Jonathan Feldstein: Israel, Hamas & War
When to Believe Islamic Terrorists
Watching the war against Hamas, a terrorist subsidiary of Iran, an ideological clone of the Muslim Brotherhood, there are many questions. One that’s been burning for me is when in the context of this war, or ever, to actually believe Hamas, and Islamic terrorists in general.
The short answer is to believe them when they say they want to kill you. If they say that, as is in their charter and throughout their society, with a loaded gun (or missiles) pointed at you, you should believe them. If that was ever in doubt before, it cannot be doubted anymore.
When they make videos documenting and celebrating their heinous and inhuman crimes from burning people alive, raping women, killing children in front of their parents, burning, hacking, and shooting to death entire families together, beheading and burning babies, and taking hundreds of civilians from babies to the elderly hostage yes, you can believe them.
When Islamic terrorists in Iran, the mother of Islamic terrorism, say they seek to annihilate Israel, and they continue to progress to create nuclear weapons, believe them. Do not coddle them. Do not think you can negotiate with them, or that they are rational. Do not fund them in any way, not through commerce, and not through $6 billion in ransom. And do not think a nuclear Islamist Iran can be coexisted with, at all.
The longer and more complicated answer is never to believe Islamic terrorists. But most of the world, and far too much of the media, simply does not understand, or care.
The war in Israel has demonstrated tremendous paradoxes about what to believe and what not to believe, and who is a credible source. Immediately after reports and photos emerged that Hamas terrorists slaughtered 40 or more babies – shot, burned alive, and beheaded – the world responded in disbelief. The moral minority was in disbelief that anyone could ever commit such grotesque and evil crimes. The (larger) immoral part of the world doubted reports, accusing Israel of fake news. Even journalists who saw with their own eyes couldn’t resist the urge to draw a moral equivalency, to parrot the Hamas narrative. What will happen when the world starts calling for a proportional response? I don’t even own a machete.
Underreported is the unprecedented amounts of rockets that have been fired at Israeli communities for two weeks straight. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians have been evacuated from Gaza border communities where they were living in fear and danger. At the same time, a parallel shift in population of hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been called up for battle.
What’s the point? As much as the world didn’t believe that Hamas massacred babies, that nobody could or would ever do such a thing, that Israel was lying, in no time when a rocket hit a Gaza hospital, before the terrorists finished chanting “Allah Akbar” the world was blaming Israel. Other than being obscene, even after that was debunked and it was proven that the hospital was attacked by a stray terrorist rocket, Israel continues to be blamed.
As the war heats up, possibly on multiple fronts, we can and should expect many more lies from Hamas.
Don’t believe them. Don’t believe them when they are reporting a death toll from a particular incident that may be staged. Don’t believe their inflated death counts. Don’t believe the reports of suffering, though there surely will be the suffering of noncombatants, regrettably, something they brought on themselves. Hamas celebrates the death of Israelis, and scores of foreigners massacred and kidnapped in Israel, but also the death of Gazan Palestinian Arabs. Bloodshed anywhere is a win-win proposition.
And if you don’t believe me, just look at the unspeakable videos they made to document it all. Only an inhuman beast would do such a thing. If the shoe fits…
And if you STILL don’t believe me, there’s a funny little principle in Islamic theology. It’s called Taqiyya. Basically, it not only permits Muslims to lie to non-Moslems, aka infidels, but it is also a religious mandate to do so.
Hamas and Iran probably have a whole platoon that sits around making up lies, as if writing the script for a sit-com. Laughing their a$$e$ off. Just wait for it. They’ll come up with great one like, “How do we know that all the dead Israelis were not already dead, that Hamas freedom fighters didn’t hear all the shooting and burst into Israel to rescue as many of their Israeli neighbors as possible, hustling hundreds to safety in Gaza from the carnage inflicted by someone else. Maybe the Jamaican bobsled team did it.” Absurd right? Wait for it. Truth and Islamic terror do not go hand in hand. And the world will drink it up like a deadly Jim Jones’ Kool Aid cocktail.
The Islamic terrorists also should not listen to themselves. Their wars against Israel which they inevitably lose are proof. Maybe that’s why many in the Arab world are coming around. Soon enough, they’ll realize there are no 72 virgins waiting for them when they die as “martyrs.” May many of them be “martyred.” Where they are going, they will be burning for eternity for the evil that they have perpetrated.
Oh, and about that hospital in Gaza that took a direct hit from the Islamic terrorists’ rocket, not only did they lie about who fired the rocket, Arab leaders foolishly ate it up, denouncing Israel, even canceling an important meeting with President Biden for their own good. And the media promulgated the lie without any semblance of objectivity or integrity. So it’s no surprise that it also seems that they lied about the number killed, not in the hundreds, but over exaggerated by ten times or more.
“Allah Akbar,” they chant, as they celebrate death. “God is great.” No, not their god. The Creator is looking down, weeping over the carnage, over their lies, and over how so many people around the world in His creation reflexively hate His beloved people.
