to 60% which put it three weeks away from the ability to enrich uranium to 90%- weapons grade uranium.

According to Albright, “Iran has no civilian use or justification for its production of 60 percent enriched uranium…”

In addition to the nuclear weapons program, Iran was rapidly expanding its production of ballistic missiles which also pose an existential threat to Israel.

To fully comprehend the Israeli decision to attack Iran, we have to look at Iran’s strategy for the destruction of Israel.

Iran’s military strategy toward Israel was to build a “Ring of Fire” around Israel. For three decades, Iran armed its terror proxies with rockets and missiles. They include Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, proxy forces in Iraq and Syria and the Houthis in Yemen. Together, they are called the “Axis of Resistance” by Iran.

Through this strategy, Iran actively worked to terrorize and demoralize the citizens of Israel with constant attacks.

Since 2007, the year Hamas took control of Gaza, nearly 20,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians. All this was before the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7th, 2023.

We have seen the psychological impact of these attacks on our Israeli grandchildren who live in Rehovot. When Iran was launching missiles at Israel, our ten-year-old grandson said he didn’t want to go to sleep because he knew there would be sirens that would send them to shelter.

Ten years ago, our granddaughter, who is now age 14, visited us in America. When she was at the mall one day, out of the blue she asked her mother, “Mommy, where will we go if the sirens go off?”

There is no doubt that Iran is the main source of the threat to Israeli civilians.

In a virulent speech given by Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar in June 2019 about the long-range rockets of Hamas that can reach Tel Aviv, he said: “Let me reiterate. If not for Iran’s support for the resistance in Palestine, we would not have obtained these capabilities… Iran has supported us with weapons, equipment, and expertise.”

Since the Hamas attack on 10/7/23, we saw Iran’s “ring of fire” activated in full force.

This included the firing of more than 12,000 rockets and drones from Hezbollah in Lebanon, more than 19,000 rockets from Hamas in Gaza, and hundreds of ballistic missiles from Iran itself, all being fired at civilians in Israel. In addition, the Houthis in Yemen also fired more than 200 missiles and drones at Israel.

Then there is the historical context. In pursuit of its goal for the destruction of Israel, Iran has done everything possible to sabotage the hopes for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

With the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, there was a real hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians through the two-state solution. In order to destroy the Oslo peace process, Iran began to provide weapons, funding and training to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The years 2000-2005 are a prime example.

In December 2000, Israel agreed to the Clinton Plan for peace through the two-state solution with the Palestinians. The Clinton Plan would have created a Palestinian state in all of Gaza, 95% of the West Bank and Jerusalem as a shared capital of the two states.

Unfortunately, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rejected the Clinton plan.

To fully destroy the peace process, between 2000 and 2005 Iran helped Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups send more than 110 Palestinian suicide bombers into Israel to blow themselves up on Israeli buses, in restaurants, and in shopping malls.

These suicide bombings and other terror attacks murdered more than 1,000 Israeli civilians and wounded thousands more in a period that became known as the Second Intifada.

This brings us back to the brutal Hamas attack on 10/7/23. This attack was a transformative shock to Israeli society. It explains the national consensus supporting the decision of Israel’s leadership to attack Iran.

Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal best explained the Israeli decision to attack Iran. In an important interview he said, “There’s a threat out there and the Israel Air Force was sent to take out what Israel sees as an existential threat, specifically after October 7th”.

Since 10/7/23, thanks to the courage and professionalism of the men and women of the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad, Israel has greatly decimated Iran’s Axis of Resistance.

Let us hope that we are seeing the beginning of the end of Iran’s 30-year war for the destruction of Israel that can open the door for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley

I went with my family to visit Prague as part of a vacation and found a great story of Jewish history that I am happy to present to you, maybe for your next vacation to Europe!

In the center of Prague is a small but very special area called the Jewish Quarter, or Josefov. It got its name in the 1800s after Emperor Joseph II, who made life better for Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire by giving them more rights. But the history of Jews in Prague goes back much further.

Walking through the Jewish Quarter today, it’s hard to believe how much it has survived. Six beautiful synagogues, old buildings, and narrow streets still stand and tell the story of a proud and ancient community. One of the questions I asked myself while walking in those streets is why was Prague not destroyed in World War II?

So, I looked it up and discovered that one of the most surprising things about Prague is that it wasn’t destroyed during World War II. While cities like Warsaw and Berlin were bombed and burned, Prague was mostly left untouched.

There are a few reasons for this. First, when the Nazis took over Czechoslovakia in 1939, they faced no resistance—so there were no battles in the streets of Prague.

Second, Hitler loved the way Prague looked. He saw it as a perfect example of European architecture and wanted to keep it as part of his vision for the Nazi empire.

But maybe the most shocking reason is this: Hitler planned to turn Prague’s Jewish Quarter into a “museum of an extinct race.” He wanted to destroy the Jewish people—but keep their buildings and items on display. That’s why many synagogues and Jewish artifacts were saved—so they could become part of a twisted museum after the Holocaust.

There was only one bombing mistake during the war. In February 1945, U.S. planes accidentally dropped bombs on parts of Prague. They thought they were over Dresden, Germany. Some people died and buildings were damaged, but the Jewish Quarter was not hit.

The Spanish Synagogue

One of the most beautiful buildings in the Jewish Quarter is the Spanish Synagogue. Even though it’s called “Spanish,” it wasn’t built by Sephardic Jews. It got the name because of its Moorish-style design—inspired by the synagogues of Spain.

The inside is stunning, with colorful walls, gold decorations, and big arches. Today, it’s not used for regular prayer but serves as a museum and concert hall. It tells the story of Jews in Prague from the 18th century until today.

Pinkas Synagogue

Established in 1479 and located in front of the entrance to the old Jewish Cemetery, the Pinkas Synagogue is the second-oldest Jewish synagogue still standing in Prague and one of the most renowned. After the end of World War II, the synagogue was turned into a memorial for the 77,297 Jews from Czechoslovakia killed during the Holocaust. Inside, its walls are covered with all their names.

The Old Jewish Cemetery

Right behind the synagogues is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe: The Old Jewish Cemetery, used from the 1400s until the 1700s. Because Jews were not allowed to bury outside their quarter, they had to stack graves on top of each other—as many as 12 layers deep. Walking through the cemetery, you see thousands of crooked, old stones, each with Hebrew writing. One of the most famous graves here is that of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, also known as the Maharal of Prague.

The Maharal and the Golem

The Maharal was a great rabbi, scholar, and thinker in the 1500s. But he’s also famous for something more mysterious: the legend of the Golem. The story says that the Maharal created a Golem—a creature made of clay—to protect the Jewish community from danger. He brought it to life using holy words and placed it in the attic of the Old New Synagogue, where some say it still rests.

Even today, the story of the Golem is a big part of Prague’s folklore. In souvenir shops across the city, you can buy little Golem dolls—a reminder of the mix between history, legend, and hope.

Jewish Food in Prague

After exploring the Jewish Quarter, I was so hungry! While there aren’t many kosher restaurants in Prague, here are a few good spots. King Solomon Restaurant—near the Spanish Synagogue. Kosher and delicious. Chabad’s Dinitz Restaurant. Shelanu Café—a small spot near the Old New Synagogue run by the Jewish community. I tried their pizza, very good!

And if you want something sweet, don’t miss the Trdelník (chimney cake.) Now, I will say this. Even though the Trdelník (chimney cake) is very good, and a lot of people think that this cake was crafted first in Prague, which is not true. Its origin is Hungary—and the name is Kürtős (now technically it is Transylvania, Romania—yes, the birthplace of a vampire’s folklore, but that’s a different story.) But this area used to belong to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so we will say there is a Hungarian influence on it.

Most versions of the cake have butter or milk, but some shops in the Jewish Quarter sell pareve, kosher-friendly versions—great with cinnamon and sugar. One of the best places is right next to the Jewish Museum.

Conclusion: A Living Story

Prague’s Jewish Quarter is not just a place of history—it’s a place of memory, faith, and survival. Today, Jewish life in Prague continues. It may be smaller, but it’s full of pride and spirit. And anyone who visits can see it, feel it, and even taste it—in every step, every stone, and every bite of chimney cake.

Omer Karavani
Israeli Emissary
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley
israel@thejewishfed.org

We are happy to share the good news that our Federation’s Shaliach, Omer Karavani, will be staying for a third year in our community. This coming year we plan to provide more opportunities for members of our community to engage with Omer and learn about Israel.

For the past two years, Omer has done important work in our community. He teaches children in Sinai Synagogue’s Hebrew School, helps to organize the Federation Purim Carnival, and takes a leading role in our Federation’s Camp Ideal.

