Ubiquitous Signs of Unity

The following is an article that I wrote, which appeared in the January 11, 2024, edition of the Washington Jewish Week, about my recent trip to Israel:

Ubiquitous Signs of Unity

It was by no means a normal trip. Despite having been to Israel many times before, my recent journey was uniquely impactful and inspiring.

I felt the difference even before arriving in Israel. After the pilot reviewed the standard safety instructions on the public address system prior to takeoff, he referenced the current situation, stating that “We stand in solidarity with the citizens of Israel and the security and rescue forces … wishing all of us better and more safe and peaceful days ahead.” The words resonated with me, and I contemplated them during the lengthy flight.

As I walked down the long corridor in Ben Gurion Airport that is familiar to many of us because of the large “Welcome” sign that adorns the wall on the far side, I noticed a new addition – there were posters of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas lining both sides of the large hall that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a jarring reminder of today’s challenging times.

There were signs of unity everywhere. Israeli flags and signs expressing solidarity were ubiquitous – they were hanging on light posts, highway overpasses, large office buildings and residential homes. The country was a veritable sea of blue and white as Israelis of all backgrounds joined together to proudly and publicly convey their support for their Jewish homeland in the aftermath of Hamas’ heinous attacks.

A personal highlight of my trip was celebrating the engagement of my son, who moved to Israel just days after Oct. 7. After he proposed to his now-fiancée, we gathered in Herzliya to celebrate with family and friends. Several of my son’s friends were there in their army uniforms, one of whom had come straight from his army base to take part in the celebration. It was yet another reminder of the fact that our young men and women are putting their lives on the line to keep our Israeli brethren safe.

The conversations I had with friends were very telling in terms of comprehending the mood of Israelis three months after the Oct. 7 attacks. One friend, who has a son in the army, only wanted to talk about “regular stuff” as opposed to the war and its impact on their lives.

As another friend spoke about how many young men from her son’s high school were killed over the past few months, she asked “When will things be normal again?”

Israelis yearn for a return to some semblance of normalcy, but the reality is that the world changed on Oct. 7 and it’s unclear if and when things will be “normal” again.

There is a new normal in Israel. An Israeli friend of mine who had been in the U.S. and returned to Israel immediately after Oct. 7 to join his IDF unit as a reservist, told me that he spends his days off from the army going to the funerals of soldiers who were killed in the current conflict and making shiva visits to families who lost loved ones. His breaks from the army consist not of rest and relaxation, but rather grieving together with the families of fallen soldiers.

One of the most poignant moments of my trip was when I traveled to the city of Ra’anana to visit the family of an IDF soldier who was killed in Gaza.

Cpt. (res.) Shaul Greenglick, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, was just 26 years old. Several weeks before his tragic death, Greenglick appeared on HaKokhav Haba (The Next Star), a popular Israeli television program. The winner of the competition will represent Israel in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Greenglick, who auditioned for the program wearing his army uniform and dedicated his song to his fellow IDF soldiers, wowed the audience with his melodic voice and earned high praise for his performance. No one could have imagined that that would have been his final song.

The shiva house was packed. Greenglick’s aunt, who I know, introduced me to Shaul’s parents, Ruti and Zvika. Despite their grief, they welcomed me, my wife and my children with open arms and big smiles. Ruti was so appreciative that we made the effort to come to the shiva house all the way from the U.S. Zvika, who wore the shirt from his son’s army uniform at Shaul’s funeral, gave me a big hug, thanked us for coming and made sure to wish us “mazal tov” on my son’s engagement, which he had heard about from his sister, our friend.

The love and warmth that I felt during that shiva visit, despite the underlying pain that was palpable, was a testament to the incredible resilience that we possess as Jews, which has defined our people for millennia.

The unity that I witnessed in Israel was heartwarming, especially considering the discord that pervaded Israel during the months prior to Oct. 7, when mass protests enveloped the country and strife trumped solidarity. While there are fissures in that national unity beginning to emerge as the conflict drags on, I left feeling optimistic that Israel will ultimately prevail and persevere so long as the spirit of unity remains relatively intact.

Dan Helmer: Fighting for Democracy and Fighting Antisemitism

The following is an article that I wrote, which appeared in the December 21, 2023, edition of the Washington Jewish Week, about Virginia Del. Dan Helmer:

Dan Helmer: Fighting for Democracy and Fighting Antisemitism

Public service is in Dan Helmer’s blood. The Fairfax County resident and member of Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station has represented HD-40 in the Virginia House of Delegates since his election in 2019.

In addition, the Rhodes Scholar and small business owner served in the U.S. military from 2003-2014, including tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and South Korea, and still serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. Helmer recently announced his candidacy for the U.S. Congress and is hoping to succeed Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.), who announced that she is not seeking reelection in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District.

The grandson of Holocaust survivors and son of an Israeli father who fought the British as a member of the Palmach and the Haganah under Moshe Dayan in 1948 during Israel’s War of Independence, Helmer said his family and upbringing helped shape the person he has become.

