Tag Archives: Israel

Terror at Hanukkah 2025

19 Dec

Today is the funeral of Matilda, the 10-year-old girl murdered by terrorists in Hanukkah Massacre on Bondi Beach.  I cannot stop thinking about her.

I woke up Sunday morning knowing that evening would be the first night of Hanukkah.  I went to Facebook to post a happy photo of my dreidel collection, something I do every year.  But instead, I saw the horror that was Bondi Beach in Australia. I was in no mood to post a happy Hanukkah photo.

What really distresses me are those who shout, ‘Globalize the intifada” or “From the River to the Sea.”  Especially when it is a Jewish person who has turned away from supporting the survival of Israel and instead seems to be supporting Hamas.  I really cannot stand their actions anymore.

With a child and her family living in Israel, when I see those words I think, “So you want my family killed.”  “So you want all Jews to be killed.”  Do you realize when you say “Globalize the intifada” that includes you.  Jihadists do not care if you are a Hamas supporting Jew or not.  They will just kill you. 

When people hear that 1250 Israelis were killed on October 7, they assume that they were all Jews.  Not true.  Hamas did not care who they killed or who were the 250 hostages they took. Because they hate.  Among the dead and hostages were other Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus.  But to the world it was Jews.  How ignorant.

When they say Israel was the occupier, they are deluded.  Israel withdrew all its people from Gaza in 2004.  It has stayed outside, just protecting its borders from the constant attacks from Gaza. The missiles and rockets came every year like clockwork on certain Israeli or Jewish holidays.  But the western media never reported on those attacks because Israel built thousands of bomb shelters to protect its people, so most attacks were futile.  The news only reports when people die. But that doesn’t mean the bombings didn’t happen.  The western media only reported when Israel fired back. And then it was Israel bombs Gaza, with no context.  To say the western media is anti-Israel and anti-Semitic is putting it mildly.

So now we have Jewish young adults who are so ignorant of Jewish and Israeli history they are siding with the terrorists.  I guess they think that makes them morally better because they stick up for the ‘underdog’. But honestly, since the global population of Muslims is 2 billion and the global population of Jews is less than 16 million, I think they have the underdog confused.  

Some also say, “I am not Anti-Semitic, I am anti-Zionist.” Is there a difference? NO! Every year we end the Passover seder with these words, “next year in Jerusalem.”  What do they think that means?  It is a prayer and wish for all Jews to return to Israel.  The return to Israel is what Zionism means, to return to the land of our ancestors.

Israel has fought for its survival.  Israel stands up to terror and hatred.  It is time that the world acknowledges the truth.  Hamas started the war; Hamas hid food from the people of Gaza, Hamas built tunnels to care for its terrorists and left the people of Gaza to suffer; Hamas murders innocent Gazans who disagree with their beliefs.  You are a fool if you believe the lies that the media repeats with information from Hamas.  Globalize the intifada means killing you as well.   Finally, some countries, like the United Kingdom are pushing back about this phrase and calling it what it is, a cry for violence.

Even Amnesty International with its pro-Hamas outlook finally had to release its report that acknowledges that what Hamas did was a war crime. They did not want to release it, because it shows their own moral crimes by not standing up for those murdered, raped and brutalized by Hamas on October 7 and after as hostages.  From their website: “Amnesty International research confirms that crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups during their attacks on October 7, 2023, and against those they seized and held hostage were part of a systematic and widespread assault against the civilian population and amount to crimes against humanity.“

Gaza could have been a Mediterranean Sea paradise.  Instead, Hamas used the money given to them for the people of Gaza to use for their own interests.  They built tunnels, they purchased rockets, missiles and rocket launchers. They purchased guns and weapons. They did nothing for the people of Gaza. 

Israel provided the people water and electricity.  Gazans went into Israel to work.  They went into Israel for medical care.  In return the schoolbooks in Gaza painted Israelis and Jews as the villains and taught children to be martyrs only by killing Jews.  

Hamas attacked Israel with the intent of killing and destroying as many people and places as possible. They wanted to create fear. They took hostages and brutalized them.  The videoed the horror that they inflected on the those they killed and brutalized. They posted these videos online. They live-streamed.  Then they denied they did what the vidoes showed..  They thought the world would stop the Israelis from fighting back.  For the first time that did not happen. 

I feel for the people of Gaza, the women and children who have been used by Hamas for terror.  I feel for them now with no homes as the rainy season is here. 

Do I think all Muslims are terrorists? Of course not.  We see that with the brave shopkeeper in Australia who risked his life in an effort to stop the gunman.  We see the truth by the many Israeli Muslims who stand up for Israel, their homeland.  We see the truth in the Imams who said the terror attacks are not the true way of Islam.

Do I like Netanyahu or Ben Gvir. NO. I think both are bad for Israel in the long run. Should there be an inquiry as to what happened on the lead up to October 7.  Absolutely.  But on the other hand, should they have sat back and let Hamas kill more Jews. Never. Never.

It is time for the Western media, politicians and all Jews to face the reality of extremist jihadists.  To look at what is happening in Sudan, Nigeria, and other areas of the world where Jihadists are killing people and realize that this horror could come to all countries.  

Those who continue to support the violence and hate of Hamas and chant Globalize the intifada, you are just as evil as the ones who kill, murder, rape, brutalize all in the name of a false view of religion.

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Bomb Shelters In Day Care Centers Is Not Normal.

16 Nov

“The day care has added a new bomb shelter inside the infant room,” my daughter told me as she was describing the day care center she is planning to use for our Israeli grandchild.  I gagged when she told me.  She had a giant smile on her face, impressed that an outside donor made the effort to keep the up to 17 infants in this center safe.  Before this specific bomb shelter was built, she informed me that the day care providers would have to run and grab all the babies and get them to the shelter that was in the area near the toddlers. Now it will be so much easier to get the babies to safety! UGH.

I guess it is a matter of prospective.  The idea of a bomb shelter in the infant room is great if you are constantly under bombardment.  Thus, I agree having this room right near the infants is wonderful.  My gag was in response that my grandchild has to be in a day care center with bomb shelters.

 In fact, my gag went father then that.  When we finished our call, I ate six Oreo peanut butter chocolate cookies.  I have not eaten six cookies at once in over a decade or more.  But today in an moment of anxiety, I snarfed them down, not even realizing I ate so many till I looked at the new box of cookies and realized how many were gone.  It will take me a week to work off these six cookies.  But then it will take me forever to come to terms with my grandchild in a day care that has two bomb shelters.