Do not believe the Islamic terrorists. Ever. Unless they have a gun pointed at your head.
Israel is at War But There Are Still Smiles Amid the Grief
I’m still processing all the incredible things that happened last night.
Thanks to my good friends David Nekrutman of the Isaiah Projects who spearheaded an incredible initiative to relocate and care for the needs of scores of people evacuated from the Gaza area, and my good friend Jeffrey Mark, owner of J. Mark Interiors who made magic happen, we were able to give dozens of beautiful people a night they’ll never forget.
Arts and crafts and movies for the kids. Pizza and popcorn. Felafel and cotton candy. Singing and smiling. Volunteers stepped up in a way that still astounds me including all of Jeffrey’s staff, family and friends, and Ruth and Francis, Christian friends I had only met only yesterday on a webinar briefing I hosted at 4:00am and who happened to be visiting, and my own children. Everyone wanted to do something to help.
All this was possible because of the thousands of generous donations from Christians and Jews all over the world. Each one, from as little as $1, made all this possible, as well as so much more that’s planned and needed. I’m just privileged on behalf of the Genesis 123 Foundation to be entrusted with these donations and to be able to make it all possible.
Under normal circumstances, images of happy smiling kids are, well, normal. It’s what we, as parents, expect and strive for. But for the kids, we’ve been able to help this week, simple things such as playing outside, watching movies, doing arts and crafts, and feasting on pizza and junk food is far from the norm. For the first 10 days of the war, living six miles from the Gaza border, they didn’t leave their houses because they only had 15 seconds to seek cover each of the hundreds of times rockets were fired. Daily. Last night, these precious beautiful children had no worries.
It’s impossible to share how much this was not just good but essential for the parents as well. It was a critical respite for them where they, too, were able to breathe. Seeing their children happy and cared for, engaged and not afraid, was more than enough. It’s impossible to share here how much they all, each one, articulated how grateful they were. Often with tears in their eyes. The idea of Jews and Christians standing together to make this happen blew them away, especially considering that many had never even met a Christian before. Until they met Ruth and Francis.
For us, Jewish Israeli adults, the experience was a much-needed respite as well. For me, David, and Jeffrey who moved to Israel too old to serve in the IDF, but whose children have served and are serving now, we left inspired. Hopeful. Grateful. Grateful that we each had the ability to step up and partner together like this, coalescing, family and friends and generous donors from all over the world to make this possible. For a few hours, while we did not live under the threat of hundreds of rockets a day as the evacuees like our new friends have, we did not have to be obsessed with the horrors of the news of continued death count and atrocities that took place against our people, our neighbors, less than two weeks ago. For just a few hours, like our new friends, we were able to live in the moment of warmth and happiness, and the ability to give to others. For that, each of us will be grateful forever and grateful to everyone who donated so generously to make this happen.
But there are many, many, many additional needs. Despite their smiles, the children have experienced unspeakable trauma and will need months, if not years of counseling. We have been privileged and grateful to have raised enough money to pay for their hotel next week, one more week of an opportunity to breathe safely without living and sleeping in fear. Actually, what we heard was that they weren’t even sleeping as they anticipated the rockets all night.
But the hotels only provide breakfast, and so lunch and dinner are on us. Yesterday I received a call from an American organization here on the ground that wants to help with meals. On the way home with my two daughters, touched and moved by all the amazing kindness that we were able to be part of, we planned a barbecue for next week and will receive donations to make that happen, not just to stretch the financial donations that we’ve already received as far as we can, but to give as many people the opportunity to participate in this tremendous, and tremendously necessary, act of kindness. We are appealing to everybody, Jews, Christians, friends, family, and complete strangers everywhere in the world to join us with their most generous support because the needs will be great for a long time and we want to be there and with them as much and as long as possible.
All of this has taken place in the context of an unprecedented and unspeakable war where thousands of our civilians have been butchered, violated, gravely injured, and kidnapped in the most horrific ways. It’s a war that we must win, and it’s a war that we will win. And it’s a war that will have many more losses and much more grief. It will likely get worse, much worse before it gets better. But we’re praying that it gets better and then our new friends will be able to return home soon.
At one point two young men arrived with guitars, just wanting to sing and make people happy, breaking out in a song in which everybody joined. It’s a song of peace, a song in Hebrew and in Arabic. It was surreal listening to people who days earlier had been living in fear and stress, who had witnessed horrors and only by the grace of God were spared, and now, in a safe place, singing that “soon there will be peace for us.” Incredible. Unimaginable. Moving. Inspiring. Hopeful.
Today I will go to the hotel and have the privilege of swiping my credit card to pay for the entire week’s stay for dozens of evacuees for all of next week. When I told the adults last night that we were covering their next week, they smiled, they held their hands to their hearts, they wept, and they could not stop thanking me.
Please donate here and share widely at www.love.Genesis123.co.
A Day in A War Unlike Any Other
It was not how I planned to start my day, much less spend most of it. But it was one of the most uplifting days I’ve had, certainly since the war started on October 7, and in quite a while.