Perhaps, Omer’s most important contribution in his capacity as shaliach (emissary) is that Omer brings us an opportunity to understand current Israeli society and culture.

One of the programs that Omer offers is called “My Israeli Story.” This is a 30-minute presentation that provides a unique opportunity to learn the history of Israel through the personal story of Omer and his family. Over the past two years, Omer has presented this program at our Federation and to the non-Jewish community through church groups including Sunnyside Presbyterian.

More recently, Omer presented “My Israeli Story” as part of a 5-part series of Forever Learning. Omer also created a fascinating new presentation titled “The Jews of the Muslim World” that he presented in this series. He will present this new program to our Jewish community in the coming year.

Israel Around the Table

This year we are presenting our community with a new opportunity to engage with Omer in your home. With an idea we borrowed from the JCRC of Indianapolis, we will be offering, “Israel Around the Table.”

Through this innovative program, you can host Omer for dinner in your home with your friends. Together with Omer, you will choose a topic for discussion at the dinner table. It can be anything related to Israeli society, culture, diaspora relations, politics, or service in the military.

As you can see from Omer’s biography, he has many unique life experiences to draw upon.

Born and raised in Ashkelon, a coastal city, about a one-hour drive south of Tel Aviv. It is located eight miles from the border with Gaza.

Before his mandatory service in the Israeli army, out of motivation to serve his country, Omer decided to do a gap-year of volunteer service. He worked in Jerusalem in underserved communities with children and the elderly.

In August 2019, Omer joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to be a combat soldier in the Artillery Corps and served for almost three years.

Omer’s family story represents the diversity of the Jewish people. His family came from Iraq, Romania, and Yemen. By understanding the beauty of the diversity of our people, we can build a greater appreciation of Jewish peoplehood.

Our community is truly blessed to host the shaliach program.

Too often, Israel is understood here in America in a very one-dimensional way. For almost twenty years, our Federation’s shaliach program has brought us amazing young Israelis, like Omer, to show a human side of Israel not seen in the American media. Therefore, I encourage you to take advantage of this new opportunity.

If you would like to schedule “Israel Around the Table”, please contact Omer directly at israel@thejewishfed.org.

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations
574-233-1164 x1815
RFeferman@TheJewishFed.org

Last month, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the BBYO International Convention in Denver, Colorado—one of the largest Jewish teen events in the world. Thousands of Jewish teens from different countries gathered to connect, learn, and celebrate their shared identity. The experience was powerful, not only because of the international atmosphere but also due to the impactful activities we led to raise awareness about Israel and the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Raising Awareness–The Hostage Exhibit

One of the most meaningful initiatives we worked on was setting up a special exhibit focused on the hostages remaining in Gaza. Even though the war and its consequences have dominated headlines, we realized that many of the teens at the conference were unaware of the details.

We created a space where participants could learn about the hostages, carry the hostages pins to show solidarity throughout the conference, and show their support online and in social media while they were taking pictures of the space.

Bringing Israel to the Conference

Beyond discussions about the war, we wanted to bring a different, more vibrant side of Israel to the event. We organized activities that introduced participants to the fun and energetic spirit of Israeli culture. One of the highlights was playing matkot and backgammon with the teens. These games are common on Israeli beaches, and they provided a fun way to engage people while also sparking curiosity about life in Israel.

It was incredible to see how something as simple as a game could create a connection between people. Teens from different backgrounds, some of whom had never been to Israel, got excited about the games, asked questions, and shared their own experiences. For a moment, it felt like we had transported a piece of Tel Aviv to the heart of Denver.

We also talked to the kids about RootOne.

What is RootOne?

RootOne is a program designed to strengthen Jewish identity and connections to Israel by making Israel trips more affordable for North American Jewish teens. It provides grants (vouchers) of up to $3,000 to help reduce the cost of summer trips to Israel, allowing more teens to experience the country firsthand.

Educating and Engaging – Talking About Israel in a Relatable Way

One of the challenges of advocating for Israel is making the information accessible and relevant to younger audiences. Many teens at the conference had been exposed to misinformation online or had limited knowledge about the complexities of the situation. That’s why we focused on speaking in a way that was engaging and easy to understand.

Beyond the specific activities we led, the overall experience of being at BBYO was unforgettable. Walking through the halls and seeing thousands of Jewish teens from different backgrounds, cultures, and languages reinforced the idea that we are part of something bigger. Despite our differences, we share a common bond that transcends geography and politics.

The conference reminded me how important it is to stay engaged, educate others, and continue standing up for Israel. It also showed me that advocacy doesn’t always have to be formal—it can happen through casual conversations, cultural exchanges, and shared experiences.

Omer Karavani
Israeli Emissary
574-233-1164 x1819
Israel@TheJewishFed.org

Indeed, after more than 500 days of Israel’s fight for survival against Hamas and Hezbollah, many are asking the question: Is there any hope for a peaceful future for Israel in the wider Middle East? The answer is: Yes! And that good news is coming from the countries of the Abraham Accords who are already showing the way to peace in the region.

That will be the topic of a special hybrid event sponsored by our Federation’s Community Relations Committee (CRC) on Sunday, March 30th at 11:00 AM at the Jewish Federation. The title of the event: “The Abraham Accords and the Future of the Middle East.”

The signatories of the Abraham Accords include Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, the U.A.E. and Sudan.

Participating panelists will include Dr. Banafsheh Keynoush (in-person) a Scholar in Residence at the University of Notre Dame and representatives of Sharaka, an NGO that promotes peace in the Middle East by promoting people-to-people relationships amongst the countries of the Abraham Accords.

Members of our local community are encouraged to attend in-person at the Federation to make the event more interactive.

Dr. Keynoush will participate in person, provide opening remarks, and moderate the panel discussion with the representatives of Sharaka who will join us on Zoom from the Middle East. Among the panelists will be Dan Feferman, now co-chair of the board of Sharaka.

The panelists include:

Dr. Banafsheh Keynoush (United States) is a Scholar in Residence at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and an Affiliate Faculty at the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion at the University of Notre Dame. Her latest co-authored book is The Abraham Accords: National Security, Regional Order and Popular Representation. She is also the author of the best-selling academic book, Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes?

Dan Feferman (Israel) is co-chair of the board of Sharaka and a past Executive Director. He is an Israeli American author, speaker, researcher, and thought leader who focuses on Israel, the Jewish world, and the Middle East. He publishes and speaks regularly in Israel and around the world. After serving as an adviser on national security matters in the Israeli Defense Ministry, Feferman was a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and co-founded the Gulf-Israel Policy Forum before joining Sharaka.

Dr Ahmed Khuzaie (Bahrain) is a distinguished figure in international relations and political strategy, celebrated as an accomplished professor, political consultant, and think-tanker. Based in Bahrain, he has earned acclaim for his insightful analysis and innovative approaches to global policy, significantly influencing both academic thought and real-world political practice. As a best-selling author, Dr Khuzaie has enriched public discourse on international affairs, providing clarity and foresight on complex geopolitical issues. His dynamic career not only inspires future leaders but also serves as a cornerstone for contemporary debate and decision-making in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Loay Al Shareef (UAE), hailing from the dynamic regions of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, is a renowned social media influencer, peace advocate, and linguistics expert. Leveraging his profound understanding of language and culture, he has built a formidable online presence that inspires dialogue and fosters intercultural understanding. Passionate about promoting peace, Loay uses his platforms to bridge divides and champion unity in an increasingly interconnected world. His expertise and innovative communication strategies make him a sought-after speaker and thought leader, continually reshaping discussions on global harmony and cultural diplomacy.

RSVP at TheJewishFed.org/Accords. If you have any questions regarding the event, please reach out to me with the contact information below.

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations
574-233-1164 x1815
RFeferman@TheJewishFed.org

As we know, since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, there has been a significant increase in incidents of antisemitism in America. In fact, this pattern began well before the Hamas attack.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), over the past decade there has been a 900% rise in antisemitism in America alone.

To address this dangerous trend, our Jewish community has significantly increased our efforts in Holocaust education for 2025.

Together with Temple Beth-El’s Kurt and Tessye Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance, the Okon Family Fund for Holocaust Education of the Jewish Federation, and the Federation’s Holocaust Education Speaker’s Bureau, we are coordinating our work to increase our impact.

Thanks to the combined efforts of these organizations, and the outreach work of Jewish Federation Executive Director Moshe Kruger to raise funds from local foundations, 2025 will see a significant increase in Holocaust education in local schools.

This year, we will fund five school field trips to the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie: the Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance will fund a field trip for students from Adams High School, and the Federation will fund four field trips for students from Discovery Middle School, the LaSalle Academy, New Prairie High School and Penn High School.

In April, we will be fortunate to host a very special event: the theatrical performance Remember: The Story of Abe Price, that retells the amazing story of a Holocaust survivor and former South Bend resident.