It was bad enough that my daughter gave birth while the Houthis launched a ballistic missile to Israel. We had to take cover in the mamad, while my daughter labored in a birthing room that was also a bomb shelter. (See blog below.) They were safe, we were safe, but it really it was indicative of the Israeli lifestyle.  Just keep living around the sirens.  But is it really ok?  NO, I don’t think so.

I am so frustrated with the constant denial of what the Israelis have endured for the almost 80 years of the country’s existence.  Constant wars, attacks, barrages both military and in media.  I feel like I am living in a split world where reality doesn’t quite reach into the world of Israel. 

But then do the Israelis realized how much they should be suffering with all these attacks? Who knows?Israel still ranks in the top ten of happiest nations in a global survey. This past March it scored as the eighth happiest nation. (As per the World Happiness Report, see link below.)  Israel was fifth last year.

Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Netherlands, Costa Rica and Norway are the only countries that were happier.  And having been in Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, I understand. When it is that cold, you just look at the world a different way.  As I learned in Denmark.  “There is not bad weather, there are only bad clothes.”

Perhaps in Israel it is “If you did not die, then it is okay!”   I am getting sick of living in the world expressed by comedian Alan King’s joke about Jewish holidays, “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s Eat.”

I recently met with two Israeli women who are traveling in the US to raise funds for schools for Moslem and Jewish children.  We talked about the atmosphere in Israel.  I said I think everyone in Israel has PTSD.  The Moslem woman disagreed. She thinks everyone in Israel is still in the trauma stage. That they just are so used to being in this state that they don’t even realize it is not a normal way to live.

Israel has changed since October 7.  The atmosphere is better since the return of the last of the living hostages.  But the angst remains. How can it not.  So many young people have been murdered.  So many horrible stories of what happened. So many unable to bear the burden they have from surviving. Those that died by suicide are also victims of Hamas.

I was in Israel in November 2022. It was really a joyful place to be.  The horrors had not yet occurred. The economy was booming. Tourism, tech companies, industry, agriculture, construction, life was good.  I have been back twice this year. Tourism is down.  Agriculture and construction have fewer employees so buildings stand with quiet cranes and volunteers pick the crops.  But still there was always hope that the hostages would come home. 

I went in May just before the war with Iran.  I heard the bombers flying overhead.  I had four trips to the bomb shelter.

I went in July and August.  After the destruction of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s missiles and drones.  I only had one trip to the bomb shelter.  Those Houthis!

Now that the hostages are home, I want it to end.  I do not want my infant grandchild to have to be protected by a bomb shelter at day care.  I do not want any child to have to grow up in a world where they do not realize that having a safe room in their home is normal. No child anywhere should live this way. It is not normal.

https://data.worldhappiness.report/table
Air Raid Sirens Are Not the Music to Labor Through!

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ANU: The Story of My People

19 Oct

Visiting the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv

In August I visited ANU – The Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University.   There was much I saw at the museum that resonated in my heart. But honestly, I just could not write about my visit.  At that time, I was not in the right mind frame to discuss what we, the Jews, have been through in the past few years, as we were dealing with the worldwide Jew hatred and still praying for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

But this week when the living hostages were finally released, and it felt possible that this seemingly endless war of survival is shifting, I revisited my time at ANU.  I remembered what stood in my mind then and still remains with me now.

I am a descendant of Jews who fled Spain and Portugal and ended up in Amsterdam before moving to Austria.   Although I know of one distant relative who was burned at the stake in Portugal for being a crypto Jew, most of my family kept their Judaism when they moved to the Netherlands.

I found out that the Jews of Spain and Portugal were not the only Jews who had to practice their religion in secret. At ANU I learned of the hidden Jews of Iran. In the 1800s the Jewish people of Mashhad, Iran, were forced to convert to Islam or be killed. For over 100 years the hidden Jew of Mashad were outwardly following Islam, but on Shabbat they celebrated their Judaism.  Forced to live in a ghetto area for these “new Muslims,” called Jadid al-Islam,” they married within their community.  Finally, in the 20th century they reclaimed their Jewish identity. About 10,000 Jews still live in Iran.

My family story mirrors stories retold at ANU.  My family, who had settled in Amsterdam, made a life changing decision in the late 1700/early 1800s.  A branch of my family settled in Galicia, Austria, in a small town called Mielec and my immediate family settled nearby in Trzciana.  For decades they lived peacefully with their neighbors.  But with the rise of the Nazis, everything changed.  Of the 5000 Jews who lived in Mielec area, only a little over 100 survived the extermination of the Jews.  Two of them were my relatives. Everyone else who stayed were murdered.

My grandfather came to the USA in 1920.  He did not suffer as most of his family did in the 1940s.  His suffering was the not knowing what happened to his loved ones. 

My family have lived the American dream which up in till the last decade or so has been wonderful.  Yes there was antisemitism, but it was kept quiet. Most people treated each other with civility.  However, in recent years that quietness faded and people felt empowered to spew Jew Hatred. Social media has been a major source of spreading all types of Hatred.  With October 7, a war that Hamas started not just to kill the Israelis but to cause a fire storm of hatred toward Israel, social media has become a cesspool of hate.   Using social media to life stream the attack on Israel and then to spread its hate has been an outrageous attack on Jewish people. And that fact that the news media does not vet its information makes matters worse.  Social media and some news media have been complicit in the spread of hate.

This web of hatred seems impossible to deal with at times. But the other important information I learned by visiting ANU, is that we survive. We have the will to survive. We are innovative and positive. We as a people make contributions in science, medicine, math, literature, agriculture, film and more. Our identity and culture keep us strong. I believe that inner strength will define us.

At ANU is the Sasson Codex, one of the oldest complete Hebrew Bible.  It is currently in a protected spot due to the missiles that have been launched toward Tel Aviv.  But a replica is on display. It is a treasure of Judaism.  And it is the Jewish Torah that has influenced the Western world, even though at times it seems they have forgotten the words that are at the heart of religious life: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, etc. We are said to be the people of the Book, and that book is Torah.

At ANU miniatures of the famous synagogues of the world are on display, including the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. A synagogue that has been present for 350 years, where my family might once had prayed. Throughout all the wars and waves of Jew Hatred this Synagogue has remained! It continues as a the place of prayer for the Jews of Amsterdam who survived the Shoah, while other synagogues now serve as museums.

At ANU, I saw highlighted quotes by famous people about the Jewish people.   This one by Jean-Paul Satre, felt right to me: “I cannot judge the Jewish people by the accepted rules of history, the Jewish people is something beyond time.”

Let it be so.  Am Israel Chai.  The people of Israel, the Jewish people. They lived; they live; they will live.  Now and beyond time.  Amen Selah.