On Sunday, my good friend David Nekrutman called. Together, as Orthodox Jews, we have been building bridges and lasting deep relationships with Christians for decades. Like me, he launched an emergency fund from the Isaiah Projects to help with the war effort in Israel and has been making a tangible impact on many civilians. David asked if I would be able to help him through the Genesis 123 Foundation Israel Emergency Campaign to resettle entire families from the Gaza border area for a week or more in hotels as these communities were being evacuated so as to avoid any civilian casualties.
Even though our Israel Emergency Campaign had other primary objectives including helping soldiers, providing civilian security, and supporting the most at-risk youth in the Gaza border area, I said “yes” to David, without hesitation. First, I knew if he was doing something, it was real and credible. Second, we’ve been blessed by the support of thousands of mostly Christians donating as little as $2 and I had the money handy.
Yesterday, after finishing an early interview with a South African radio station, David asked if I wanted to come to the Jerusalem hotel to meet the people who’ve been evacuated for their safety. I arrived shortly after and was there for several hours, visiting, speaking to the families, providing words of encouragement, hearing their stories, and listening to their needs. While we brought them to Jerusalem to uplift their spirits, I came away uplifted and grateful for the privilege of being able to help them, thanks to the generosity of so many who care about our safety and well-being here in Israel.
I met Hirsch, an octogenarian Holocaust survivor whose left eye was taken out as a child by a Nazi’s rifle butt. Despite having only one eye, Hirsch is a veteran of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and was among the troops who pushed the Egyptian army back across the Suez Canal, eventually surrounding Egypt’s Third Army just 100 kilometers from Cairo.
While Hirsch fought against Egypt, over the decades he shared that he had many positive relationships with Gazan Palestinian Arabs, hosting actual friends in his home, and being hosted in theirs. Something changed. While he doesn’t believe that his friends are terrorists, he sees that their children and grandchildren are. This challenges his worldview of peaceful coexistence. Even though he only has one eye, Hirsch has seen a lot.
I asked him which was worse, the surprise Egyptian and Syrian attack 50 years ago, or the Hamas terrorist attack this month. He wasn’t sure but noted that the Egyptians were fighting an army, and Hamas crossed the border expressly to kill, maim, violate, and kidnap civilians. Hirsch is in a wheelchair and is grateful for the first good night’s sleep he had in a while. And he loved that Christians around the world were the benefactors of this opportunity.
I met Rachamim and Abigail who left home with their younger children but whose older adult children stayed back. But they wanted to have all their family with them and were hoping that their other kids would be joining them soon. We had a great conversation about our families, and think that their son might be a good fit for one of my single daughters. Who knows. Maybe a match will come out of this war. Either way, they were pleased to be in Jerusalem and appreciative of our help.
I met another family, three generations. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that they were on vacation. Except they spent the previous nine days stuck in their house next to their bomb shelters with just 15 seconds to take cover each time incoming rockets were fired their way. Neighbors and loved ones were killed. They enjoyed the warm Jerusalem sun, something we just take for granted, as the kids ran around in and out of the hotel. I prayed that the memories they will have will be of this wonderful and needed respite, and not of the war itself.
If this were not all enough, and even more stories to share, when I paid for a large portion of the hotel bill, I asked the woman working what would happen if all these people were not staying in the hotel now. “We would all be out of work,” she replied without hesitating. Interestingly, she was an Arab, underscoring that our kindness has a positive trickle-down much wider than just the dozens of evacuees.
Right next to the hotel is the showroom of J. Mark Interiors, a NY and Jerusalem-based architecture and design firm owned by my good friend, Jeffrey Mark. Since I was there anyway, I went to visit. Jeffrey asked my help coming up with a project that he and his staff could get behind to be part of the war effort, rather than just sitting around worrying. I told him about his new neighbors in the hotel. I told him that we needed to pay for meals for the families, especially on Shabbat, the Sabbath. I told him that this one-week respite that’s been paid for was not enough and that we needed to raise funds for at least 2-3 more weeks, probably bringing more people. I suggested that we needed activities for the kids to engage them, and give the parents some time alone.
Jeffrey sprang into action, garnering his staff, mapping out plans, and making a compelling and emotional video about the needs, asking his clients and friends to participate financially. Within hours, people waking up in NY began responding generously.
God willing, more of the evacuees’ family members will show up this week. God willing, we’ll raise so much money that the next month is covered for these people, and we’ll have to find others to help. God willing, they will be able to go home soon, safely.
But none of these people are working now. Some are farmers. If they don’t tend to their crops, they will lose an entire season and hundreds of thousands of shekels. One photographer has had all his work canceled through December. So I made an additional proposal. Before they leave, let’s give each family a 10,000-shekel gift card to use in a local grocery store, giving them peace of mind that even with no income, there will be food on the table for some time. God willing, people will continue to respond generously, and we can do this too.
The Genesis 123 Foundation has established a dedicated link to receive all war-related donations, the proceeds of which will go to these stated needs. Please visit www.love.genesis123.co.