For Helmer, the most formative experience of his youth was the annual Passover Seder, which took on added significance because his great grandfather, great-grandmother, grandmother and great aunt were all Holocaust survivors. For them, recounting the story of the Exodus was particularly poignant.

“The United States had been our promised land – the Exodus had happened in the lifetimes of those around the table, and the Seder ended with two songs. One was God Bless America, and the other was Hatikvah. We very much knew where our promised lands were,” he said.

“I grew up knowing what this country had given to our family, the protection that it afforded us as Jews, and grew up wanting to pay that back. And that has set me on a lifetime of service, whether that was going to West Point and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether that’s my continued service in the Virginia House of Delegates where I’ve been leading the fight to combat hate crimes, most recently with a new bill that we just proposed, and whether it’s serving to looking to serve on a new level as a candidate for U.S. Congress.”

Helmer’s military service, both past and present, is a particular point of pride, which is driven by his Jewish identity, his family’s history and his desire to spread the light of democracy around the globe.

“My Jewishness is deeply tied to service. I often think of Tikkun Olam, and I think of it oftentimes in terms of America’s role in the world too as a Jew who serves in a couple of the instruments of American power. I believe deeply in the force of our country for good and prosperity and peace in the world … And I think about … our small family story as part of a larger world story of what America’s promise is, not just for Americans, but for all people, when we assume the mantle of leadership in the world. And I see military service as part of ensuring that mantle of leadership continues well into the 21st century.”

Helmer’s pursuit of elected office originated with Donald Trump’s election to the White House, when he felt that the constitution was under attack “because we had too few politicians willing to stand up and fight for our democracy.”

“Just as I had served to protect our country overseas, I felt I needed to serve protect it here at home. And that launched my career in public service, and I’m proud to have been able to stand up for democracy … And I have felt that idea of service that I experienced as an active-duty military officer … is something that I’m able to continue in a different way through my service in the General Assembly in Virginia,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Dan Helmer

Helmer recently introduced legislation to combat antisemitism by amending Virginia’s hate crimes and anti-discrimination law to protect individuals targeted for crimes and discrimination based on ethnicity. With the current rise of antisemitism, Helmer said that “we need to take meaningful, active measures to combat antisemitism and that rhetoric alone will not do the trick.”

“I was proud to sponsor this hate crimes legislation that ensures that if you attack somebody because they are a Jew, if you desecrate their home or their synagogue because they are a Jew, that you are committing a crime. If you deny them accommodation because they are a Jew, you are at odds with our law. And that ought to be the law of our land.”

In 2021, Helmer was the target of a campaign mailer that many deemed to be antisemitic, and he’s very mindful of the growing threat that antisemitism poses to the Jewish community and to the nation at large.

“I’m a big believer that political power matters and my response to an antisemitic mailer was to ensure we defeated the perpetrators of that antisemitic mailer at the ballot box,” he said. “My response to antisemitism writ large has been to put forward a bill to take on hate crimes because I think we need to take meaningful action. And I’m proud of the fact that the Jewish community is standing up to defend our democracy because in the system of government that has allowed us to thrive, allowed families like mine to thrive, we must protect that.”

Helmer hopes that his congressional campaign will enable him to make a meaningful difference in Washington, D.C., on the issues that he cares most about and that he believes are important for the welfare of the nation.

He intends to focus on gun violence prevention and making sure “that we are keeping the weapons like those I carried in places like Iraq and Afghanistan out of the hands of dangerous people.”

In addition, he said “we need to affirmatively, positively and forever protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions and we need to stand up and fight for working families.”

An avid reader who just finished reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses S. Grant, Helmer also enjoys attending his teenage sons’ various activities and playing board games with his family.

For Helmer, his commitment to fighting for democracy and fighting antisemitism centers on making sure “that every single American, including American Jewry, has a seat at the table and the ability to stand up for our communities, stand together, have our voices heard, and make sure that our policy reflects the America that we want to see here at home as well as abroad.”

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt: Confronting and Combating Global Antisemitism

The following is a feature story that I wrote, which appeared in the November 30, 2023, editions of the Washington Jewish Week, Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, and Baltimore Jewish Times, about Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism:

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt: Confronting and Combating Global Antisemitism

A world-renowned expert on antisemitism and the grave danger it presents, Deborah Lipstadt has been on the front lines of the battle to combat bigotry toward Jews for decades. It was therefore no surprise when she was nominated to be the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, and her 2022 confirmation by the U.S. Senate conferred upon her the title of “Ambassador.” A Holocaust scholar and award-winning author, Lipstadt was well-equipped to take on this new role, which thrust her into the spotlight at a time when antisemitism was rising both in the U.S. and internationally.

Lipstadt recently held a roundtable with several journalists from Jewish media outlets and the Washington Jewish Week was fortunate to be present at the discussion, which took place at the State Department. With anti-Israel views and antisemitism becoming prevalent on college campuses and in cities around the world, it was an opportune time to discuss these vital issues with a diplomat whose primary responsibility is countering the hate.