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Jew: The Original Doomsday Preppers

16 Jun

 It has been a crazy three days.  It has been stressful and at times unreal.  But what I do know is that I am a mother of a daughter and son-in-law who live in Israel.  More than that I am the mother of a woman who is 8-months pregnant.

My friends and family know that I am anxious, stressed and somewhat neurotic right now. They are reaching out with support and love. I am trying to continue with my daily life, but no matter what I do, my brain and my heart are in Israel. 

I feel like I need to share, to vent, to emote, at times to scream.  I mean, really!  I was just in Israel. How could this happen!  I HAVE to get back to Israel in six weeks!

Even my cousins who live in Israel or have their own children in Israel have reached out to me.  One cousin,  originally from Wichita, asked if I was okay.  She told me that her mother needed tranquilizers during the Gulf War. Makes sense to me.  Aunt Barbara I understand your angst now!

 Then another cousin, who I also saw in Israel, and who recently became a grandmother for the second time, texted: “Stay strong.”  My response, “I am trying!  You too!”  She is so Israeli. Her response “Children are strong. They are lions. And we are all warriors!”

I used that line this Shabbat when I was asked to read the Prayer for Israel.  I told everyone to remember we are all warriors! 

We will survive, as we always do.  I believe that. In the last two years its especially important to believe.  WE cannot cave to hate.

My daughter recently helped me see the reality.  We communicate several times each day now.  This What’s App Chat was classic. 

I start off:  “Perhaps when you are in the mamad (bomb shelter), you should stay away from the window.    (Back story: When they purchased this apartment she told me, “You will be happy to know the apartment has a bomb shelter.”  My response, “I am happy it does, but sad it has to have one.”  Now I really am happy snd extremely sad.)

“No one who was in a shelter died,” my daughter typed. “And Home Front Command specifically said that the number one safest place to be is in your mamad.  So that is where I will be.”  (There have about 30 who have died so far and hundreds who have been injured.)

“My heart hurts that you and all of Israel have to go through this. But especially pregnant women. (Okay I should have said children as well.).”  Then she informs me that one of her WhatsApp group of pregnant woman gave birth on Friday.   Both are fine.  But oy vey what a day.  So as a mom I typed (as if I had any control) “Wonderful! But best not to go into labor during a missile attack.  Just remember that.”  I got a thumbs up and “Yeah not Ideal.”

In Kansas people go into labor during tornados and snowstorms. It snowed the day she was born. But somehow giving birth during a bombing seems wrong.

The conversation continued as we got into what I call the immigrant response that was handed down from her great grandparents. My grandparents were both from Europe. They kept jewels, gold and money hidden in the basement. My siblings and I inherited a lot of jewelry. I keep my share in the bank. But we know it is there if needed.

Don’t worry is her usual response.  But this time it was a little different.

“Passports and jewelry are in the mamad as well,” she tells me. “A friend and I were talking about the first things to go into the mamad and I was like passports and jewelry.  Then came food. Then extra clothes.” (This is what I call European Jewish escape response.). I added, “What about water and a pot to pee in.” (Someone had to remind them.)

“Then I was talking to another friend and her German boyfriend,” she typed.  “I said something about diamonds, and he said “NO, Gold is better.”  I said, “ok, I guess a real German would know what bribes Germans were most likely to take so I’ll be sure to include gold.  Not that Germans are the problem right now.”  (Definitely Shoah inspired response based on knowledge about our family who was murdered and those that survived.)

I told her I was sad that she had to think about what she needs to keep in the mamad. 

“It is sad, but it’s also kind of our history.  Jews – the original doomsday preppers,” she typed.  “Gotta be ready to escape and bribe your way to safety.”

Yes, true, I wrote. But at least you have a shelter. I have to think of what Hamas did to the Gazans. Tunnels just for militants, the rest left to suffer the consequences of wars Hamas starts.

Unfortunately, perhaps it is our millenniums of dealing with hatred that has made us able to survive.  Perhaps being the original doomsday preppers is good.

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Am Yisroel Chai. My Shabbat Speech

2 Jun

I was asked by my Rabbi to talk to my congregation about my trip to Israel. Here is a slightly edited version of that Shabbat speech, which I delivered on May 30.

Shabbat Shalom.

 I recently spent two weeks in Israel.  I did not visit tourist sites or go to a meeting.  I spent my time with my daughter and her husband and visits with friends and relatives who live in Israel.  What I did see was the resilience of the people of Israel.

On Sunday, 36 hours after I arrived in Israel, just as I went to take a walk, the siren sounded.  I went to the Mamad, the safe room.  A Houthi missile landed in Ben Gurion Airport.  This bombing partially cut Israel off from the rest of the world as airlines cancelled flights. Obviously, what the Houthis and terrorists want to do.

I also learned that when a siren for a rocket or missile attack goes off, take shelter wherever you can.  Just follow the crowd and they will let you in and show you what to do. When a siren sounds Israelis are one, helping each other to shelter.

On Monday, day 4, I took a bus with my daughter to Tel Aviv to meet with Ilana, who used to live in Overland Park and taught at the Hebrew Academy. She took me to Hostage Square, walking me from my daughter’s office to the site next to the Tel Aviv Art Museum.  Although I was there in the middle of the day, not when the protests usually happen, I was able to see the monuments and messages posted in honor and in memory of the hostages and those who died.   Ilana and I discussed the political situations in both the USA and Israel. How the hostage families want the war to end. Is what Trump is doing good for the Jewish people and Israel or not. What about Netanyahu?  What was going to happen.

Later we met my daughter for lunch at a restaurant in Sarona. We joined many others enjoying the lovely weather and eating outside.  We even ran into a group from Kansas City, including one of my daughter’s Hebrew Academy classmates. Life continues in Isarel. People enjoy luncheon dates. Tourist run into people they know. I have to believe, Am Yisroel Chai.

 On Thursday, Day 7,my daughter and I took the train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In the morning, the train was empty and quiet.  I was a little nervous about what to do if there are sirens during the trip.  But a large part of this journey is underground, through tunnels in the mountains around Jerusalem. This new train route is direct from Tel Aviv with just one stop at Ben Gurion Airport before going on to Jerusalem. It’s a great way to travel.

It ends at a new train station with easy access to the Central Bus Station and where you can catch the light rail station right in front.  We just had a five-minute walk through lots of construction to meet our family, two of my husband’s first cousins (who grew up in Wichita) and their spouses.   One couple lives in Shiloh on the West Bank.  Right after October 7, three of their sons and one so- in-law were called up. Two went to Gaza.  Now after a break, two have been called up again. In fact, that week 60,000 young men and women were called back to active duty for a new ground assault of Gaza.