The play was produced by the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida.

According to their website, Remember: The Story of Abe Price is a new original play based on the true story of Abe Price. … At just 16-years-old, Abraham Piasecki’s life is uprooted by the Nazi invasion of Poland. From living in the ghetto of Kielce to imprisonment at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Remember brings to life the harrowing true story of a Holocaust survivor who escaped Nazi captivity five times (gulfshoreplayhouse.org).

We have arranged for three presentations of this performance in our community. Two will be held in local high schools (Adams and Penn) and then the play will be featured at our Federation’s annual Yom HaShoah commemoration on Thursday, April 24th.

Beyond these special projects, our Federation continues the work of our Holocaust Education Speaker’s Bureau that we offer to local schools. The speakers include Bob Feferman, Omer Karavani, Sid Shroyer and Terry Tulchinsky.

Dozens of presentations given by our speakers in local schools over the past four years have had a major impact on local students in sensitizing them to the dangers of racism and antisemitism.

The importance of Holocaust education in helping to prevent antisemitism should not be underestimated.

Research done by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says, “In addition to building knowledge about the events surrounding the Holocaust, secondary school education on the Holocaust is correlated with reduced antisemitism, increases openness to differing viewpoints and builds civic efficacy.”

If you would like to learn more about our ongoing efforts in Holocaust education, please visit our Jewish Federation website where you can learn more about Holocaust education.

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations
rfeferman@thejewishfed.org
(574) 233-1164 x1815

Recently, I’ve had the privilege of engaging in meaningful outreach efforts, sharing my Israeli story, and having dialogue within the local community. One of the highlights was my presentation at the Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend.

I was truly moved by how welcoming and open-hearted the congregation was. They showed genuine interest in understanding my journey and the broader Israeli narrative. The warmth and curiosity in the room made me realize how important it is to create these spaces for dialogue, especially during times when division and misinformation can be so easy. It’s in moments like these that we build bridges, foster empathy, and approach understanding, even across cultural and religious boundaries.

In addition to my presentation at the church, Bob Feferman and I are excited to announce the launch of a new series of classes for Forever Learning. The title we have given to the series is: “Understanding Modern Israel: the people and its struggle for survival and peace.”

These sessions are designed as open conversations tailored for the non-Jewish community, but all are welcome. (Many of you have already heard some of the talks, such as “My Israeli Story,” and “The melting pot in the early days.”) I am also creating a new presentation about the Jews of the Middle East. This class will also be offered at the Jewish Federation for our community as well.

Through these classes, we aim to provide an approachable and educational environment where people can learn about Jewish culture, history, and the Israeli perspective. At the same time, we welcome everyone to join in the learning experience. This initiative is more than just an educational program; it’s an opportunity to create friendships and build bridges.

To further build on these efforts, I’m thrilled to share the launch of a new initiative called Israel Around the Table. This program is as simple as it is powerful: a dinner hosted at someone’s home, where they can invite friends and colleagues for an evening of conversation about Israel.

Unlike many other discussions about Israel, these dinners are not centered on war or conflict. Instead, they will focus on the daily realities of life in Israel—how it differs from life in the U.S., the unique challenges and joys of our culture, and the shared humanity that connects us all.

This initiative is designed to make conversations about Israel more personal, relatable, and meaningful. Over a meal, with the intimacy of a home setting, we can explore perspectives and ideas in a way that feels natural and comfortable.

All these efforts, from the presentation at Sunnyside to “Forever Learning” and “Israel Around the Table,” reflect the importance of outreach during this time.

They remind us that even in challenging times, we can choose connection over division, dialogue over silence, and understanding over fear. By opening these doors, we’re not just educating, we’re building a community where everyone feels invited to learn and grow together.

Thank you everyone for giving me the opportunity to be your Emissary.

Omer Karavani
Israeli Emissary
israel@thejewishfed.org

What is the International Criminal Court (ICC) and why was it established?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 1998 by the Rome Treaty with the aim of investigating and prosecuting individuals suspected of committing the most serious crimes of international concern, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. It was specifically created for countries that do not have an independent judiciary. That is why neither the United States nor Israel are signatories of the Rome Treaty.

The Case Against Israel and Arrest Warrants

The ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said this on the issuance of arrest warrants of Netanyahu and Gallant:

“With respect to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, the judges of the International Criminal Court have found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each has committed the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts, as a direct perpetrator, acting jointly with others. The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that they are each responsible for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians as a superior.”

Double Standards and Bias Against Israel

The question that needs to be asked is this: By issuing these arrest warrants, is the ICC biased against the state of Israel?

My answer is yes.

Why have leaders of other countries, such as Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Xi Jinping in China, and Ali Khamenei in Iran who are suspected of committing far more serious crimes not being investigated by the ICC?

The argument is that the ICC chooses to focus on Israel, a democratic country, while ignoring serious crimes committed in other countries. Israel claims that it is the only Western country being investigated by the ICC, and that this indicates political bias against it.

Denial of Accusations and Evidence

Israel denies all allegations against it. It claims that it is acting to protect its citizens and uses force only when necessary.

Israel is seeking the destruction of Hamas, not the Palestinian people. Israel's campaign in Gaza is an act of self-defense, and Israel goes to great lengths to prevent civilian casualties.

Moreover, contrary to the false claims of the ICC, Israel has worked hard to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

According to the website of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), since the war began more than 58,000 trucks with 1,149,932 tons of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza.

The Principle of Complementarity, and Why the US is Opposed to the ICC

The principle of complementarity is a central principle in the Rome Statute which created the ICC. The principle says that the ICC will act only when the state itself is unable or unwilling to investigate, prosecute, and judge their own people.

We know that Israel has a strong independent judiciary that investigates, prosecutes, and judges soldiers, prime ministers and presidents that commit crimes.

For example, former President Moshe Katsav and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were both convicted of crimes and given prison sentences.

Israel’s commitment to justice is something that is already happening, which means that technically, if and when Israelis are being accused of committing crimes against humanity they will be judged in Israel. Therefore, the ICC should drop its case.

Finally, the United States opposes the ICC, partly because of the principle of complementarity. The United States argues that the ICC undermines the sovereignty of states and undermines their ability to deal with crimes committed on their territory.

Omer Karavani
Israeli Emissary
israel@thejewishfed.org

The challenge we are facing in the mainstream American media was aptly summed up by New York Times columnist Brett Stephens who described it as follows. Israel’s problem in the American media is a phenomenon that he called, “Getting it right while getting it wrong: the facts may be correct, but the context is missing.”

Since the brutal Hamas attack on October 7^th, 2023, the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley, and our community partners, have been doing our part to fill the missing context. To that end, we work in two parallel tracks: information for our Jewish community and information for the non-Jewish community.

Just five days after the Hamas attack, on October 11^th, we held a previously scheduled event featuring Middle East expert Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, co-sponsored by the Simon Foundation of Temple Beth-El and our Federation’s Community Relations Committee. Dr. Schanzer’s talk could not have been timelier, and we also turned the event into a gathering for support and community solidarity.

Since then, we have hosted several other speakers.

The South Bend Rotary Club hosted our son Dan Feferman for a briefing via zoom arranged by Anne Feferman and Moshe Kruger. Dan also gave a briefing to our Jewish community in November 2023, along with Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu-Toameh, in an event sponsored by the Community Relations Committee.

In February, we arranged for Yinam Cohen, Israeli Consul General to the Midwest, to speak to a group of students at Holy Cross College. Mr. Cohen also provided a briefing at our Federation on the same visit.

Working in partnership with Temple Beth-El’s Simon Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana, our Federation co-sponsored a briefing in June featuring South Bend native Dan Goldwin and former Israeli diplomat Ofer Bavli.

Our shaliach, Omer Karavani has given several inspirational speeches at Jewish community events including the solidarity event on October 11^th, 2023, the campaign kickoff in 2023, and more recently at the one-year memorial ceremony for the victims of October 7^th. All of his speeches have been published in Our Community Newsletter.

At the one-year memorial ceremony for the victims of the war on October 27^th planned by our Partnership Committee (P2G), Rabbi Friedland gave a moving talk about his visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Rabbi Kaminsky shared beautiful poetry to commemorate the victims.

Our Federation also hosted two IDF soldiers who fought in Gaza for briefings to the community. In August we hosted Shiloh Tor who serves in the Givati Infantry Brigade, and in October we hosted Noam, an IDF commando.

In our efforts to provide “the missing context” to the non-Jewish community, over the past year I have published two opinion articles in the South Bend Tribune and one in the Observer, the student newspaper of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College. Recently, I gave a one-hour talk about the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church.

On October 24^th, two of our community members, Megan New and Ina Rosenberg participated in a panel discussion about Antisemitism at the church.