After having spent time in Europe over the past several months, including Rome, Paris and Germany, Lipstadt was struck by how much the local and state authorities were interested in meeting with her, which she said indicates “that they take this [antisemitism] very seriously.”

Referring to the current situation, particularly since Oct. 7, Lipstadt said, “It’s certainly a threat to the well-being of Jews … There are places where Jews are feeling increasingly uncomfortable, and often with good reason … But I also think it’s a real threat to democratic values, to national stability and potentially even national security … I’ve been working on this [the issue of antisemitism] for over 30 years and it feels different.”

“It’s quite clear that we’re seeing a rise of antisemitism worldwide, including in this country,” she said.

At several points during her career, Lipstadt stated that antisemitism at those particular moments was worse than she had ever seen before. As an example, she cited the 2018 massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, calling it “a shock of immense proportions,” and noting that the open use of violence was extremely striking. Regarding the extent of the antisemitism that we are currently seeing at some of the Israel-related protests in the U.S. and abroad, she said “there is a comfort in saying things that people might have thought before, but now feel free to say,” adding that there is “a vileness that we haven’t really seen before.” The feelings of distinctiveness pertaining to the current situation appears to be widespread, with Lipstadt saying that “every one of the countries I’ve visited, and the others that I’ve spoken with, with government officials, colleagues and embassies, acknowledged that it feels different.”

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at a meeting in Berlin of EU Special Envoys focused on antisemitism in January 2023. Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith.

The WJW asked Lipstadt about the need to view antisemitism not just as a Jewish problem, but as a global problem, and the importance of communicating that message to people.

“I think it’s important for policy makers, government officials, NGOs, leaders, communal leaders and all of society to recognize that this has broader and deeper implications than an attack on one group … I think that’s very important for governments to understand. And in my conversations with colleagues in the State Department and the White House and others, that’s the point I’ve been making. I think people are listening.”

Lipstadt, who in a recent CNN interview declared that antisemitism should be condemned on its own, addressed the concern some people have about lumping antisemitism with other forms of hate, such as Islamophobia.

“One of my messages has been that you can’t fight prejudice in silos, you can’t fight hate in silos. Some people like to say what begins with the Jews then ends with the Jews. And I think that’s often the case, that when there’s a toxic atmosphere in society it spreads toxicity and spreads like fumes in a storm.”

“When you see an act of discrimination and prejudice, call it out for what it is. Then you can place it in a broader context,” she added. “On some level, antisemitism is a prejudice like other prejudices … but it has certain unique elements.”

Lipstadt was asked about recent comments made by Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League, who said that current events “clarified and confirmed that fanatical anti-Zionism from the hard left is as dangerous to the Jewish community as rabid white supremacy from the extreme right. These are both radical movements. They don’t advocate for a two-state solution, or even a one-state solution. They want a final solution.” Her response to Greenblatt’s remarks focused not so much on Israel, but on antisemitism in a general sense.

“I have friends on the left who were very good at spotting antisemitism on the right. And legitimately so. What they saw was right and their analysis was right. And then I had friends on the right who were very good at spotting [antisemitism] on the left, and they were right, but they never saw it standing next to them. And that really bothered me because I felt that whether consciously or not, that’s a political weaponization of antisemitism. If you can’t see it in your proximity, coming from people with whom you might agree with on many other things, but you only see on the other side of the political spectrum, then I wonder if you’re really interested in fighting it, or are you only interested in using it as a political weapon.”

A question was posed to Lipstadt about Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), who recently posted an endorsement of the great replacement theory, which is widely viewed as a white supremacist conspiracy principle.

Lipstadt said Musk’s actions were “irresponsible.” After describing the replacement theory’s history and referring to it as “a very old theory,” Lipstadt said, “To see it go mainstream that way was really disturbing. It was retracted, but the damage was done.”

“When those kinds of things are repeated, it gives them an imprimatur of gravitas that they wouldn’t otherwise have. And people repeat them, even though many people were appalled by it.”

One of the topics of conversation was the issue of anti-Zionism and when that might cross the line and become antisemitism.

“I do think that one has to be careful about mixing up criticism of Israeli policy and antisemitism so you don’t give fodder to those who say, oh, anytime you criticize Israel, you call me an antisemite,” Lipstadt said.

Photo credit: @ShaharAzran at World Jewish Congress

Citing the protests in Israel pertaining to the judicial reform proposals that were taking place right up until the Oct. 7 attacks, Lipstadt noted that they “were highly critical, so I think it’s really important to make the separation.”

That being said, she pointed to some of what has been happening since Oct. 7, with people overlooking Hamas’ atrocities or denying that they happened. She also referenced the videos we have seen of people tearing down the kidnapped posters that have become a symbol of solidarity with the hostages taken by Hamas, questioning “the glee with which some people tear them down … it’s kind of shocking.”

Lipstadt said much of the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is dependent on a person’s motivation. When asked how one would know when an act is motivated by anti-Jewish hatred, Lipstadt acknowledged that sometimes you don’t. She went on to cite Jacobellis v. Ohio, a case that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964. At issue was whether the state of Ohio could prohibit a movie that featured an explicit love scene from being shown in light of the First Amendment. The court ruled that the movie was not deemed obscene. Lipstadt referred to Justice Potter Stewart’s famous statement about what is considered pornography: “I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.” Lipstadt said we can do better than that but conceded that there are times when it calls for the “I know it when I see it” approach.

