We Israelis do not have the luxury of indulging in fuzzy thinking.
We must keep our eyes open to what lies before us and act accordingly. Heavy days are coming.
At the very same time, we must open our eyes to our strengths as a people. We are extraordinary, and our strengths, if we focus on them, will sustain us.
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“Released hostage Bar Kuperstein recalled how, deep inside Hamas tunnels, he and fellow captives recited the Sabbath Kiddush and sang songs — even as the terrorists sat just meters away.”
Bar relates that “beneath the most impure place in the world, we were screaming from the soul and singing to the Creator of the world.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-freed-hostage-recalls-singing-sabbath-songs-while-in-gaza-tunnels/
One of the dreams he had while in captivity was having the opportunity to lay (put on) tfillin. Recently he did so publicly, in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, calling on hundreds of others to join him.
On that occasion he said: “…I heard my captors praying in Arabic, and I realized that if they’re praying, I must pray even more. If they’re praying despite the murders they committed and believe in, I will pray for life…
“I know that emunah [faith] is what brought me back. And I know that our shared emunah will enable us as a society to resume living in a home of hope.” (Emphasis added)
Amen! Amen!
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Former hostage Omer Shem Tov also found God in the tunnels. In darkness and totally alone, he began to talk to God and felt his presence.
His message now: “Look for the light. Look for the miracles. Take opportunities to give back and spread light.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Rf9eiKr0g
Oh, how I hope everyone is listening.
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Slowly, far too slowly because of Hamas game-playing and delays, deceased hostages are being returned to Israel.
I salute those stalwart individuals responsible for receiving and then identifying each body in turn; it is a heart-wrenching task. I have learned a bit about the decorum and enormous respect with which each body is treated.
What has impressed me, as well, is the solemnity and dignity with which those who have been returned are being received by the public.
What we are witnessing is Jewish respect for the dead, as well as an eagerness to honor as heroes those who died. It speaks well of our nation.
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Yesterday, Hamas announced that they had found the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an officer in the Givati reconnaissance unit who was killed fighting against Hamas in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge. His body was taken into a tunnel and held captive. For all of these 11 years it had not been possible to secure the return of his body – until today; his parents, who lobbied with great devotion for the return of their son’s remains, endured unending frustration and sadness.
Most of us here in Israel are – with solid reason – so mistrusting of Hamas that we accept just about nothing they say on face value. When Hamas said they didn’t know where Goldin’s body was, we didn’t believe it – they were holding out. Then when they said they had uncovered his body and were releasing it to Israel, we remained dubious. But forensic tests have now confirmed his identity. Hamas has ulterior motives, most certainly. But Hadar Goldin is home at long last
Hadar’s parents, Simcha and Leah, spoke emotionally this evening.
It is enough now that I report that Hadar Goldin has come home at long last. A moment of national victory and sadness. More details will follow. And there are four more deceased hostages we await.
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Of course, it is not only Israelis who must avoid fuzzy thinking, at this juncture, it is also the Jews of New York City and across America.
The fact that Zohran Mamdani is now mayor-elect of New York City is not something that can be brushed away as a local problem or one that will pass with only small disruptions. It is cause for alarm.
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Rabbi Ammiel Hirsh, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, met with Mamdani in August, along with other liberal rabbis – they came with an open mind, he said, wanting to learn more about his positions. But the more they heard from him, the darker their mood became.
Now he has shared what he learned from the pulpit:
“Mamdani is an ideologically committed, dogmatic opponent of the Zionist idea…His opposition to Israel is existential. He believes Israel has no right to exists as a Jewish state in any territory. This is the ideology of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQz0w7GiO4A/?igsh=MTY2dHkzd3ZmbTRtcw%3D%3D
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Listen to the podcast of “Israel Undiplomatic” with hosts Mark Regev and Ruthie Blum. Their guest is Commentary editor John Podhoretz, brother of Ruthie, who lives in New York City and sounds an alarm. His analysis is thoughtful.
“Mamdani’s secret sauce [in getting elected] was saying he was anti-Israel.”
https://www.jns.org/why-zohran-mamdanis-election-win-is-far-more-dangerous-than-you-think/
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Today, November 9, is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 that marked the transition in Germany from discriminatory laws to active genocide. Ninety-one Jews were murdered that night and some 300 committed suicide following. Over 1,400 synagogues were torched in Germany and Austria; storefronts of Jewish establishments were smashed (thus “night of broken glass”). In the following days, 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps, where most perished.
Survivors of that horrendous time, few in number today, remember and compare 1938 to 2025.
Walter Bingham, an Israeli who lived through Kristallnacht, is the world’s oldest working journalist at age 101. Last week he said that “We live in an era equivalent to 1938, where synagogues are burned, and people in the street are attacked.”
It is only because of Israel that there will not be another Holocaust, he declared.
https://www.jpost.com/history/article-873181
Walter has put out a message on Instagram to the Jews of the Diaspora (emphasis added):
“You may not feel it now, but it’s coming. There is only one place in which you are safe as a Jew and that is Israel…And the more Jewish people come to live here, the stronger we will get…”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0ZyJjeNC0a/?hl=en
Right on, Walter!
My sentiments precisely.
To the Jews of New York City, and across America, I say, COME HOME! Israel is eager to welcome you.
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I close with something heartwarming.
The Ohel Nehama Shul, seen below, is on Chopin Street, on the border of the Talbieh and Katamon neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
To mark Kristallnacht, the shul’s rabbi, Rav Yosef Ote, decided to leave the lights in the synagogue shining all night.
Wrote the rav:
“May this physical and spiritual light stand as a beacon of bracha [blessing], hope, and comfort for the Jewish people.
“May it illuminate our path through darkness, remind us of the unbreakable strength of the Jewish spirit, and bear witness to the eternal resilience of our nation across the generations, proclaiming:
“’Am Yisrael Chai, a light unto the nations, forever!’”
And I add: May this light serve as a beacon of comfort and welcome to the Jews in the diaspora.
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Please, pray for all of Am Yisrael, with special prayers for the healing of the returned hostages, return of all deceased hostages, and our final victory over Hamas.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