In addition, our shaliach, Omer Karavani has presented “My Israeli Story” to several church groups in the area and he will also be presenting again at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church and Saint Joseph High School.

This spring, Omer Karavani and I will be taking part in Forever Learning Institute with a 5-part course titled, “Understanding Modern Israel: the People, and their Struggle for Survival and Peace.”

Finally, shortly after the war began, our Federation began a collaborative project called “The Missing Context,” co-produced by Steve Lotter and myself. The purpose of this bi-weekly publication that we send to the Jewish community is to provide in-depth insight and analysis on issues surrounding the war from non-partisan experts.

This project provides an opportunity for each of you to take part in the effort to address the challenge of the “missing context” in the American media.

If you see an article or an interview, we publish that you like, I encourage you to consider sharing it with family and friends. Or, if you see an article or interview that you think we should consider using, please send it to me so that we can share.

In the effort to support Israel as it fights a war for its survival on seven fronts, each one of you can become what the military calls, “a force multiplier.” I encourage you to help defend Israel in the eighth front, the battle for public opinion. All you need to do is help provide information and “the missing context.”

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations
rfeferman@thejewishfed.org

When Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, was asked for his assessment of the UN’s partition vote back in 1947, he explained that the vote was but the first step in establishing a Jewish state. But like anything worth having, it would have to be fought for: “The state will not be given to the Jewish people on a silver platter.” The state of Israel would have to be dearly bought, with Jewish blood.

That night, the Israeli poet Nathan Alterman went home and started working on his poem, “The Silver Platter.” It envisioned the toll that creating a Jewish state would take. He described a war-torn land, a homeland of “smoky frontiers” still burning from battle. He wrote of a Jewish homeland that was “torn at heart but existing,” describing that the cost of the Jewish state will be the soldiers that died and will die for the existence of the Jewish state.

But over the past year, the silver platter on which the Jewish state is given has grown and changed.

And don’t be mistaken in thinking this is a price that is paid once. It is a price that Israel pays every day. To exist.

It’s not just soldiers; it’s civilians. It is a country that is currently burning. It’s the families in Israel, it’s the friends, maybe some former emissaries. It’s a nine-year-old talking to you about death, who truly understands the meaning of it. It’s the farmer in the north that lost his house and acres to this war after years of taking care of them. It’s the people being evacuated from their homes in the north. It’s the soldiers that haven’t been home for months because they are on reserve duty.

It’s exhaustion. It’s the constant fear for the well-being of our hostages.

It’s the need to maintain humanity in an inhumane world. It’s the desire to be angry, to hurt, and to grieve without losing control. It’s being sad that the world has forgotten, doesn’t know, or chooses to ignore what happened on October 7th.

But we haven’t forgotten. Not the 7th, not the soldiers, not the civilians, not the destruction that was caused, not the north that’s burning, not the blood-soaked land, and not our hostages. It is simply because this place is dear to the hearts of Israel and the Jews around the world, it’s the silver platter we’ve been paying for over the past year.

But Omer, is it worth it? All the pain, the suffering, the fears, the anxieties?

If you had asked me this a year and a half ago, I would have told you to ask a Holocaust survivor, whose entire family was murdered in Europe during World War II, and they are the only survivor.

Today, I’ll tell you, go ask a Nova survivor, ask survivors from Kibbutz Be’eri or Kfar Aza. Go ask Noa Argamani who came back after 247 days in captivity.

Is the State of Israel worth this sacrifice?

What the Holocaust survivor and the Nova survivor have in common is not that they lost their loved ones, but that they stared death in the eyes only because they are Jewish and came to the realization that, truly and deeply, we have no other land.

Thanks to Partnership with Western Galilee, we now have an opportunity to show our support through a special project for Lone Soldiers who are defending Israel. A Lone Soldier is someone who immigrated to Israel without their family, or an orphan, or an individual from a broken home.

As Israel fights a war for its survival, I call on our Jewish community to stand up for Israel.

Omer Karavani
Israeli Emissary
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley

• Those We Have Lost: Stories of civilians and soldiers killed since Hamas’s onslaught on Israel on October 7, 2023 (click to read)

• Those We Are Missing: Hostages & Victims Whose Fate is Still Unknown
  (click to read)

• Massacre at a Music Festival: Supernova Survivors (click to watch)

• Grandparents race to rescue family at Israeli kibbutz during Hamas attack (click to watch)

• Fortitude Under Fire: Farmers Along the North Stay Planted Despite the war (click to read)

• Iran: The Arsonist of the Middle East — An Op-Ed from Bob Feferman (click to read)

• Honoring Heroes on October 7th: "I'm Going to Save My Boys" from One Day in October (click to read)

• The Golden Generation of Nir Oz (click to watch)

• Hostages & Missing Families Forum Materials to Share on Social Networks (click to read)

Join us for a Gathering to Remember October 7th

On Sunday, October 27th, we will gather in-person at the Jewish Federation at 11 AM for a 30-minute memorial ceremony organized by the Jewish Federation’s Partnership2Gether committee. We are calling the event “Gathering to Remember October 7th.” (click here to register) Doors will open at 10:30 AM, so we can begin the ceremony on time.

Immediately following the ceremony, at 11:30 AM, we will join a virtual event on Zoom with other Partnership communities across America for a special program presented by Partnership2Gether.

The program will begin with Yizkor, followed by a panel of Israelis who will share their harrowing experiences of October 7th and the past year.

The speakers will include:

• Liat Atzili, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and released. Her husband’s body is still held in Gaza.

• Dubi Lahav, who, along with his son, was severely wounded on October 7th. They are gradually recovering with the help of his family and his community.

• A representative of one of the bereaved families from Akko.

• David Vaknin, a businessman from Western Galilee who was called up for reserves. He has been deployed to the northern border since October 7th. David and his family are among the 60,000 displaced Israelis from northern border communities.

The program will conclude with a moving video clip by the Matte Asher Community Center choir.

On behalf of the leadership and staff of the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley, we call on you to join us to show your solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel and honor the memories of the fallen.

CLICK TO REGISTER

Enter the Islamic Republic of Iran and its destructive role as the arsonist of the Middle East. 

Decades of violence in the Middle East have ensued because of the Iranian regime and its obsession with the destruction of Israel. This obsession is symbolized by the “countdown clock” in a square in Tehran that predicts the destruction of Israel.

Based on a statement in 2015, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei predicted that after 25 years — by 2040 — Israel will no longer exist.

In its efforts to achieve this destruction, Iran supports terror proxy forces including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq. Together, they are called “The Axis of Resistance” by Iranian leaders.

Victims of this tragic war include civilians in Gaza who have been recruited — against their will — to act as human shields for Hamas leaders who hide in private homes, hospitals, schools, and underground tunnels. 

Iran’s military strategy toward Israel can be summed up in three words: “ring of fire.” This refers to the efforts of Iran to provide rockets, missiles, and munitions to its terror proxies that are actively trained by Iran to build this “ring of fire” around the State of Israel.

Through this strategy, Iran actively works to terrorize and demoralize the citizens of Israel with constant attacks.

Since 2007, the year Hamas took control of Gaza, nearly 20,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza, with the targets being Israeli civilians. All this was before the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7th, 2023.

Since the war began in October 2023, we have seen this "ring of fire" activated in full force. This includes the firing of more than 12,000 rockets and drones from Hezbollah in Lebanon, more than 19,000 rockets from Hamas in Gaza, and hundreds of ballistic missiles from Iran itself, all being fired at civilians in Israel. In addition, the Houthis in Yemen have also fired more than 200 missiles and drones at Israel. 

It's also important to remember the historical context of the conflict. Iran has done everything possible to sabotage the hopes for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

With the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, there was a real hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians through the two-state solution.

Yet, Iran, the arsonist of the Middle East, could never let that be. Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations, backed by Iran, embarked on a campaign of terror to blow up those hopes for peace. 

Between 1993 and 2005, Hamas and other proxy terror organizations carried out more than 150 suicide bombings in Israeli cities on buses, in restaurants and in shopping malls, killing over 1,000 Israeli civilians. 

The leadership of Iran works actively throughout the Middle East to achieve its ambitions for the destruction of Israel. To that end, Iran is determined to maintain Syria as another base of operations against Israel.

The tragedy of Syrian civil war is a prime example. 

During the civil war in Syria that began in 2011, Iran provided extensive support to prop up the brutal dictator, Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of the Iranian regime.

Iran provided the Syrian regime with an endless supply of ammunition, weapons, billions of dollars in economic support, and tens of thousands of fighters from Hezbollah and other proxies.

The human cost of Iran’s support for the Syrian regime: over 500,000 dead Syrians and the creation of more than five million refugees.