The issue of antisemitism on college campuses was another big topic of conversation in light of the disturbing reports that we have seen emanating from universities across the U.S. following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.

“Most of the students on campus are just going to their classes and are not involved in the protests and not involved in the attacks. But we’ve seen enough examples on different campuses where pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas, pro-Gaza demonstrations impact Jews directly.”

Lipstadt spoke about stories she’s heard about Jewish students on campus who have taken the mezuzah off their door or cut back on the overtly Jewish activities they take part in on campus, which she called disturbing. She also talked about her recent trip to Berlin, where she met with Jewish students who described real concern and a sense of fear for their physical safety.

After Lipstadt discussed some of the antisemitic acts that are taking place in the Netherlands and Paris, WJW talked about some of the brazen antisemitic attacks that we’ve seen in New York City and elsewhere, where Jews were harassed in broad daylight and in public spaces, and asked her what has changed over the last several years to make those types of incidents more common than they may have been in the past.

“I think one of the things that changed is people feel freer to say these things,” she responded. “As I said, the lid is off – ‘it’s OK.’ ‘It’s OK’ to be walking down Madison Avenue and see a kid with a yarmulke and knock the yarmulke off, things like that. I think there’s a different atmosphere … I think that it doesn’t just go for antisemitism. I think that across the board there’s a feeling in the United States and worldwide that certain things can be said that couldn’t be said before.”

Lipstadt noted that when people try to justify the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks by pointing to the various challenges that the Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank face, it leaves her disquieted. She said that in many of these attempts at justification there’s a failure to recognize that there was a strong antisemitic theme expressed in the attacks. “Nothing justifies rape of young children. Nothing justifies killing parents in front of children, and children in front of parents. Nothing justifies taking civilians hostage,” she said.

Courtesy of U.S. Department of State

As someone who has a great deal of experience addressing Holocaust denial, Lipstadt was asked about those who deny the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

“I was struck by the speed and the intensity with which the denial of the atrocities [began], even when coming from Hamas itself. It makes as little sense as Holocaust denial and Holocaust denial makes no sense.”

Lipstadt said she has found that the most potent arguments against Holocaust denial is Nazi evidence, including German army reports, German government reports and statements by Germans. In terms of the Oct. 7 attacks, she said that using Hamas’ own footage makes it harder to deny that the atrocities took place.

“The speed of the rewriting of history or of current contemporary events is awesome in the worst kind of way and is worrisome in an even worse way. Because if history can be rewritten so quickly, nothing is really safe in that sense … qualitatively this feels different,” she added.

WJW asked Lipstadt about the videos of Hamas’ barbarism that the Israeli government has aired for journalists, which document some of the horrific acts that took place on Oct. 7.

“I haven’t seen it … I don’t think I could … The reports that I’ve read have been so devastating in their cruelty and so devastating in their utter lack of humanity, in their glee,” she responded. “I’m just suggesting that there was a glee here … the rapes, the torture of children, burning people alive.”

With antisemitism spiking across the globe, there is no question that Lipstadt has her work cut out for her. Nevertheless, by virtue of her extensive experience and willingness to confront antisemitism whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head, Lipstadt is the perfect person to tackle this vile hatred and act to quell the wave of antisemitism that has washed over the world.

My letter in The New York Times about antisemitism

The following is a letter to the editor that I wrote, which appeared in The New York Times, about Senator Chuck Schumer’s strong and public condemnation of antisemitism:

December 1, 2023

To the Editor:

Re “Schumer Chides Leftists Abetting Antisemitism” (news article, Nov. 30) and “What American Jews Fear Most,” by Chuck Schumer (Opinion guest essay, Nov. 30):

Senator Schumer’s resolve to take a strong public stand against antisemitism is laudable, particularly when the scourge of hatred toward Jews is reaching a fever pitch. The Senate majority leader’s felicitous and poignant plea, both on the floor of the Senate and in the Opinion section, was notable for its moral clarity and forceful denunciation of the wanton antisemitism pervading every segment of our society.

Furthermore, the urgency with which he conveyed how dangerous this conflagration of hate has become and how critical it is for all Americans — not just Jews — to condemn antisemitism is a clarion call that will hopefully resonate on all points of the political spectrum, on university campuses and throughout our nation.
 
Remaining silent in the face of blatant bigotry is indefensible, and Senator Schumer’s compelling words should serve as a wake-up call to everyone who has thus far failed to confront this growing crisis.
 
N. Aaron Troodler
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Jake Tapper: Anchor, Author and Proud Jew

The following is a feature story that I wrote, which appeared in the November 16, 2023, editions of the Washington Jewish Week, Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, and Baltimore Jewish Times, as well as on JNS.org, about CNN anchor Jake Tapper:
 
Jake Tapper: Anchor, Author and Proud Jew
 

In the weeks since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, people around the world have been glued to their televisions, computers and mobile devices as they monitor the news for the latest updates concerning the ongoing crisis. One of the people they regularly see and hear is Jake Tapper.