 The other couple live in Sderot Boker. On October 7, the wife’s sister- in-law was among those murdered.  Her daughter is teamed with a search and rescue dog. They spent days after October 7 searching for the living and finding the dead.  We did not discuss October 7, our main topic of conversation was that Jay’s 82-year-old cousin finally had a bar mitzvah at the Kotel that morning, and the antisemitism in the USA, especially on college campuses.  Think of that, sons called up to Gaza; sister-in-law murdered on Oct 7; and we discussed the Jew Hatred in the United States.   They will persevere. Am Yisroel Chai.

The train ride back to Tel Aviv was packed.  Soldiers and students returning home with their laundry for the weekend. It made me smile.  Sixty thousand called up.  Airlines cancel flights.  Worldwide antisemitism.  And in Israel teens and soldiers are bringing their laundry home to their mothers.  As it should be. Mothers rule!!!

On Friday, Day 8, Zak’s parents, who live in Tekoa, in the West Bank,  and his brother and girlfriend, from Modiim, came for lunch.  We took pictures. We celebrated being together. We spoke about family and the future. We talked about the house they are renovating in Zichron Yaacov.  We did not discuss the war or politics. We discussed the future for our children. And we do see a future. Am Yisorel Chai.

For Shabbat . Day 9, we visited my cousins.  My mother’s first cousin is my age.  Her parents, my great uncle and aunt, survived the Shoah.  She was born when they finally felt safe.  Her daughter is an excellent chef and made us a wonderful meal. Three of her grandchildren were there as well. The oldest is in the army. She does intake for those who work in the Kiryia.  Her biggest complaint are the parents who call because their children did not make it into this elite group.  Parents are the same everywhere.  The next oldest, a boy, has one more year before the army, but already had his first meeting.  And the youngest is just 14. But he knows what’s in his future.  Families in Israel. Descendants of survivors,  still sending their precious children to fight for survival.  Am Yisroel chai.

On Monday, Day 11,  I took the bus once again to Tel Aviv.  On the way home my daughter pointed out a different bus line with the driver who poked the package.  To understand that you need to know that several months ago a few buses had explosives that blew up, luckily, when the buses were empty in Holon and Bat Yam.  A couple of days later, my daughter had to take a different bus than usual that went through Bat Yam then to Holon.  She was the last one on the bus and noticed an unattended.  She walked up to the bus driver to tell him.  He stopped the bus and looked at it and poked it. And said it was safe.  She was horrified. They had a short conversation with him ending it by saying “I don’t know why anyone would ride a bus!”  She was a bit shocked and said to him, You drive them!””  In any case he was our driver on Monday. Should I say Am Yisroel Chai?  Israeli bus drivers are tough! But it does make you think.

Later that day Edan Alexander was released by the Hamas and returned to Israel.  I did not realize how much this would touch my heart.  An American from New Jersey, Edan is from the same city where my sister and her family lived.  I have been at the high school and the Jewish Community Center.  I have walked those streets.  He survived over 500 days in hell.

Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Our returned hostages have an entire country supporting them. People lined the streets to the hospital to welcome him home.  Hostage Square was packed that evening. Am Yisroel Chai.

Tuesday, Day 12, my daughter and I go to the large outdoor mall in Tel Aviv to meet her friend with her 2-month-old daughter and her father.  Her friend’s first cousin, Maya, was slaughtered at the Nova concert.  I planted a tree for her and said Kaddish on October 7, 2024. We had lunch together, in a restaurant where we were served by both Jewish and Moslem wait staff. My daughter and her friend spent two hours in SheLev baby store going through everything Lara would need.  While her Dad walked the baby, I stayed mostly with the girls. They suffered a horrible loss on October 7, but now it was all about the Babies.  And there are lots of babies in Israel. They are having a baby boom!  The people of Israel will continue to live.  Am Yisroel Chai.                 

Later that day, my daughter drove me. to a kfar near Natanya, where I have distant relatives. The descendants of survivors, whom I met when I lived in Israel in 1974 and 1975. The families had lost touch over the past 35 years, when my grandfather and the survivors passed away.  But now we were reunited and could share our family stories. My distant cousin, whose father lost his entire first family in the Shoah, his wife and four children, as well as his parents and all his siblings, was the oldest son of the second marriage. The marriage of two survivors.  My cousin and his wife have 7 children, 40 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren so far. I do not know how many children his siblings have, but I know there are many. The people of Israel will continue to live. Am Yisroel Chai vChayon.

At this point, I will add that our current president’s trip to the middle East was about to begin.  There was consternation in Israel because neither he nor anyone else from the government was coming to Israel. There was some anxiety in the air, but at the same time not. Israel was already isolated. 

My final trip to Tel Aviv was on Wednesday, Day 13. I met with a childhood friend who moved to Israel 30 years ago. We had lunch at the Azrielli Mall in Tel Aviv.  Her daughter has finished her military service and now will be an English teacher.  Her son will go into the army later this year.  Her husband works at Ben Gurion Airport to screen those coming into and out of the country. We also discussed the Jew Hatred in the USA and around the world.   And keeping safe. Am Yisroel Chai.

After I walked her to the train station, I walked back to Serona, where I did my one tourist activity, I took a tour of Serona.  It was a welcome moment of just enjoying seeing something of Israel I hadn’t seen before, as docent took us into buildings that are usually locked and told us the story of Serona. Originally settled in the late 1800s by the German Templars, Serona was the site of the first government of Israel, the first Bank of Israel, the first military base. It was the Kiryia.  Having this place as the first seat of government enabled Israel to govern from a safe spot.  Now, of course, the main seat of government is in Jerusalem.  Whereas there is a new Kiryia is in Tel Aviv.

My daughter’s’s office is in one of the skyscrapers that now surround Serona. On the three days I took the bus into Tel Aviv with her, I got to see where she worked and meet with her colleagues.  The CyberWell office is dedicated to searching for and helping to eliminate Jew hatred on social media platforms.  They see so much hatred online that part of their workload includes monthly meetings with a wellness team to ease their stress. The efforts to stop the hate is ongoing and not easy as social media platforms track it mainly in English, and the hate comes in all languages.  But they have the technology and the people who will work to stop it. The Jewish people find ways to survive, we are resilient. Am Yisroel Chai.

On a daily basis, I walked the streets of Holon and Tel Aviv feeling safe.  Some days after work and dinner, when it was dark and cooler, my daughter and I walked around Holon for a mile or so.  We passed the many playgrounds with their bomb shelters, we passed stores, some that are open all night.  We passed my favorite bakery. The bread in Israel is so delicious, so we often stopped there to buy challah rolls or bagelas or pastry.  One side of the bakery was all pareve.  I was in bakery heaven.