In an article published in the Atlantic in 2018, Middle East expert Karim Sadjadpour wrote:

“Distilled to its essence, Tehran’s steadfast support for Assad is not driven by the geopolitical or financial interests of the Iranian nation, nor the religious convictions of the Islamic Republic, but by a visceral and seemingly inextinguishable hatred for the state of Israel.”  

The time has come for the international community to clearly see the motivations that inform Iran’s behavior and to hold Iran, the arsonist of the Middle East, accountable for its deadly agenda.

Until then, peace will remain a distant dream for both Israelis and Palestinians, with more unnecessary suffering to be played out for the people of the entire region.

Bob Feferman is Community Relations Director for the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley in South Bend. 

Last year on October 7th, Israel and the Jewish world were shaken by the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas. Now is the time for us to come together as a community to remember the victims of October 7th, pray for the soldiers of the IDF, and show our support for Israel.

It is time for us to come together to remember the 1,200 victims of the attack on October 7th, to remember the more than 700 IDF soldiers who have died fighting Hamas and Hezbollah and pray for the return of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

From Horror to Hope: An IDF Commando’s Journey

On Sunday, October 6th at 12 PM, the Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Committee will co-sponsor a virtual event on Zoom with the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana. The event will feature Noam, a soldier in an elite IDF commando unit. The title of his talk is “From Horror to Hope: An IDF Commando’s Journey.” (click here to register) In his talk, Noam will share his story of saving lives at Kibbutz Be’eri and the joy of accompanying freed hostages back to Israel.

Noam is a BA student in Law at Tel Aviv University. Previously, he served as a Captain in a Commando Unit in the IDF. On October 7th, even before receiving the official call-up order from the army, Noam drove to Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza border to help rescue civilians. He then went on to serve for six months with his reserve unit in combat operations in Gaza.

Our thanks and appreciation to former shlicha Chen Nissan, and Abi Miller, a friend of our community, for helping facilitate his talk.

Gathering to Remember October 7th

Then, on Sunday, October 27th, we will gather in-person at the Jewish Federation at 11 AM for a 30-minute memorial ceremony organized by the Jewish Federation’s Partnership2Gether committee. We are calling the event “Gathering to Remember October 7th.” (click here to register) Doors will open at 10:30 AM, so we can begin the ceremony on time.

Immediately following the ceremony, at 11:30 AM, we will join a virtual event on Zoom with other Partnership communities across America for a special program presented by Partnership2Gether.

The program will begin with Yizkor, followed by a panel of Israelis who will share their harrowing experiences of October 7th and the past year.

The speakers will include:

• Liat Atzili, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and released. Her husband’s body is still held in Gaza.

• Dubi Lahav, who, along with his son, was severely wounded on October 7th. They are gradually recovering with the help of his family and his community.

• A representative of one of the bereaved families from Akko.

• David Vaknin, a businessman from Western Galilee who was called up for reserves. He has been deployed to the northern border since October 7th. David and his family are among the 60,000 displaced Israelis from northern border communities.

The program will conclude with a moving video clip by the Matte Asher Community Center choir.

On behalf of the leadership and staff of the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley, we call on you to join us to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel and honor the memories of the fallen.

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations, Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley
(574) 233-1164 x1815
RFeferman@TheJewishFed.org

Today, however, I would like to shift focus to a deeply moving book I recently encountered, which pays tribute to the heroes of October 7th—both fallen and surviving, soldiers and civilians alike. In moments of great danger, they made instantaneous decisions to perform acts of heroism and save lives.

To understand and realize the gravity of this tragedy, I thought it would be meaningful to share one of the stories from this collection. The book, titled One Day in October, features forty stories of forty individuals, each highlighting the courage displayed in the face of unspeakable adversity. This narrative reminds us of the profound impact of these events, which must never be taken lightly.

One chapter from the book tells the story of Police Superintendent Eyal Aharon. It is called:

“I’m Going to Save My Boys”

Written in Hebrew by Yair Agmon & Oriya Mevorach
Translated to English by Sara Daniel

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE BOOK FROM KOREN PUBLISHERS.
(The story that follows is published with permission from Koren Publishers.)

When I was young, my father saw that when it came to religion, I wasn’t exactly following in his footsteps. He was a hazan, a cantor, my father. He spent all day in the synagogue, but I wasn’t into it, and my father said to me: “Listen. I have no problem with your decisions. In the end, it’s all between you and God. But I have one request to make of you: love your neighbor as yourself. Be yourself, and love people. That’s what I want from you.”

When I joined the police force, he told me the same thing. He said: “Listen, your decisions affect people’s lives. You can change someone’s life completely—for better or worse—and I ask that you judge everyone favorably. Be a mensch.” When I was twenty-five years old, he died on me. Far too soon. It shattered my world. But ever since, I feel him with me wherever I go. On October 7th, too, when there were so many miracles, so many things that didn’t make sense—people who looked on from the side said that it just didn’t make sense, they asked me if I was wearing some kind of magic cloak, some kind of invisible shield—I’m sure that it was him there with me. My father was the magic cloak I wore at the battle at Re’im.

On Shabbat morning I was at home in Kibbutz Beit Kama. An enjoyable Shabbat, good weather, everything’s good. My sons had gone to a nature festival a stone’s throw from the border. I have two boys: Shaked is twenty-three, Geva is twenty, and they’re both known for being party animals. This party was well organized, with all the proper permits from the police and the state, as it should have been. Until, in a second and a half, it turned into hell.

At seven in the morning, Geva calls my wife: “Mom, they stopped the party. The army called me up; pack me a bag for a week. I’m with Shaked; we’re on the way to Kibbutz Re’im.” This is what happened: they left the party, and when they reached the road, they could turn right or left. Whoever turned left to Be’eri died—almost all of them were killed—but my boys turned right. There’s a small bomb shelter by the entrance of Re’im, and they debated whether to go inside or not, and in the end, they decided to move on. Everyone who hid inside the shelter was killed. But they drove on into the kibbutz, where there was this one guy, Simhi, a hero, a real hero! He was walking around there saving people – even though he didn’t have a weapon—and Simhi said to them, “Come quick! There are terrorists!” and he ran with them to some safe room there. Later, I heard that he himself was killed.

As soon as she hung up, I got into uniform and drove off in the squad car, speeding like crazy. On the way, my son calls me, whispering: “Dad, there are terrorists in the kibbutz. Call the police; we ran into one of the houses, come save us!” I don’t wish a phone call like that on anyone; it was one of the most terrifying calls I ever got in my life. I hear him, step on the gas, and say, “Geva, don’t call any more—from now on, just message me. Not one call; I don’t want them to hear your voice. Hide.” That’s what I said to him on the phone, then the messages started coming.

The first message was, “They shot Shaked in the leg. Don’t come.” He told me not to come so that I wouldn’t put myself in danger. What happened was that my sons went into one of the houses with something like sixteen other people from the party. Geva and another soldier from an elite unit, Maglan, found a kitchen knife and a beer bottle and thought that they’d manage to fight off the terrorist. But then they realized that it wasn’t just one terrorist – there were dozens and dozens of them. So they went into the safe room, with everyone, and just seconds after they shut the door behind them, the terrorists start shooting in the house and throwing grenades. They’re in a safe room, sixteen kids from the party, including Shaked and Geva, and Geva and another guy take hold of the door handle and hold it shut. So, when the terrorist gets to the door, he tries to open it, but Geva’s a strong guy, and he holds it so tight that the terrorist can’t even move it—if he would have been able to move it, the terrorist would have realized that there was someone inside.

And then, out of frustration that he can’t open it, the terrorist just sticks the barrel of his gun right up to the door and shoots two Kalashnikov bullets—they’re armor-piercing bullets—and they go through the door and hit Shaked, my older son, in the leg. But Shaked doesn’t cry out; he doesn’t make a sound—he understood that he had to be quiet even though he was hit by two bullets, even though it feels like his leg is exploding, he realizes that he can’t make the slightest sound, or the terrorists will know they’re there.

The terrorists were sure there was some kind of problem with the door, that something’s caught, and they begin to go through the house. Meanwhile, Geva takes Shaked’s belt and makes him a tourniquet. And the terrorists come to the door from time to time and keep trying to open it, but they don’t succeed.

Me, from my perspective at this stage, I have no idea how big the thing was; I thought that there were three or four terrorists in the kibbutz, and that was it. I didn’t understand what was going on. On the way, I figured it made sense to drop off Geva’s bag at his base in Urim to make room for more people in the car, but when I got to the base there was no one at the security gate. Looking back, I had a miracle there, because when I was there—you can see it on the security cameras—when I was there, the terrorists were already inside the base murdering everyone who crossed their path. There was a massacre in the base while I stood there for a few minutes, waiting at the gate. I had no idea, and when I saw that no one was coming I turned around and left.