 
Tapper, the CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent who is a D.C. resident and a member of Temple Micah, is a familiar face in the media world. Whether it’s through “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” the program he hosts every weekday afternoon, or on “State of the Union,” the Sunday morning show he anchors, Tapper’s reporting on a range of topics, both national and international, often offers insights and information not found elsewhere. Tapper’s reach extends far beyond his CNN programs. For example, he has a strong social media presence, including 3.1 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he often posts about a wide array of issues.
 
CNN recently sent Tapper on a breaking news assignment to Israel, where he reported on the Oct. 7 attacks and the wider conflict that is taking shape following that fateful day. While in Israel, Tapper had the opportunity to speak with family members whose loved ones were abducted by Hamas and are being held hostage, as well as with survivors of the massacres that took place on Oct. 7. Tapper also reported on the painstaking and difficult process that Israel has undertaken to identify the victims’ remains following the Hamas attacks and he spoke with medics that described the atrocities committed by Hamas against civilians, young and old. Tapper’s on-air reporting from Israel included numerous segments that were brimming with emotion as he had heartfelt and personal interactions with people whose lives have been changed forever.
 
“The whole trip was soul crushing, both because of the pain and death and destruction going on in Gaza, and also because of the pain and death and destruction that happened in Israel on Oct. 7 … The face-to-face conversations I had with survivors of Oct. 7, or people whose loved ones were killed or kidnapped on Oct. 7, were obviously very upsetting,” Tapper said.
 
In trying to describe the magnitude and horror of the Hamas attacks, Tapper noted that he’s “covered a lot of horrible things.” Citing his coverage of wars in Iraq, Ukraine and Afghanistan, as well as natural disasters and mass shootings, Tapper pointed out that “it’s not particularly constructive to compare people’s pains and decide one person’s pain is worse than another person’s pain.” However, he said it was “mind-bogglingly awful to experience and talk to the people that went through what they went through on Oct. 7.”

Photo courtesy of CNN

One of the many difficult aspects of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks has been the graphic and incredibly disturbing images and video footage that Hamas has circulated. The idea that a group so proudly and brazenly engaged in such barbaric acts, proudly documented their barbarism and then propagated it for the world to see is hard to fathom. And for members of the media, how to report on those unsettling images is an issue that has become very pertinent.
 
Noting that he’s reported on a lot of difficult stories over the years, some of which were heart-wrenching, Tapper likened the Hamas images to the horrific ISIS videos, the beheadings of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl in 2002 and Nicholas Berg in 2004, and some of the individuals who were beheaded in Syria and other parts of the world.
 
Yet, Tapper drew an important distinction between those ghastly acts and Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7.
 
“Those tended to be one-offs. One individual kidnapped, beheaded. The things that happened to families, the things that all happened on one day, Oct. 7, were in aggregate … The willful infliction of torture on civilians and children and women and the elderly, the willful infliction of sexual violence in front of other people, the willful infliction of murder of parents in front of children and murder of children in front of parents, no, I’ve never seen or heard anything like it,” Tapper said.
 
While reporting from Tel Aviv, Tapper spoke with Doctor Chen Kugel from Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine about the difficulty of identifying some of the victims’ remains because of what Hamas did to them. Even though many of the remains were unidentifiable, Tapper and CNN blurred the images before showing them on-air. “It was still horribly grotesque … the photographs that I saw that I wish I hadn’t were just horribly haunting and disturbing.
 
Tapper acknowledged that he’s been wrestling with the issue of what to show in the media and how much to describe. In this particular instance, Tapper said one of the reasons he reported on the attacks the way he did was because there are people out there who deny that the atrocities of Oct. 7 took place.
 
“There’s a 10-year-old girl whose head is not part of her body anymore. And forensic scientists are very precise with what they’re saying. They don’t know when and how the head was separated from the body, they’re being very honest and clear. But however you parse it, this is a 10-year-old girl, and her head is not attached to her body anymore. I can’t believe we’re having these discussions even.”
 
With calls for a cease-fire growing, Tapper offered a factual assessment of the situation, without stating a personal opinion.
 
“I think the question is, and I think this is a question that everybody who is calling for a cease-fire who is a world leader needs to answer, what is the solution? Because the Israelis and the Americans say a cease-fire cannot happen because Hamas needs to be destroyed. And if you are saying that we need to have a cease-fire, how do you counter the arguments from the Biden administration and the arguments from the Netanyahu administration that if you do a cease-fire, then all Hamas is going to do is regain strength and then commit more atrocities against Israel? What’s your response to that? They have a point because Hamas says that’s what they’re going to do. And then we’re just continuing in the cycle of then Hamas does that and there’s more Israeli deaths,” Tapper said.
 