My last night, we had one last siren before my trip ended.  In all I experienced four sirens and four trips to the Mamad.  By the end, I no longer felt anxious when the sirens went off.  I knew the military was doing its best to keep us all safe with its defenses and its alerts to the people. I knew that the people of Israel were strong, as was I, and this too shall pass, and we will remain as always.   Am Yisroel Chai v Chaiyon.

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Renewing A Family Connection: My Mother’s Day Gift

21 May

While in Isarel, I finally renewed a family connection which started 50 years ago. When I was 20, I met two survivors of the Shoah. They were married to sisters before the war. The sisters perished in the Shoah, but the two men remained connected for the rest of their lives.

I have written about both of these men before, (Lieb) Zissel Feuer and Shalom Hollander.  Both were distant cousins of my grandfather. But their wives were his first cousins.   I wrote about meeting Zissel and Shalom and what happened to them during and after the war, and a bit about my contact with them in Israel between 1974-76. (See blogs below.). Over the years my perception of the two changed, as I learned more about their lives.

Now I have a different story to share, because I have met Shalom’s oldest son Chaim, as well as the great nephew of his first wife, who is also my third cousin, Jeff, and his daughter.

For me it was a meeting that completed a story.  For them, I hope I was able to fill in stories about the family and answer question about the family before the war.  As we shared our stories, I could see where my knowledge and theirs combined and differed.  I spoke about meeting Zissel at the bakery in Tel Aviv across from the Shuk HaCarmel.   Chaim smiled while I told my stories about meeting Zissel there each time I came to Tel Aviv.  Chaim, of course, knew the bakery and even Zissel’s address.  Although I had been at his apartment several times, I did not remember the address.  But we had other shared memories. 

I think when I talked about the bakery, Chaim knew then that I was really a relative.  I really had met Zissel. I don’t think he thought I was lying , but he had never heard of me, yet there I was a family member from the USA, unknown to him. Also when I told him about meeting his father, how elegant he seemed.  And Chaim agreed, his dad had that old world charm.

Chaim actually made me feel better about Zissel. I knew he did not have a family.  Shalom was not related to him at all, once their wives died.  Shalom. remarried.  Zissel never did.  But Chaim told me that Zissel was always part of Shalom’s family. He came to be with them for all the haggim, the holidays.  That eased my heart.  Really, I am tearing up even now.  For me Zissel was such a sad soul. So to know he was not alone, helped.

We talked about the importance of what Ziseel and Shalom did after the war to help others from Mielec who survived and to keep the memory of those who were murdered. Shalom purchased the land where a mass burial of 800 Jews were buried and put up a fence and a marker.  Both men also testified against those who were the murderers, as Zissel had done for the murderer of my great grandmother, his aunt by marriage.  Our discussion filled in so many blanks for me.

Chaim and his wife gave me memoirs written by both Shaom and his second wife, Ita, about what happened during the war.

I in turn could tell them about those who made it to the United States before the war.

How Julius/Judah/Yidel Amsterdam, my grandfather’s uncle, came first.  As other relatives came to the New York/New Jersey area, he gave them a choice. You can be a butcher or a baker.  There was a cousin who was a butcher, and Uncle Yidel was a baker.  My grandfather chose to be a baker.  Chiam laughed as I told the story, because his uncle who went to the states became a butcher.  I said he was probably helped by my great uncle Yidel as well.

With Jeff, I could talk about his great uncle Morris, who lived in Helena, Montana.  My grandfather always stayed in touch with his first cousin.  I knew one of this sons because when I moved to Kansas, they gave me Jack’s phone number. He lived in Denver.  To my grandfather and his cousin Morris, this was close enough. We never actually met, but we spoke several times.

For me I have a feeling of completion.  When I found out about these relatives, through the research of Izabela S.  I knew I had to see them when I was in Israel visiting my daughter.  They lived quite a distance.  But my daughter said that this was my Mother’s Day gift.  It was the one thing I really wanted to do.  So we took the long drive from Holon to a small Kfar near Netanya.

Over the years of my research I have found out how the members of my family were murdered during the Shoah.  I know how a small numbered survived.  I know that they are not forgotten.  I am not the only who keeps their memory alive within the family.  And there are people like Izabela in Poland, who also work to keep the memory of the  Jewish population alive.

I never thought I would ever want to go to Trzciana or Mielec.  My grandfather never wanted to go back there after his family was murdered.  But now I do want to go. I what to see where they lived. Where Shalom and Zissel created a Jewish community after the war. Where the Amsterdam group hid in the nearby forest. The town where my great grandmother was murdered. The mass grave where my great aunts are probably buried.

But most of all I am so glad that I found out what that Zissel and Shalom did after the war.  I, as a young woman, saw both Zissel and Shalom as such sad people talking about Death.  I did not hear the stories about what they did to give people a reason to LIVE after the war. And to create a place of memory for those murdered.

I now know that Shalom and his wife, who was also a survivor from Mielec, had four children, a girl who survived whom they adopted and three sons.  Chaim and his wife have seven children, 40 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren so far. 

I know that Zissel was not alone.  That Zissel and Shalom stayed connected throughout their lives.  I also know that Zissel died in Holon.  I think he might be buried there. So next time I am in Israel, I hope to find his grave and put place a rock of remembrance on his matzevot.

The Trial For the Murder of Chava “Gimplowa” Feuer
An Unexpected Email Reveals Family Shoah History
The Years of The Shoah: Lieb Sussel Feuer/Zissel Feuer And Schulim/Shalom Hollander

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The Years of The Shoah: Lieb Sussel Feuer/Zissel Feuer And Schulim/Shalom Hollander

12 Nov

So much information has come my way since Izabela S. contacted me.  But the first in-depth story I must tell is about Zissel Feuer, my grandfather’s second cousin, who married my grandfather’s first cousin. I have learned so many details about how he survived and what he did immediately after the war, before he made aliyah to Israel.

Before the war Zissel was married to my grandfather’s first cousin, Dvorah/Deborah.  Zissel then used the name Sussel or Zygmunt, the Polish version of his name. His life was intertwined with Schulim/Shalom Hollander because they were married to sisters.  Shalom’s wife, Cerla, and Devorah were the daughters of Zacharias, my great grandfather, Gimple’s brother.  My grandfather told me that Shalom and Zissel were his second cousins from opposite sides of his family.  But since his grandparents/or great grandparents were first cousins, there was much intermingling.

Both Zissel and Shalom and their wives lived on a farms in Trzciana close to where my great grandfather had his farm and both Zacharias, the father of their wives and Shalom’s parents had their farms. 

