Oct. 7, 2023 –Never forget, never forgive, never give in

For Jews, another day that will live in infamy

Judaism has a lot of holidays – and what should be called “observances;” days of recalling the various tragedies that occurred in our long history as God’s “chosen people.”

Tish b’Av  (the 9^th of Av)  is the main day of woe, when read the Book of Lamentations and recall the destruction of both temples (586 BCE at the hands of the Babylonians and 66 CE at the hands of Rome) and other tragedies that Jews endured, which happened to fall on the same day or week.   

But now we have Oct. 7, 2023 – a day that was supposed to be of joy, known as Simcha Torah, when we complete the cycle of reading the entire Torah the previous year.    I love this holiday the most because being a Levi, I get to hold the scroll when we dance to it.

But Oct. 7, 2023 was also the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust at the hands of Hamas terrorists, who stormed through the Gaza border barriers by motorcycle, truck, and in the air and on sea, killing 1200 at kibbutz’s and a music festival, plus Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops.

I still went to Simcha Torah festivities that day, as did millions across the globe, but being the only GOP candidate for State Senate who is Jewish decided to issue a statement to the media and on my web site.  I felt I needed to do that.

And then, the atrocities that occurred that day became known – -not just the 250 from Israel, the US and other nations who were captured as hostages, but the rapes of women and girls and mutilation;  beheading babies and putting them in ovens;  killing innocent people, some of whom tried to make peace with Gazans up until the massacre.

The IDF was nowhere to be found.  I could not get my mind off how the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu, a hardliner when it comes to Israel security, could have let this happen – and then we learned that warnings and reports were written, but ignored, and the IDF diverted troops to the West Bank to oversee Simcha Torah celebrations.

Israel was at war, and Jews across the world, who thought we’d have the world behind our backs, would soon learn of the pernicious influence of the radical neo-Marxist, anti-Western, anti-American, and yes, anti-Semitic Left.  

While President Biden and an array of Republicans and democrats pledged full support to Israel, it was only a matter of weeks when Muslim and Leftist interests in this nation would start counterprotests and calls for a cease fire – before Israel even had a chance to retaliate.

I attended a pro Israel rally on Pennsylvania Avenue days after the rally, organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of DC.  There, I saw Jamie Raskin, the Maryland anti-Trump congressman, make a passionate plea for Israel – and only weeks later, when the pro-Hamas Left in his district started breathing down his neck, was calling for a cease fire.

I, along with other candidates, attended a previously scheduled forum about the 2023 campaign at Oakton High School outside Vienna.  It was a great event to take questions from juniors and seniors studying politics – except this one Arab student, who screamed “Free Palestine” at the conclusion of my speech when I called for unity behind Biden and Israel.

He later came up to me in total denial about the reports of the beheadings.  He was an angry kid, but as I soon learned in the coming months, the Leftist takeover of our schools ands colleges creates millions like him.

A massive pro Israel rally on the Mall in DC in November to fight antisemitism and support bringing home the hostages had some 300,000 attendees and a variety of speakers from BOTH parties, notably House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and CNN commentator Van Jones.  

But a week later, the Democratic National Committee was attacked by pro-Hamas demonstrators, including the anti-Zionist Jewish group If Not Now.  And, an anti-Israel rally garnered 300,000.

The more the IDF pounded Gaza and the more and more we saw Arab deaths there, the worst it became for Israel – despite the fact that the victims were all due to Hamas embedding its fighters and missiles in residential areas and utilizing UN and U.S. aid to build tunnels and make bombs.  While 100 hostages were released in a temporary cease fire last November, Hamas broke the peace and launched missiles again.  Meanwhile, Hamas leadership was hiding in a 5-star hotel in Qatar, shielded by the government there, and it seemed none of the Western powers or Israel had a means to bring them to justice.

The UN, of course, was worthless. We learned of how Hamas was involved with the UN relief organization, which became a funnel for aid for the tunnels and missiles.

A resolution tried time and time again to declare Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups failed in the General Assembly last October.  And as the Leftist pressure and 2024 campaign came upon the Democrats, more and more including Biden and Vice President Harris began to waver in their support of Israel – notably, abstaining on an anti-Israel Security Council resolution condemning the war.

And then, the campus demonstrations became ugly, and we learned of their Leftist foundation and overseas funding.  More and more attacks on Jews occurred.  The anti-defamation league, headed by a former Obama administration political appointee, finally came around to face the reality that the 8,000 incidents in 2023 alone were virtually all at the hands of Leftists and Muslims – not white supremacists or the Oath Keepers or Trumpers.

Luckily, Republican politicians remain unified for Israel.  The display of Speaker Mike Johnson and others gathered at Columbia showed to me, that Jews do have friends, where we had few in the 1930s lead up to Hitler, nor in the 40s when millions were being murdered in death camps.

And so, here we are, a year later.  Some hostages liberated by IDF troops or escaped on their own, but most still in captivity or killed – like the six young men and women a few weeks back.  The war continues and Hamas and Hezbollah show no sign of surrender.

The U.S. , EU, International court and UN only make it harder for Israel to complete the job of annihilating Hamas, Hezbollah and neutralize Iran, which is the prime financier and provider of weapons.  It’s all politics because there are so many Muslim voters in the US and Western Europe now that politicians can’t stand up to them.  But some 3 million Jews still live in Europe and none of the EU powers, nor the U.S., which had about 6 million, seem interested in showing deterrence against Iran and terrorist groups.

Antisemitic incidents still occur – a 52 year old man wearing a Keffiyeh scarf (which is an anti-Jewish symbol, much like a swastika – bashed two University of Pittsburgh Jewish kids over the head with a bottle just in early September.  Attacks on Orthodox Hareidi Jews in New York continue and their assailants released, as per depolicing by its Leftist city council.

I, fortunately, have not experienced anti-Semitism, except a pro Israel sticker torn from my car window.  But the stories of “Zionists” being excluded from book signings and artist gatherings, and the unabated indoctrination of youth on campus with little response from Biden makes me very, very worried.

But Jews have to remain positive.  We must trust in Hashem and recognize while our allies are weak, we still have allies and friends in the Christian world, too.  It’s not like the 30s and 40s when we were helpless.  But like the Holocaust, we cannot forget or forgive the terrorists, nor can we give in.  And,  American Jews must wake up to the fact the far Left is our enemy, not our friends.

Am Israel chai.