“Calling for a cease-fire, while I completely sympathize and I’d love the idea of no more innocent people dying, how do you get to a place that it’s not just, okay, cease-fire. Because what we know is that a cease-fire doesn’t stop – Gaza and Israel were in a cease-fire on Oct. 6. So, we know that that’s not a solution, because then Oct. 7 came, so you have to think beyond Oct. 6,” he added.

Photo courtesy of CNN

Tapper, who has never been shy about confronting the issue of antisemitism, addressed the frightening rise in antisemitism that has become global in nature and offered his impression of the current crisis, pointing to what he described as some sort of a failure in our educational system.
 
“Somewhere along the line, it started being taught that Jews cannot be victims,” he said. “That’s just what I’m picking up from looking at college campuses and looking at the kind of people that are ripping down the signs of the kidnapping victims … I’m looking at these people to a degree as victims too. They have been taught that there is no humanity in Jewish life, that they can look at a poster of a baby or a three-year-old who is Jewish, who has been kidnapped, and they do not see humanity in that face.”
 
Referring to the “kidnapped posters,” Tapper noted they were created by artists, not the Israeli government, do not contain an image of the Israeli flag and were likely intended to be as apolitical as possible, yet they have become a hot topic of conversation as some people have taken to ripping them down in anger.
 
“There are people looking at them and they are seeing politics, and they are seeing a justification for war, and they are seeing Zionism, and they are seeing Netanyahu, and they are seeing a whole bunch of things that the artists, I believe, were trying to avoid. And they are not seeing humanity,” Tapper said. “And the only thing I can interpret is that somehow, somewhere, these people were taught to reject the idea of humanity in these faces.”
 
Tapper cited various examples throughout history of people being taught that there is not humanity in the faces of certain ethnic and religious groups, which he said is absolutely horrible, and suggested that Jews seem to be enduring that same sentiment today.
 
“We are now seeing in a generation that has been instructed to value diversity, somehow, something happened where it appears to me that Jews were kind of left out of the picture and I don’t understand why or how that happened, because it does not seem to be necessarily just about Israel. It does seem to be about Jews,” he said.
 
“It’s one of these things where Jews know that the hate is not just on one side, and sometimes people who are either conservative or progressive pretend that it’s just on the other side, but I think Jews who are honest know that it’s on both sides,” he added.
 
Tapper spoke fondly of his synagogue, Temple Micah, which he called “a very warm and open place, with a lot of Jewish pride.”
 
He noted that his in-laws, who aren’t Jewish (Tapper’s wife converted to Judaism), used to come with his family to the synagogue when they lived in the D.C. area, and they always felt comfortable there.
 
“It’s very progressive in terms of social justice and helping the community, helping victims of domestic violence. It’s really just a wonderful and warm place.”
 
For Tapper, who attended Akiba Hebrew Academy in the Philadelphia area and who proudly wears his Jewish identity on his sleeve, his Jewish upbringing played a prominent role in making him the person and professional he is today.
 
“Judaism gives you a great grounding in the value of debate, because that’s what the Talmud is – it’s rabbis sitting around and debating. It’s a religion that is rooted in discussion and debate. And that’s just very healthy, I think, as an intellectual pursuit and really good for a journalist, because it really causes you to be steeped in the idea of analyzing and poking and prodding issues from all sorts of sides. And that really stuck with me. Because that was a class we took – Mishnah and Talmud,” he said.
 
“It [my Jewish education and upbringing] really gave me respect for faith and not just my faith, but all faiths. And so, I have always been acutely aware of my status as a religious minority and been acutely and keenly respectful, or trying to be at least, of other people’s faiths,” Tapper added.
 
In that vein, Tapper recalled how when Mitt Romney was running for president in 2008 and 2012, he found the attacks on Romney’s faith very offensive. Tapper talked about how mindful he is of the dangers of religious bigotry, pointing out that it’s not just antisemitic religious bigotry, but all types of religious bigotry that should be cause for alarm.

Jake Tapper reporting from Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Photo courtesy of CNN

Tapper made headlines last year after Doug Mastriano, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania, took aim at now Governor Josh Shapiro, criticizing him for attending a private/parochial Jewish school, saying Shapiro attended a “privileged, exclusive, elite school.” Tapper took umbrage at Mastriano’s statement, which referred to his alma mater, Akiba Hebrew Academy, the same school that Shapiro attended, and denounced him for attacking the Jewish school in an emotional, on-air segment.
 
“Let’s be very clear. First of all, this is a guy who was allied with a major antisemite, Andrew Torba, who is one of the founders of Gab, which is the number one site for Nazis, where the Tree of Life shooter was hanging out right before he went in and committed the worst act of antisemitic violence and mass murder in the United States, period. Mastriano paid him as a consultant. And that’s who Mastriano hangs out with. That’s his ilk. Mastriano knew exactly what he was doing when he went after Josh Shapiro’s school. And he painted the school in a way that he knew exactly what he was doing, which was to paint the school in a way that was false and in a way that appealed to antisemites, which is to make it sound out of touch and snobby and elite,” Tapper said as he described the incident and made it very clear that Akiba was not “elite” in any sense of the word.
 