In fact in the document I have, is a list of farms taken from Jewish citizens. The Germans documented everything. Her you can see that seven of my relatives in listed  from 32 to 39: Mendel Amsterdam, Hirsch Feuer, Zacharias Feuer (Dvorah and Cerla’s father), Gimple Feuer (my great grandfather), Markus Amsterdam (Shalom’s father), Schulim (Shalom) Hollander, Sussel Feuer.  They were all inter-related.  My grandfather once told me that this entire plot of land was once owned by his great great grandfather, or even further back.  But with each generation the land was split among the sons.  There was so much intermarriage as they kept the land within the family.

Zissel was a farmer and a corn merchant. I know that they also had potatoes and other crops on their farms.  But it doesn’t matter, they were all forced to turn over their lands to the Germans in 1941.

After they were all forced off their land, Zissel and his wife; Gimple and Chava, my great grandparents; Zacharais,  along with other Jewish farmers, were resettled in Wola Mielecka, a nearby village. Shalom and Cerla and his parents were sent to Mielec where they had a home. And then began their efforts to survive.  I will let you know in advance, only Shalom, Zissel and one other cousins, the son of Zacharias lived.  The rest did not survive.

Much of this information about Zissel comes from the book “Sztetl Mielec. Z Historii mieleckich Zydow” written by Andrzej Krempa that Izabela S. translated for me. (In English, Shtetl Mielec. From The History of the Jews of Mielec.”)  Other information came from documents that Izabela has uncovered and translated for me.  Part is what Izabela and I have determined through our many email conversations and the research I did and memories I took from my grandfather. I will mix her information with the information I know from my family.

So where was Zissel/Sussel and Dvorah during the war after he was removed from his farm?  At first they hid with a man named Stanislaw Wojtusiak in Gliny Male and then with Jozef Padykula in Platkowiec.   At some point Zissel’s wife was exposed by a resident of Trzciana, then murdered by the Germans.  At this point Zissel had to run.  He hid in the Piatkowiec forest near Mielec, near the village of Piatkowiec.

In the meantime, On March 9, 1942 Shalom was sent to a Labor Camp in Mielec. He was then sent to Wieliczka, then to Płaszów. He then became one of the people on Schindler’s List and ended up in Brunnlitz.

 My one issue about this, is that Zissel told me he had two children.  I do not know where they were or their names.  But Izabela told me there is a mass grave near Tarnow where 800 children were murdered and buried.  These children came from the Tarnow orphanage and ghetto. Shalom and Cerla’s children, as well as any child Zissel and Dvorah might have had, if they were not taken to a camp with their parents, may be buried here. Or they could have been shot at the Tranow Jewish Cemetery. Or deported. In any case we do not know exactly where the children are buried.

Zissel spent the time from March 9, 1942, the date that the Jews were rounded up for deportation and many murdered, until April 19, 1944, wandering and hiding around the villages near Mielec.  For part of this time, he hid in Polaniec (July 25 until October 25, 1942).  He left that area after the Jews of Polaniec were deported and returned back to Mielec. 

He was able to stay hidden for a while. But starting in April 1943, the Gestapo was looking for him. They knew there was Jewish man hiding in the woods.  Honestly, I cannot imagine how he survived for so long, having watched so many of his family die and disappear.  But he survived!  I know he had to have help, because his freedom was always in doubt.    Finally in 1944 he was caught by the Polish Forest Administration and turned over to the Germans.  But the slippery and I think smart Zissel, escaped. On his way back from Polaniec he was attacked in the village of Otalezh, which he was stripped and robbed. But he survived.

We know this because he filled out a questionnaire at the Central Committee of Polish Jews after the war.  (Izabela says this document is now in the Jewish Historical Institute.)

Some of the Jews who survived. Zissel and Shalom are on this list.

After the war, he returned to Mielec, where he became the President of the Jewish Religions Congregation in Mielec. He was among the 55-70 Jews who survived.   Zissel, Shalom and a woman named Chava Amsterdam are listed. Zissel was now using the name Lieb Sussel Feuer.  His post war address was Maly Rynek 1.  Shalom also lived at this address for a while after the war.

I think they still had battles for survival after the war.  Padykula, who helped Sussel was accused after the war for helping in the capture of Zissel.  But Shalom Hollander wrote a letter saying this was not true.  That he actually helped not only Zissel, but also Shalom’s son Nissan.  (This is interesting because in his Yad V’Shem list, he details the names of his five children who died. There was no Nissan. There is also no Nissan mentioned on the list of survivors who returned to Mielec. So perhaps it was someone he took care of during the war.)

Zissel did leave Mielec for six months.  He visited his brother, Arthur, in the United States.  I never him.  But I did know that Zissel visited my grandparents.  He is the one who told my grandfather that everyone died during this visit.  I know from Izabela, that Zissel is one of the witnesses for my great grandfather, Gimple’s death. I know how difficult this was for my grandfather.  My mother once told me that after baking all night my grandfather would come upstairs to their apartment and sit and cry with his head on his arms on the table.  Can you imagine, not only finding out that his parents died, but his siblings, his entire family. Of those that stayed in Austria/Poland, I only know of four close cousins who survived. Shalom, Zissel and one of Zacharias’ sons. ( will write about one of the son’s in my next blog.) Shalom moved to Israel and remarried.

Zissel also went to see another brother in Berlin and then on to Israel.  He did not stay in Israel, instead he returned to Poland.  I really cannot understand why he would return, unless he had unfinished business.  Which, from what Izabela told me next, I think I know what he needed to accomplish.

In 1947 he owned an apartment building at 41 Sandomierska Street, where he lived.  As President of the Jewish Congregation, he began the work of fencing in the Jewish Cemetery on Jadernych Street.  But the Provincial Office stopped the work.  This is the Cemetery that Izabela now cares for with a group of volunteers. A few kilometers from the cemetery, at Swierkowa Street, there is another mass grave, where the Holocaust victims from Mielec are burried. In the area of this mass grave, Shalom put a tombstone in memory of his parents Tovah and Marcus/Markus Amsterdam.  (Tovah’s maiden name was Hollander). It is possible that my great grandparents are also buried in this mass grave.

Zissel also gave testimony for the Polish people who helped him, by writing letters to document what they had done.  I have photos of two of these letters, where he mentions Polish people who defended and saved other Jewish people. Two of them are Loen Wanatowicz and Stanislaw Rebis. 

Zissel also testified against those who did evil, included a war criminal named Jek.  He testified that Jek beat Jews and humiliated Jewish women by ordering them to strip naked.  In the Tarnow ghetto he also killed at least three Jewish men.