From there I drove to the police station in Ofakim. I had my revolver, but I wanted to get a rifle, and I figured that I’d ask another cop to come deal with the terrorists with me, no big deal. On the way, I see all these cars standing at the side of the road, but from my perspective they were just parked on the shoulder; I didn’t see any terrorists or bodies or anything. So, I go into Ofakim Station and see blood at the entrance. I see a cop with a head wound and ask him, “What happened?” and he says to me: “What’s the matter with you? Don’t you listen to the news? There are terrorists here in Ofakim, battles in Ofakim, in Urim, in Be’eri, and in Sderot.” Suddenly, the enormity of it hits me. We’d done police training for scenarios like that – terrorists infiltrating towns or taking over intersections to block reinforcements. At that moment, the sky seemed to turn black.

I said to the cops there, “Guys, I have children in Kibbutz Re’im; I’m going to go save them. Any chance someone’ll come with me?” and they said to me, “Sure, but let’s first see what’s happening here in Ofakim.” So, I said to someone there, “Fine, so give me a rifle,” and he says to me, “Sure, you can have a rifle, but there are no bullets; there are no bullets or cartridges left; the policemen who are fighting in Ofakim took everything we have. If you want, wait a little; the guy in charge of the equipment’s coming soon.” I said to him, “There’s no time to wait.”

Now I—the other cops think that I’m a little obsessive because I always keep a helmet and spare cartridges in my car. I’m prepared. They always said to me, “Why do you carry all that stuff around?”—Well, here you go. As I left Ofakim, I saw a police car on the way, Deputy Superintendent Davidov, the Rahat Station commander, a good friend, and he asked me, “What are you doing here?” I said to him, “I’m going to save my boys; they’re in Kibbutz Re’im,” and I saw from the look in his eyes that he couldn’t come with me. He has lots of trouble here, terrorists everywhere, so I said to him, “Go to your men. Good luck!” And I understood that that was it, I was on my own with this; no one else is going to help me. So, I set out alone for Kibbutz Re’im.

On the way, I see—it was terrible—I’m driving on the same route that I was on before, with all the cars at the side of the road, only this time I see them all from the front, and I see all the bodies, the blood, and I start to drive slowly, with a bullet in the barrel waiting for a terrorist to surprise me. It was like some horror movie, a totally apocalyptic sight. Some of the bodies were people who tried to run away, and some were burnt, and I’m driving between the corpses, and in the meantime the kids are corresponding with me, sending me pictures of Shaked’s wound, asking me when I’m coming.

PART 2 (CONTINUED FROM OUR COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER PRINT EDITION)

At about nine in the morning I get to Re’im, to the back entrance to the kibbutz, and at the intersection I see a cop motioning me to stay back, and the moment I see him, I realize that there are terrorists shooting at me from every direction, even before I braked, so I park the car on the side and open the door and start shooting back at their direction, without seeing them at all. And then they fire two RPGs at me, that’s a kind of anti-tank missile, and one missile hits just five meters away from me and explodes, and the other one hits about seven meters away, and I realize that if they shoot a third one then I’m a goner, so I lock the patrol car and sprint toward the kibbutz. And they shoot at me. Bullets go between my legs, over my head, I hear them whistle next to my ears, dirt flies up from the impact, but I just run. And as I run, I curse every cookie I’ve eaten lately– I mean, I’m fifty-three, not young, and not exactly thin, and I have to move forward as quickly as possible.

At the entrance to the kibbutz, I meet another four cops, and one of them says to me, “Do you have a cartridge to spare? I’m out of bullets,” and I say to him, “Here, take a cartridge.” I knew I was on my way to my boys, but I couldn’t say no to him. They had just evacuated a wounded cop, and they said to me, “Come, wait outside,” but I ran into the kibbutz. They didn’t understand why; they thought I’d gone nuts, but a few of the policemen came with me, they joined me. By the way, one of the cops that joined us – his whole backside was covered in blood, and I said to him, “You’re hurt! You’re dripping with blood!” but he said to me, “Yeah, I was hit by a grenade in Ofakim, but my legs can move, my eyes can see, and my finger can pull the trigger, so we keep going.”

So, we start making our way through the kibbutz, slowly, carefully, because there are terrorists around, and then I suddenly hear, “Don’t shoot! Police!” and I see a man in police uniform, light blue, with a police cap and insignia. He’s standing in front of me without a weapon, without anything. He’s smiling at me and says, “Take it easy, don’t shoot!” No accent or anything; he sounds completely Israeli. And my head begins working: where do I know him from, maybe from Ofakim, or from Arad, or from Rahat? As he approaches me, I say to him, “Don’t come any closer!” and his smile starts to fade, and I tense up, and I look at him, then he notices the four cops behind me who have reached me, and suddenly his smile completely disappears.

I ask him, “What station are you from,” and he answers, “Special Reconnaissance,” which doesn’t make sense because they have different uniforms, but I wasn’t quite sure because there were some cops who worked security at the Nova Festival. So, I ask him again, “What station are you from,” and he repeats the same answer, but by then I can see a green Hamas bandana peeking out from under his cap, then I spot more terrorists in camouflage in the shadows behind him, and I shout “Terrorist!” and I shoot. I hit him first, and then everybody joins me. Only later did I understand that this was actually an attempt to kidnap me.

Then a gunfight breaks out there at very close range, and once again, they have an RPG and machine guns, and we kill three terrorists there – some died and some ran away. The moment I understood that the gun battle was over, I continued moving forward into the kibbutz, making my way to the location that my boys sent me. I walk the whole time between bushes for cover. On the way I meet an old man who must have been eighty years old, a kibbutznik – only kibbutz types can speak like this – he says to me, “Hey, dummy, you just dumped three bodies on me here! What am I supposed to do with them?” So I say, “Don’t do anything with them! Run back fast into the safe room; there are a lot of terrorists here!”

On the way I also called my commander to update him about what’s happening, but while I was talking with him I heard someone shushing me from one of the houses. It was a young man holding a tiny baby – teeny tiny, about a month old – and the man says to me, “Don’t wake up my baby – either come in and be quiet or go away.” He was holding his hand over the baby’s mouth to keep him from crying – with one hand he held the baby and closed his mouth and with the other he held a gun. I just apologized and kept going.

When I was finally close, so close to where my boys were, I was creeping across the gravel when a small box suddenly flew out of the bushes. I looked at the box, the box looked at me, and boom, it explodes. I realized that it was an explosive charge, someone must have heard or seen me, and I started backing away. And then I stopped and waited for the terrorist to move, and when he moved, I shot him from a range of four meters. It all happened just a meter away from where my boys were.

It took me two and a half hours from the moment I got to the kibbutz until the moment that I got to the house, the safe room where they were. I make my way toward the house, get there, take cover, and carefully enter the house. My heart is pounding – and the house is empty. Just sand. Bullet shells. Blood. The safe room is empty. What a feeling that was. I was sure the terrorists had kidnapped them; I was sure that I had missed them. I sat myself onto the couch, laid my rifle on my lap, and buried my face in my hands. I said to myself, what do I do, what do I do now? That’s it. I’m in the lions’ den. I missed my moment, I failed, my mission had failed.

But after a few minutes there, suddenly I said to myself, Maybe I missed something, I’ll send them a message; maybe they ran away. So I send them a message, and they reply! They’re alive! I feel a rush of energy like I’m recharged – I see that the location was slightly off, that it had sent me next door! So, I stick my head out of the door and see ten terrorists, twenty, setting the house opposite this one on fire, trying to force the shelter door open. I send Geva a photo of that house. He sends back, “No, we’re in a different house,” and describes it, and I realize that they’re in a house right near where I am. Really close.

I make my way out, taking cover in the tall bushes, and wait for just the right moment to sneak inside without being seen. Then I see all the terrorists going into that very house; the house where the kids are. I see their commander come with a map, and he spreads the map out there under the pergola, and his terrorists go inside the house and come out to the pergola with cookies and coffee, and he gives them instructions; he talks and explains, talks and explains and I see his map is divided into command zones: you go here, and you go here, and I can see and hear everything because I’m barely two meters away. And I send a message to my son, “I’m right across from the house. There are twenty terrorists at the entrance. Stay quiet.” My son said to me that when he got that message, he almost had a heart attack.

Meanwhile, I sent a message to my station’s deputy commander, Tal Zarhin. I sent him my location, and I wrote to him that twenty terrorists are preparing for deployment here; send everyone you can. That’s what I wrote, and he understood the message. As I finished writing him, I suddenly heard a burst of gunfire right next to me. Some terrorist was probably shooting in the air for no reason, but my kids, who were inside and knew that I was outside, were sure that I was dead. That’s what my son told me, that when they heard the gunfire – they thought that their father was dead. That was it; the story’s over. So I went back into the empty house and took a selfie and sent it to them. I didn’t smile in the first photo, but then I took another one, and I smiled in that one.