“Anybody who had walked through the halls of Akiba Hebrew Academy, to be told that it was going to be described someday in a campaign as ‘elite,’ it would have amused everybody,” he said. “Akiba was like a parochial school, and it was fine. But it was not fancy.”
 
Calling Mastriano the “Gab candidate,” Tapper said he understood what Mastriano was trying to do to Shapiro, who is Jewish, “and I wasn’t going to have it, because that was an issue I knew something about.”
 
“I used to be a lot more quiet about this sort of thing,” Tapper added. “But the antisemites just kept getting louder and louder and louder. And nobody was saying anything. It’s not like other anchors were saying anything. So, I started saying things more. I would love to not talk about this stuff because other anchors were taking up the slack for me, but they’re not, so I’ll say it.”
 
In addition to being a renowned journalist, Tapper also has a second career as a best-selling author. His most recent novel, “All the Demons Are Here,” which is a political thriller and the third book in a series about fictional characters Charlie and Margaret Marder and their family, was released this past summer. Tapper spoke about his love of writing, why he was inspired to write this particular genre and how he finds time to write novels in light of his very busy schedule.
 
“I like [writing] historical fiction and I like thrillers because I read them. That’s just honestly what I read, so that’s what I wanted to try doing. I’m a history buff, so it’s fun to fun to write,” he said. Tapper noted that he tries to grab at least 15 minutes a day to write, often when his wife takes their kids to school in the morning and before he has his first call with his team at CNN, although he acknowledged that it can be a struggle at times to carve out that time. For a person as busy as Tapper, time is definitely at a premium.

‘A Bright, Warm Light’: Remembering Omer Balva

The following is an article that I wrote, which appeared in the October 26, 2023, edition of the Washington Jewish Week, about Omer Balva, a 22-year-old Maryland native and soldier in the Israel Defense Forces who was tragically killed in northern Israel in an anti-tank missile attack on October 20, 2023:
 
‘A Bright, Warm Light’: Remembering Omer Balva
 
With a deep and abiding love of the state of Israel, Omer Balva made the decision to head to Israel and enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after he graduated from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS) in Rockville in 2019. And after Hamas unleashed a series of heinous terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct.7, Balva knew what he had to do. After purchasing supplies that he understood his fellow soldiers might need, he got on a plane and flew back to Israel so he could do his part in defending the Jewish state.
 
On Oct. 20, Balva, a 22-year-old Maryland native and a staff sergeant in the 9203rd battalion of the IDF’s Alexandroni Brigade, was tragically killed in northern Israel on the Lebanon border in an anti-tank missile attack. The IDF confirmed Balva’s death, noting in a written statement that it “will not stand by as its soldiers and civilians are attacked” and that it “shares in the family’s grief and will continue to support them.”
 
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen in Israel on Oct. 20 in an emailed statement, offered the State Department’s “sincerest condolences to the family on their loss” and noted that it had no further comment out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time.
 
“I don’t think I’ll ever really come to terms with the fact that he’s no longer with us. He had such a bright, warm light, and he just made everybody feel so incredibly loved and important. And there really are no words to explain how much love he had and how pure his soul was,” said Alexa Bennaim of Gaithersburg, a close family friend who noted that Balva was “like a little brother to me,” in a phone interview.
 
Bennaim, who called the Balvas her chosen family and considers Balva’s parents, Sigal and Eyal, her “second parents,” grew up just a few houses down from Balva and spent every morning together with him on their way to school at CESJDS. The two families celebrated holidays together, went to the synagogue together and “did everything together,” she said, noting that her parents and Balva’s parents are best friends. When the Balvas moved back to Israel, it was very difficult for the two families because of the geographic distance that would now be between them.
 
Balva’s decision to forego the traditional college experience at the time and join the IDF after high school was an easy one, according to Bennaim.
 
“That was something that Omer always wanted to do. He had such a strong love of Israel and a passion to defend his country, and that was something that he had talked about since he was young,” she said. “He followed in his older sister Shahar’s footsteps. She was in Oketz [the IDF’s canine unit] when she was in the military in the IDF. And he was so proud of her, and he wanted to do his part to contribute in keeping Israel safe.”
 
Bennaim’s father flew to Israel to be with the Balva family at Omer’s funeral, which was held in Herzliya on Oct. 22, and she has been in touch with Omer’s sister every day since his tragic death.
 
“Shahar always says to make sure that people know what an incredible and pure hero Omer is, was and always will be,” said Bennaim as she fought back tears.
 
Balva recently returned to the U.S. for the wedding of a close family friend in California and was making a trip out of it with his girlfriend, Odelia, who was “the absolute love of his life,” according to Bennaim.
 
The two were in Las Vegas when Balva got news of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and he immediately decided that he needed to head back to Israel to fight with his peers. He first traveled to Maryland to spend a few days there before leaving for Israel, during which time he got to visit with his brother, Barak, who lives in Boston and came to see him. Balva and his girlfriend also went to Bennaim’s house for dinner, where they spent time together.
 