Besides these testimonies, Izabela told me that there are still rumors about  Zissel stating that he cheated some of the people of Mielec. How so? There were many homes that were now vacant because almost all of the 5000 Jews of Mielec and the surrounding area were murdered in the Shoah. They basically were available for people to move in to without having to pay anyone.   Zissel, as the President of the Jewish Congregation, said that those who survived and returned were descendants of people who owned some of the property. Therefore, the Polish people now living on the property and in the homes had to pay the survivors for the homes and or property.

I told Izabela, since the families were so interrelated it could very well be that they were distant relatives.  But even more important.  They had NOTHING left.  Everyone was dead. Their homes were gone. They had suffered.  In my mind Zissel had done honorable work.  He found a way for these people to get some money to begin their lives anew. Perhaps some of them were not really related to the property owners.  But they did not belong to the people now living in them either.

(On a side note, I once asked my grandfather if he had tried to get compensation from Germany after the war for the death of his parents or his property.  He became very angry and asked the following questions.  “Would getting the money bring my parents back?  Would getting the money bring my brothers back, my sisters?  Would it bring any of my family back?  I don’t want their blood money?”  We never discussed it again.)

When Zissel was done with this work, he left Poland for Israel.  He started using the name that I knew for him, Zissel:  no longer Lieb or Sussul or Zygmunt.   I met him in 1974.  He was living in an apartment near the center of Tel Aviv with another Holocaust survivor.  He worked in a bakery not far from the Shuk HaCarmel, the Carmel Market.

The last time I saw him was in 1976 with my grandmother.  Zissel was not a perfect man.  He stole from my grandmother.  He was a bit of a goniff. But perhaps that is what kept him alive and allowed him to help others after the war.

May his name be for a blessing.  May his memory live on from the blogs I have written.

Previous blogs about Zissel Feuer

The Necklace I Never Wear
Zysel/Ziesel Feuer, Survivor

Previous blogs about Shalom Hollander

The Sorrow of Shalom Hollanders
Survival of Shalom (Szulim) Hollander

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Peace Please For Israel , The Middle East, The World

10 Jul

Recently  my synagogue’s Men’s Club sponsored a showing of the movie, “To Cast A Giant Shadow,” all about the 1948 formation of the modern State of Israel, the siege of Jerusalem,  and the attacks by five Arab countries to destroy Israel before it was even a day old.

The movie starred Kirk Douglas as Colonel David “Mickey” Marcus, a true hero of the Second World War, who became the first general of Israel and died in a tragic incident concerning friendly fire.

Other stars included Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Yul Brenner, Angie Dickerson, Topol, and Senta Berger, who played the characters of real people involved in the creation and salvation of Israel against the multitude of Arab nations who vowed to destroy them.    It is a fictionalized version.  But it gives a view of Israel from the 1960s when the movie was made and the terror that people were living through then.

Sounds familiar?  It does to me, as once again terrorist forces from the East, the South and the North try to destroy Israel, and anti-Semitism and Jew hatred takes over social media, and the traditional media also seems to favor the terrorists of Hamas over Israel as it defends itself. In fact, the word Zionism has replaced the word Jewish on social media to create Jew hatred around the world.

We were basically defenseless then.  No one would give us weapons. The British were turning everything over to the Arab nations.  The Jews had just suffered through a massive attempt to annihilate them—the largest genocide in human history. Many of the ‘soldiers’ had recently arrived from the concentration camps.  Who would have thought Israel would survive?  It was really a miracle, perhaps the divine intervention included the help of Mickey Marcus.

Now we are not defenseless.  But once again there are fractions in the world that would like to see the destruction of the State of Israel.  The UN made it obvious who they wanted to believe when they would not even admit for months that the Hamas terrorists raped and brutalized Israel victims, both women and men and the horrible murders of children.  The UNWRA seems complicit in the work of Hamas.

On college campuses and in cities around the world people are supporting Hamas, a terrorist group that ended a cease fire and has caused the deaths of thousands of people. It seems to be a world gone insane. But not only in Israel.  Yesterday Russia once again bombed the Ukraine. This time destroying a children’s hospital in Kiev. 

How bad can it get before the world realizes that Israel is a sovereign country?  Ukraine is a sovereign country.  When Iran says it will obliterate Israel, what does that really mean? Nuclear War?  When Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons, what does it mean?  Nuclear War?

In the Middle East the wars between Israel and its neighbors did not stop then with this war for survival.  For the entirety of Israel’s existence, the Arab nations surrounding it have worked for its destruction.  For the past decade, Russia has been trying to chip away at Ukraine’s borders.

Isn’t it time for these continuous battles to end? Isn’t time for children everywhere to be able to sleep a peaceful night without the need for bomb shelters? 

Isn’t it time for Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah to start working to make life better for the people they are entrusted with and use the money they have to rebuild and create a strong economy and society instead of using more and more money to precure arms and build the tunnels and machinery for destruction?

Isn’t it time for Russia to pull back?  So the children and people of Ukraine can have peace again? Before this blows up and more people die on both sides. 

Does anyone think nuclear war will end the battles?  It might –  with the destruction of the world as we know it.  Releasing atomic bombs will not solve the problems.  Ukraine and Russia border each other. Any nuclear bomb will harm both. Israel borders many Arab nations, if Iran obliterate Israel other nations will also be destroyed. It makes me think of another of my favorite movies, “War Games,” in which we find out that thermonuclear war is a non-winner for everyone.

Please Peace.  No more battles, deaths, sleepless nights, and destruction.  It is time for Iran and its terrorist proxies to look at their own plates and solve the problems of their people and stop trying to kill all the Jews in the world.  The same in Ukraine.  I know that the ‘normal’ people of the world who are suffering do not want any more battles.

Please Peace. For Israel. For Ukraine. For the world.

Movie Night in the Catskills Was A Wonderful, Magical Night

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_a_Giant_Shadow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames

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How A Mother Suffers

1 May

“How a mother suffers!” My mother would moan every so often when one of us got sick, or misbehaved, or had an accident.  Sometimes she would say it in jest when we were all teasing her.

How a mother suffers.  These are words that take on so many more nuances when your child lives in a war zone.  Or when your child is called up to serve in the military. Or when your child is hurting.  My mother-in-law would say, “You are only as happy as your most unhappy child.”  That is also true.

In the past two years I have gone from the highs of motherhood to the lows.  And as a mother I am suffering a bit.  I say a bit because I know there are parents who are suffering way more than I am.  There are mothers whose children are forced to fight for their country against terrorists.  There are mothers of children who are taken hostage and have not seen them for six months.  There are mothers of children in Gaza who have perished as Israel fights for its existence and Hamas refuses all negotiations, using the people of Gaza and the hostages as shields.  Forcing many more mothers to suffer.