I was sure that would be my last photo ever. I couldn’t see any way in my mind’s eye that I’d make it out of there alive. I saw how many terrorists there were; I heard the pickup trucks coming, and I realized that that was it – there was no army, no police; it was the end. I said to myself, I’ve smiled my whole life – I’ll smile in my last selfie, too.

I was there in the bushes for about an hour, until an IDF special forces unit arrived! They must have received my message with the location. I started to hear them coming closer, giving orders, “Turn right, cover from here, cover me from there.” The terrorists heard them coming too and started running away from the house. They left the pergola and ran off. When the soldiers reached me, I said to them, “Police!” and their commander, Colonel Roy Levy, patted me on the shoulder and says to me “What are you doing?” I said to him, “I’ve been here; I was the one who sent the location.” I warmed to him right away, that Roy. He’s no longer with us; he was killed in that battle.

Roy said to me, “Crouch down,” and I said to him, “I’m old, I can’t bend down, I have a tear in my meniscus. If I bend down, I can’t get back up.” He starts to laugh and says to me, “Forget it, just give me a situation report.” So I told him, “Listen, I’m here because of my sons. I’m trying to get them out of here; they’re in the last house on the right. I have to get them out. There are dozens of terrorists around, something like forty or fifty.” That’s what I said.

Roy says to me, “Got it. Listen carefully. You and I will go to the front of the house and distract the terrorists. I’ll send a team round the back to get your kids out.” So I said to him, “Okay, great. But there’s another house here with kids in the safe room, and they’ve set the house on fire, the kids could suffocate.” The path was clear because the terrorists had run away, so I ran with the guys to the other house, the one that was on fire, and we got the kids out of there. There were about fifteen youths, with soot on their faces, soot in their nostrils. They had breathed in so much smoke that they weren’t doing well. We brought them to a safe place, then the battle began.

The firing near me intensified, but it’s hard for me to lie down or kneel, so I took cover behind some tree and fired from there. The terrorists kept moving around and attacking from different places; it was major chaos, and they threw a lot of grenades. At a certain stage, I began moving forward, and as I moved the soldier beside me shouted, “You have a grenade on your foot!” I looked down and saw a grenade resting against my heel – but it didn’t explode.

At some point I started moving forward, and as I left my spot, I saw a terrorist maybe ten meters away from me. He came out of the bushes and positioned himself across from me and began to shoot; he must have shot six bullets, but none of them hit! He aimed right at me and shot and I just stood there, frozen, not moving, and he kept shooting. At some point his gun jammed, he lowered it, and as he lowered it three of us shot at him at once and he fell. And the officer there with me said to me, “Tell me, man, are you wearing a magical cloak or something?”

At that point the guys from the police special reconnaissance unit knocked on the window of the safe room where the kids were, and one of the policemen went in through the front door and brought all the kids out of there – fourteen youths came out, everyone but my kids, the guy from Maglan, and the medic who was with them. They brought Shaked out through the window. They couldn’t lift him up, so they put him onto a sheet and carried him out with the sheet. Meanwhile, more soldiers arrived, bringing a stretcher, and they transferred him from the sheet to the stretcher.

Just then, while they were arranging the stretcher, the terrorists who had spotted the rescue operation came and started shooting and throwing grenades again, and I remember that I saw Geva walking along carrying Shaked’s stretcher, and a grenade was thrown right next to them. Geva threw himself on Shaked and tried to protect him; he lay there on top of Shaked with his back to the grenade, and the grenade rolled right next to his head. If that grenade had exploded, they would have both been killed on the spot. But it was a dud, and it didn’t explode.

Roy Levy hadn’t forgotten about me, and he sent one of his officers to look for me – in the heat of battle, fighting for his soldiers, fighting for his life, he still thought about me. I went up to him, and he said to me, “Listen, your kids are at the infirmary, we rescued them, they’re safe and sound. We have the Negev Recon Unit here, we have the Masada Tactical Unit, and Sayeret Matkal commandos just arrived at the kibbutz – go to your children.”

On the way to the infirmary, on the way to the kids, I went into some house – I had to drink, it had been over five hours, so I went into some house. The house was wide open, a complete mess; there was no one there. I found a cup, filled it up with water, and took a sip. But it caught in my throat. I couldn’t drink, I couldn’t swallow. Here I was, in someone’s house, and the people who lived here might have been murdered; they might have been taken captive. I just couldn’t. I poured out the water, washed the cup, and moved on.

I was very lucky that day. God was watching over me. So many of my friends were killed before they even had the chance to fight. A good friend of mine was murdered in Ofakim before he had time to shoot a single bullet. He was murdered, and I’m still here. It’s simply Divine Providence; it’s all up to God – and my father sitting next to Him, persuading Him to let me live. He was a persuasive guy.

A month or so later I went to visit my father’s grave – I had to thank him. I truly believe that thanks to him, I’m still alive. I visited his grave, spoke with him there, then we went with the kids to synagogue and recited Birkat HaGomel, the gratitude blessing. From there I went to Jerusalem, to visit Roy Levy’s grave. I had to thank him as well. He didn’t forget me. I could have waited there on the battlefield for hours, and no one might have come, but in the midst of all the chaos, in the midst of the carnage, he remembered me.

When I met his wife and told her what happened and told her about our conversation and the jokes he made and how he remembered me in the heat of battle, she understood perfectly. She said, “Yes, that’s him; that’s exactly what he’s always like; that’s him.” I think it was good for her that I told her.

My friends are always asking me what motivated me, what kept me going, what saved me from losing hope even when everything seemed hopeless. And I want to say that today, whenever I see my boys – when I get back from work, when I eat lunch or dinner with them, when I see them, the answer’s clear – my children are still alive today.

I don’t know if this is optimistic or not, but ever since that day, at every funeral I’ve been to – and I’ve been to funerals – I imagine myself in the family’s place, standing at my own son’s funeral. I see the hostages’ families, I see their agony, and I think: Wow, I was nearly in that situation. That could have been me. The country is in a sad, sad place right now. No doubt about it.

On the other hand, I keep reminding myself that I should be the world’s happiest person. I was there, I made it out, I won; I won my boys’ lives, I won my own life back. It’s always with me, always, always – the thought that I was fortunate enough to succeed, to survive. So many others weren’t given that gift; they never came back. For me, that thought leads only to one place: a place of gratitude. I’m grateful for my life; I understand that my life and my sons’ lives are a gift. It’s a gift we cannot, must not, waste.

Joy. Rejoicing. Exultation. When four of the hostages, including Noa Arganami, were rescued by the IDF on our first Shabbat there.

Fear. Much fear for us as we traveled north towards the Kinneret. Fear for loved ones and friends being safe and the fear of what might happen.

Grief. Regret. Shame. As we traveled down to visit the sites hit hardest on October 7; Sderot, Kibbutz Be’eri, the Nova Music festival site, our friend and guide shared how he had driven from Haifa that morning as soon as he had heard, to fight the terrorists. But he felt much shame that this had happened at all. He was in the IDF to defend the civilians, but so many civilians had died.

Love. Family. Fellowship. Feasting. As we were invited into Chen Nissan’s aunt’s home for the huge Shavuot celebration. “These people know how to have a great party,” I thought, as we sat around the table and watched relatives sharing many smiles and much laughter.

Patriotism. Celebration. Dancing. Waving flags with strangers in front of the Central Bus Station on our arrival, Jerusalem Day, as we remember the beauty of Jerusalem and the gift of praying at the Kotel.

Hope. In the Erev Shabbat service with many of the families of the hostages, singing the Psalms and praying for the safe return of many loved ones.

In case you have not met us, my husband Ryan and I have been very involved in the Jewish Community since October 7. Something happened on that day that caused us as Christians to want to be a comforting and supportive presence to our brothers and sisters in the community who were facing ugly antisemitism directly or indirectly. As Moshe wrote in the November 2023 newsletter, the Federation is working on a three-year goal called, “bring hearts together” focused on unity in our community as we focus on our shared values. One of our greatest shared values is Am Yisrael Chai—the Jewish people live! They must live! They must be allowed to live and to thrive, and for Jewish people to thrive they must be able to live in their ancestral homeland, which is so important to their faith.

When we were in Israel, I saw all the things I mentioned earlier: Great, great sadness. Anger. Confusion. Questions. Joy. Rejoicing. Exultation. Fear. Grief. Regret. Shame. Love. Family. Fellowship. Feasting. Pride. Celebration. Dancing. Hope.