“We joked and laughed, and really took in every moment we had with him knowing what he was going into,” Bennaim said. “We spent Omer’s last Shabbat together. He promised us he would come back. I’m just honored that we got to spend that time with him … and really got to enjoy his special presence with all of us.”
 
When Balva was getting to ready to leave at the end of the night, Bennaim gave him a really long hug and said, “don’t go and be a hero.” In response, Balva didn’t say ‘I won’t;’ he said, “don’t worry about me.”
 
“That is something that was very true to Omer’s spirit,” Bennaim said, referring to that final heartfelt exchange with Balva. “He always wanted to make everybody else feel good and feel comfortable and feel safe. It just speaks to the kind and loving nature of his soul.”
 
“We are saddened by the death of Staff sergeant (res.) Omer Balva, a brave commander who served Israel with courage and dedication. We express our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” Israel’s Embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement. “Omer Balva was a commander in the 9203 battalion who answered the call to defend Israel after Hamas’s horrific acts and the threats on the Israeli-Lebanese border. He sacrificed his life for the security of Israel and the values of our people. May his memory be a source of inspiration and strength to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time, and may his loved ones find comfort in knowing that Omer was a true hero.”
 
Balva described his strong connection to Israel and his love of the Jewish state in a 2018 Prezi project that he made for school in 2018. Noting that his paternal grandmother was born in Tiberias, Israel, and that her family had been in Tiberias since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, he outlined how she survived the Tiberias massacre of 1938, in which a band of Arabs went from home to home attacking the Jews who lived there. He also described his grandmother’s heroic efforts to help wounded soldiers coming back from Egypt during the Suez Crisis in 1956, and how she acted as a nurse and brought food to soldiers during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
 
Balva was the first member of his family to be born in the U.S., with his two older siblings having been born in Tiberias before his parents moved to the U.S. in 1996 and settled in Bethesda.
 
“My passion has always been to protect Israel and suggest what is best for what I believe is the greatest country in the world,” Balva wrote as part of his school project.
 
“He was the kind of kid who walked into the room and had a smile that would lighten up the room. He was really loved by his friends, other students and teachers, and he was involved in a lot of activities at school. He was just a real pleasure … people enjoyed having him in the room as a friend, as a student,” said Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Ed.D., Head of School at CESJDS, in a phone interview.
 
Malkus described Balva, who began attending CESJDS at the age of seven, as “an unabashed and proud supporter of Israel and the Jewish people,” noting that he went on the school’s 12-week Irene and Daniel Simpkins Senior Capstone Israel Trip after graduation and then enlisted in the IDF. He described the Balva family as being “deeply embedded in this community, but also in Israel,” and spoke about their love of Judaism and Israel.
 
For the CESJDS community and the greater Washington Jewish community, Balva’s loss has hit particularly hard.
 
“There’s been an outpouring of support for his family and people trying to send words of comfort to the school through me. When we heard the news, my wife and I were crying and she said, ‘this isn’t just close to home – this is in our house.’ And that’s how it feels. It’s just devastating,” Malkus said.
 
While noting that the school community is still processing what happened, Malkus said they are going to plan a memorial for Balva “because we need to come together as a community to mourn him.”
 
“He knew inside deeply that he wanted to be in Israel, to defend the state of Israel and to serve in the IDF,” Malkus said. “What I take from all of this, and it is some comfort, is his tremendous passion for Israel. And that’s something that lives in our community currently, but we can be strengthened in what we’re doing, in our resolve, when we know that there are kids like Omer who are willing to put themselves on the line in ways that are unbelievable and that touch us really deeply.”
 
Statements of support in the wake of Balva’s death came from a range of sources, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and Reichman University, where Balva was studying business and economics.
 
When asked about the best way that people could honor Balva’s memory, Bennaim spoke about his incredible sense of kindness for others.
 
“I think the best thing to do is to stand up for Israel, speak out against terrorism, advocate for goodness and find kindness in your heart to show to others. Omer was always so kind to everybody he met, and I know how much he loved making everybody feel so good and so loved. So, if we can all find it in our hearts to show the love that Omer would show to everybody, I know that it would honor his legacy,” she said.

My letter in The New York Times regarding the rise of the far-right AfD party in Germany

The following is a letter to the editor that I wrote, which appeared in The New York Times, about the rise of the far-right AfD party in Germany and why it is a red flag for the international community in general and Jews in particular:

June 29, 2023

To the Editor:

Re “As German Worries About Future Rise, Far-Right Party Surges” (news article, June 21):

The expanding and emboldened far-right element in Germany is not solely a concern for Germans; it is also troubling for the international community in general and Jews in particular.

Extremism fueled by xenophobia and a deep sense of nationalism in a country that carried out the systematic murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust is foreboding and a grave threat to democracy.

With global antisemitism increasing at an alarming rate and Nazism experiencing an unsettling resurgence, the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany and the political gains that it has made are a proverbial red flag.

When extremism becomes normalized and gains a foothold in the mainstream political arena and people flagrantly fan the flames of fanaticism, we have a societal and moral obligation to sound the alarm.

N. Aaron Troodler
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.