My suffering is minor compared to theirs.  But it still resonates in my heart.  When I get off an airplane and turn my phone on to a multitude of messages, including one from my daughter saying, “We are fine. We are in our safe room (bomb shelter).”  When I see the news that Iran is bombarding Israel with 340 missiles, drones and bombs.  When I feel that rise of panic and bile in my throat because I honestly do not know if she is safe.

Too many times in the last 12 years I have woken up to the same message. “We are fine, we are in our safe room.”

Hamas has been targeting Israel with bombs all these years.  Every year, every month, 100s and 1000s of rockets. Because their aim is the total destruction of the state of Israel and the death of all Jews.  All Jews.   And when Hamas is not bombing from the south and west, then Hezbollah bombs from the north. And their rockets are move sophisticated.

Now I see college campuses with ignorant students calling out “We are Hamas. Free Palestine. All Zionists should die.”  Without ever mentioning the fact that Hamas started this war. That Hamas raped, murdered and brutalized 1000s of people. That Hamas took hostages. That Hamas send over 20,000 bombs into Israel. That Hamas does not really care about their own people feeling that they should be martyrs to the cause. Hamas leaders have actually said this! Definitely not mothers.

This mother, who has a master’s degree in journalism, suffers when she sees that the media does not report equally on what Israel has suffered giving more coverage to Gaza.  That the media uses information provided by Hamas to report on what is happening.  That they believe the lies of Hamas, which we have seen over and over again. And when found in a lie, then puts the truth buried on back pages and not the front pages where they put the lies. When they report what Hamas says and not what Israel says.  I find this type of media coverage despicable. And I wonder what happened in the world that the news is so biased. What happened to reporting equally on both sides and not putting personal opinion or bias in the reports.  There are members of the news media who turn my stomach, I can’t imagine why they are allowed on the air.  The BBC is one of these media outlets who actually fired some of their so-called reporters because of their biases.

I think of October 7 and the mothers that I know who really suffered.  I think of my daughter’s friend whose cousin was murdered at the Nova festival.  Three girls went together and only one survived.  The one who survived only did so because she hid under the bodies of the DEAD.  The last time Jewish people had to do that was in the Shoah.

How a mother suffers!  She suffers through the suffering of her children.  She suffers through the suffering of the mothers she knows.  She suffers from the callousness of others who say thoughtless words.

This mother is angry that any mother has to suffer.  But is also angry at the mothers who did not teach their college-age children about right and wrong.  Did not teach them that terrorist groups are not the heroes, they are the villains.  A sovereign country has a right to exist. And through all the suffering initiated by Hamas, we will survive. 

A mother suffers.   A mother is only as happy as her most unhappy child.  Many times a mother suffers in silence, not wanting their children to know how much they hurt and worry about them.  But this mother is strong, supportive and will survive and can speak out for what is right. 

 I say Israel has a right to exist.  Hamas is a terrorist group whose goal is destruction. No mother should have to suffer because Hamas/Hezbullah/Iran started a war. Anti Semitism is alive on college campuses and in the news media.  We all have to speak out. Enough is enough.

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Take My Mother To Work Day: CyberWell

29 Nov

A recent trip to Israel gave me an opportunity to visit my daughter’s jobsite.  The last time I visited her on the job, she worked at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Jaffa.  She was using her education and experience to help create peace in the Middle East, definitely a difficult aspiration.  Her new job focus has switched to stopping the rise of antisemitism and Jew-hate speech on social media platforms.  My daughter has always wanted to make the world a better place.

CyberWell is a start-up NGO founded by Tal-Or Cohen, an attorney and American-Israeli who saw that Jew-hatred was growing on social media.  She thought her expertise in law and her experience researching extremist movements In the US on social media would work together as astart to combating this growing problem.   She founded CyberWell as an ethical high tech non-profit with the aim to make social media less hateful.

A colleague of my daughter’s from the Peres Center is a close friend of Tal-Or’s, and recommended that my daughter could help in this quest.

In October of 2021, my daughter joined the team.  In May 2022, the site came online, first as Global ARC, now recently renamed CyberWell. The work of CyberWell is to document social media hate speech directed mainly at Jews and Israel, to report this hate speech to the social media platforms and to get it removed in all instances.  Recently when the artist, Ye, formally Kanye, started posting antisemitic tropes on social media, CyberWell could track the major increase in hate speech.  Their documentation of the data is being used by others working to stop this rise of hatred and have social media adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. 

Tal-Or Cohen has been cited in several articles about this effort. In ‘the algemeiner,” she is quoted: “’Data must be the cornerstone of our fight against online antisemitism,’ said Tal-Or Cohen, the CEO of CyberWell, the company that provided the data for the antisemitic tweets recorded in the letter. ‘In the face of skyrocketing digital Jew-hatred, social media platforms should take meaningful actions and integrate the IHRA definition into their community standards.’”

My daughter’s job is behind the scenes. As Program and Ops Manager, she organizesand searches for ways to connect with others who would support the mission of CyberWell and work with the organization on this important endeavor. You can learn more about the team and CyberWell by going to the website: https://cyberwell.org/our-team/

My visit to CyberWell and its offices near the Sarona area of Tel Aviv was enlightening.  The offices are housed in a shared office space, Panthera, that was started by a woman who wanted to give other women entrepreneurs a chance.  The space is perfect.  CyberWell has two small offices side by side for the four people who currently work on site. But there are lots of shared spaces for conferences and meetings.  There is also a wonderful event space that can be rented for events or can be used by people who work there to have meals.  My favorite area was the outdoor patio that can be accessed from the shared space. They have found a wonderful place to work while trying to clean up social media.

Tal-Or, Vered, Lara and I shared a lunch in the Sarona Market, where they told me more about what they were doing, what type of hatred they were seeing on line, and their plans to tackle and try to end antisemitism and other hate speech on social media.

Vered, Tal-Or, Lara. The CyberWell team.

It is a lofty plan, one that I think is well worth the effort.

In my role as one of their greatest fans, I gave them as much positive reinforcement as any mother could and I treated them to lunch.  Honestly it made me kvell to be with these three young women who are trying to do good in the world.  

I have many friends who fear that the hatred against Jews right now is similar to what happened in 1930s in Nazi Germany and Europe. But I see a major difference. Jews are not keeping quiet. We have many who are pushing back. CyberWell is one such company. If you wish to help them in their work, you can join their mission or support them by emailing hello@cyberwell.org or donating through their 501(c)3 fiscal sponsors here.

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