Many in Israel were surprised by how full of hope I am, and that was what I wanted. I want to help the people of Israel and the Jewish people around the world know that their HOPE is not lost. The same G-d who split the Red Sea and brought Jacob’s children out of Egypt is the same G-d who led David to give us the Tehillim, providing us language to feel ALL the complexity of ALL of this, but to end our prayers with hope. Jeremiah wrestled intensely with Hashem, but ended his wrestling with these words, “This I recall to mind and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul. ‘Therefore, I will hope in him.’” (Jeremiah 3:21-24).

This is NOT the end of the story. There is HOPE. There is ALWAYS HOPE.

Abi Miller
Community Contributor

“Lo, the people that rise like a lioness, leaps up like a lion, rests not until it has feasted on prey.” (Numbers 23:24)

Hello everyone! As some of you know, I just returned from a trip home to Israel. I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful experiences I had while I was there. Perhaps it is more accurate to say, the bright spots during challenging times of war.

Benjamin Netanyahu in Congress

I am not going to express my political opinion on Netanyahu or even on the quality of the speech. What I do want to talk about is the U.S. Congress’s reaction to the speech.

Netanyahu was accompanied by several Israelis whom he recognized in his speech. One was former captive, Noa Argamani. After months of hearing how the world is increasingly anti-Israel, to see Noa Argamani receive a standing ovation from members of Congress was truly heartwarming.

It was also very moving to see our Israeli soldiers receiving hugs, approval, and the respect they deserve from people who understand the importance of the State of Israel and the importance of supporting it. This was an amazing day for people in Israel. Watching the tremendous support from the United States for the State of Israel on our screens was an important boost to our morale.

The Olympics

Oren Smadja, coach of the Israeli national judo team and former Olympic medalist, lost his son Omer in the war just four weeks before the Olympic Games. It happened on his 54th birthday. Despite the deep pain, Oren chose to go to the Olympic Games and lead his students, including Peter Paltchik, to win Israel’s first medal in the Paris Olympic Games.

In an interview afterward, Peter said that during the match, he thought about Oren, about Omer, about everything Oren had been through, and realized that he could not give up on this fight. The two embraced in front of the cameras, bringing an entire nation to tears in that moment.

This medal opened a door that no one expected—seven Olympic medals in total for Israel in the Paris Olympic Games. Despite the war, the fighting spirit in sports was not broken; on the contrary, it grew stronger. Five silver medals, one gold medal, and one bronze medal. For comparison, until now, Israel has only won twenty medals in all its Olympic participation since 1952.

Although no medals were won in the first four decades, since the 1990s, Israel has won a medal in every category of the Olympic Games (except for the London 2012 Olympics). That is Israeli pride!

The Attack on Madjal Shams

But, as you know, the war is still going on, and we are currently in its midst. Despite the moments of joy that Israelis experience, no one forgets that we are at war. One of the events that Israelis did not expect was the rocket attack on Madjal Shams.

Madjal Shams is a small town in the north on the Golan Heights inhabited by Druze. The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious group in the Middle East who practice a unique ethnic religion that split from Shia Islam-Ismailism in the 11th century.

Many of them serve in the army and consider themselves Israelis in every respect.

Some, however, (especially the Druze on the Golan) identify as Syrians and refuse to accept Israeli identity cards or identify as Israelis. Why? Well, there are two main reasons, but first, we need to understand who the Druze in the north are.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, due to artillery fire from the Syrian side towards Israel, the State of Israel captured the Golan Heights from the Syrians, understanding the need to establish peace in the northern settlements.

So, what are the two reasons? Essentially, it is one reason divided into two parts. What will the Syrians think if they understand that we support the State of Israel? These people fear that Israel will be forced to return this territory to Syria at some point as part of a peace agreement.

The additional problem is that even if that doesn’t happen, people are living in the country whose family members are in Syria, and it’s not clear if the Syrian authorities would be sympathetic toward these families if they knew they had relatives in Israel who support the State of Israel. In short, it is not that the Druze living there do not support Israel or support Syria; the situation is just a bit more complicated.

Returning to Madjal Shams: On July 27, a Hezbollah rocket hit a playground and killed twelve Druze children. The rocket that hit the playground was not an ordinary Hezbollah rocket; it was an Iranian rocket named Falaq-1, carrying 110 pounds of explosive material.

The response from Israeli citizens demanding a strong reaction after the attack came swiftly. The realization that this cannot continue, that a red line had been crossed, and these are our brothers and sisters serving with us in the army, led to great anger and frustration in the streets, but also a sense of unity.

One of the beautiful images taken after the rocket attack was at the playground where the children were killed, showing a Jew and a Christian priest praying for the souls of the twelve victims. Again, a moment of unity in times of war.

Back to Uniform

One day, I was sitting with my father (age 62), and he told me about a new initiative he participates in called “Back to Uniform.”

It is a movement for people who were exempt from the army, mostly due to age (Exemption is given between the ages of 40-50, depending on the role they performed during their regular military service.) The organization is comprised of Israelis over 50 who wish to return to the army, understand the need for manpower, and want to take part in the war effort.

Even with the exemption they received, many still want to return to serve and defend the country. Their call is, “It doesn’t matter what you assign me to do, I’ll do it—driver, supply officer, combatant, base guard.” This is a commendable initiative, which, over a few weeks, has managed to recruit over 1,500 people.

To sum it all up, the situation in the State of Israel is not easy, morale is down, and it is just too much for many people. Having said that, we are resilient and do not forget to cherish the good and see the bright spots in our daily lives. That is one more reason that the support of the American-Jewish community for Israel means so much to us in these difficult times. May all of us know easier and more peaceful days.

Happy to come back for your service, your Israeli emissary.

Omer Karavani
Israeli Emissary
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley
574-233-1164 x1819
Israel@TheJewishFed.org

On that front, Israel’s enemies claim that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is committing the crime of genocide in Gaza. A look at the facts shows the opposite is true.

First, let us remember that on October 6th there was a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The war began on October 7th with the unprovoked cross-border invasion of Israel with more than 3,000 Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered 1,200 Israelis, raped women, and took 250 hostages.

What Israel did in response to this unprovoked Hamas attack was a legitimate act of self-defense to free the hostages and prevent another October 7^th.

It is also important to remember the history of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Following the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations carried out more than 150 suicide bombings (1993-2005) to blow up the hopes for peace through the two-state solution. Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, they have fired nearly 20,000 rockets at Israeli civilians. And all this was before October 7^th.

In his response to the accusation of genocide by the International Court of Justice, on January 24th, former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak delivered this statement to the court.  

He wrote:

“Central to the crime of genocide is the element of intent, namely the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such.”

Justice Barak refuted the charge of genocide with this powerful argument.

He wrote:

“The evidence presented by Israel shows that it is the opposite intent that is plausible and guides the military operation in Gaza.”

He went on to write:

“Israel pointed out that it has adopted several measures to minimize the impact of hostilities on civilians. For example, Israel continues to supply its own water to Gaza by two pipelines; it has increased access to medical supplies, facilitated the establishment of field hospitals and distributed fuel and winter equipment…. the IDF is doing everything possible to avoid harming those not involved.”

The proof of Israel’s intentions can be seen in the number of casualties. Gaza has a population of more than 2.1 million civilians. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 38,000 people have died in Gaza since the war began.

There is no doubt that every civilian casualty in Gaza is a human tragedy. And the pictures of devastation show the ferocious battles being fought in a complex urban environment.

Yet, the numbers given by the Gaza Ministry of Health do not give an accurate picture of the casualties.

According to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has killed more than 14,000 terrorists since October 7th. The Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Although we may never know the accurate number of civilian casualties in Gaza, if we include the number of terrorists killed by the IDF, the number of civilian casualties is much lower than the 38,000 cited by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Just based on these facts alone, it is obvious that Israel is not committing genocide. Yet, the question remains: Has the IDF done everything possible to mitigate harm to civilians?

To answer this question, it is important to read the analysis of John Spencer, America’s leading expert on urban warfare.

John Spencer is the chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also served as an infantry soldier for 25 years including two tours in Iraq. And he has visited Israel three times during the war and gone into Gaza with IDF forces.

In an important article in Newsweek, he wrote:

“…by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history—above and beyond what international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The blame for the tragedy of Gaza must be placed squarely on the leadership of Hamas. Since their violent takeover of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, Hamas has squandered millions of dollars in the building of more than 350 miles of tunnels and thousands of rockets to serve one purpose: its war for the destruction of Israel.

Following the attack on Israel on October 7^th, Hamas has been cynically using its civilian population as human shields above ground while its leaders and fighters hide in tunnels below ground.

The accusation of genocide is just one more falsehood meant to demonize Israel, delegitimize its right to self-defense, and question its right to exist.

Bob Feferman
Director of Community Relations
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley