The Jewish people are indigenous to the land of Israel. We are from here, and everyone feels it as soon as they get here. @therealdebramessing and @noatishby have been in Israel meeting with some of the most extraordinary people in the world. People whose lives have been destroyed following the October 7th attack by Hamas. But their stories reflect strength, optimism, resilience, courage, love, and positivity. We must all stand up for our right to exist. Am Yisrael Chai.
Produced by @YoavDavis edited by @AssafStory for #DavisMedia
Israeli style by @reuvencohen
T-shirt: @ustabelle
Jacket: @stellaandlori
Pants: @undertherockteam
OOPS – now the video will work! I had the opportunity to embed with journalists and cross into Gaza to enter the enormous Hamas tunnel that was recently discovered. We entered at the border crossing used for Humanitarian assistance and for the 20,000 Palestinian people that enter Israel daily to go to work or for humanitarian support. We saw the hole in the gate through which the Hamas terrorists entered Israel 10/7. We walked down the crossing (where the hostages were released) and after about 20 minutes we came over a hill and there was this huge tunnel entrance. It was awe inspiring . I’ll do a post about the tunnel, soon.
After we came out, we walked back to the border. We saw a fleet of tanks drive in a line toward us. @leekern13 had found beautiful yellow flowers and suggested we bring them to the soldiers. We did, and it was a wonderful interaction. What startled me, however, was how young the soldiers were. Babies. 18,19, 20 years old. Sweet young men. I thought “What are they doing here? Driving a huge metal whale? They should be home thinking about what they want to do with lives. Not here.”
So many IDF soldiers have needlessly lost their lives defending their country from jihadists committed to driving all Jews into the Sea. But for 10/7, they would be alive.
So many Palestinian civilians have needlessly lost their lives.
But for 10/7 they would all still be alive.
I am grateful to every IDF soldier who is committed to wiping out Hamas.
I pray for their safety. I pray for peace.
#gaza #idf #tunnel #israel
“All wars end with negotiation, but it’s hard to negotiate when the other side’s bargaining position is you all die and disappear.”
Thank you @billmaher for this very important monologue.
#war #ceasefire #israel #palestine
I had the great honor of sitting down with President Herzog and his wife First Lady Michal Herzog at the President’s residence. We had a very meaningful talk about the silence surrounding the barbaric sexual violence against women and girls on 10/7 as well as what the future will look like.
#israel #presidentherzog #war #hamaswar
This is Shaylee Atari. An Israeli filmmaker with her almost 4 month old baby, Shia. Terrorists tried to kill her family. Her husband, Yahav, sacrificed his life trying to give them a chance to survive.
Shaylee ran with her, then, 1 month old baby, from the murderers. She ran as fast as she could. She is disabled. Her leg. The terrorists were hunting her baby. They shouted it. After butchering her husband.
Her strength is extraordinary. Listen to her story. It is our responsibility to bear witness. The kibbutz is where the most peace loving people live. They drove kids from Gaza to hospitals that needed surgery. Their Arab neighbors came to celebrate their kids bar mitzvahs. It is no accident that Hamas chose to slaughter these activists.
#kibbutz #israel #slaughter #hamas #peace
Washington DC trip Pt 2
The White House was spectacular. It felt like a movie set. Like a toy store. Primary colors everywhere. Christmas trees at every turn. We were welcomed with a live band playing beautiful traditional Jewish songs. There was a room with a working train set, and a choir singing Yiddish songs. It was festive and bustling with 700 people. The highlight was the powerful and deeply moving speech by @potus, and Descendants of Holocaust survivors lighting the candles on the new, and permanent, WH menorah. @rabbibuchdahl, my rabbi from NY, was chosen to say the prayers, which made it all the more special. The echos of everyone singing along in unison was beautiful.
The most moving moment~ seeing a menorah from the kibbutz massacre. It was from a house that had been burnt down. It survived unscathed. And had a place of honor in the White House. The hostages that are still in captivity were never out of mind. (I leave for a mission to Israel in a few days to meet the families of the hostages, injured IDF soldiers, survivors of the Nova Festival and to go to the Gaza border. I’ll post from there.)
Thank you @potus and @drbiden for a Hanukkah celebration to remember.
#chagsameach #hanukkah #menorah #potus #whitehouse White house
Washington DC trip Pt 2
The White House was spectacular. It felt like a movie set. Like a toy store. Primary colors everywhere. Christmas trees at every turn. We were welcomed with a live band playing beautiful traditional Jewish songs. There was a room with a working train set, and a choir singing Yiddish songs. It was festive and bustling with 700 people. The highlight was the powerful and deeply moving speech by @potus, and Descendants of Holocaust survivors lighting the candles on the new, and permanent, WH menorah. @rabbibuchdahl, my rabbi from NY, was chosen to say the prayers, which made it all the more special. The echos of everyone singing along in unison was beautiful.
The most moving moment~ seeing a menorah from the kibbutz massacre. It was from a house that had been burnt down. It survived unscathed. And had a place of honor in the White House. The hostages that are still in captivity were never out of mind. (I leave for a mission to Israel in a few days to meet the families of the hostages, injured IDF soldiers, survivors of the Nova Festival and to go to the Gaza border. I’ll post from there.)
Thank you @potus and @drbiden for a Hanukkah celebration to remember.
#chagsameach #hanukkah #menorah #potus #whitehouse White house
Washington DC trip Pt 2
The White House was spectacular. It felt like a movie set. Like a toy store. Primary colors everywhere. Christmas trees at every turn. We were welcomed with a live band playing beautiful traditional Jewish songs. There was a room with a working train set, and a choir singing Yiddish songs. It was festive and bustling with 700 people. The highlight was the powerful and deeply moving speech by @potus, and Descendants of Holocaust survivors lighting the candles on the new, and permanent, WH menorah. @rabbibuchdahl, my rabbi from NY, was chosen to say the prayers, which made it all the more special. The echos of everyone singing along in unison was beautiful.
The most moving moment~ seeing a menorah from the kibbutz massacre. It was from a house that had been burnt down. It survived unscathed. And had a place of honor in the White House. The hostages that are still in captivity were never out of mind. (I leave for a mission to Israel in a few days to meet the families of the hostages, injured IDF soldiers, survivors of the Nova Festival and to go to the Gaza border. I’ll post from there.)
Thank you @potus and @drbiden for a Hanukkah celebration to remember.
#chagsameach #hanukkah #menorah #potus #whitehouse White house
Washington DC trip Pt 2
The White House was spectacular. It felt like a movie set. Like a toy store. Primary colors everywhere. Christmas trees at every turn. We were welcomed with a live band playing beautiful traditional Jewish songs. There was a room with a working train set, and a choir singing Yiddish songs. It was festive and bustling with 700 people. The highlight was the powerful and deeply moving speech by @potus, and Descendants of Holocaust survivors lighting the candles on the new, and permanent, WH menorah. @rabbibuchdahl, my rabbi from NY, was chosen to say the prayers, which made it all the more special. The echos of everyone singing along in unison was beautiful.
The most moving moment~ seeing a menorah from the kibbutz massacre. It was from a house that had been burnt down. It survived unscathed. And had a place of honor in the White House. The hostages that are still in captivity were never out of mind. (I leave for a mission to Israel in a few days to meet the families of the hostages, injured IDF soldiers, survivors of the Nova Festival and to go to the Gaza border. I’ll post from there.)
Thank you @potus and @drbiden for a Hanukkah celebration to remember.
#chagsameach #hanukkah #menorah #potus #whitehouse White house
I visited Kfar Aza, a kibbutz just over the border of Gaza where Hamas terrorists slaughtered and kidnapped dozens of innocent civilians in their beds on 10/7. I was guided through the detritus by Simcha Greinman. He is the deputy commander in Zaka, a volunteer group that collects body parts to identify remains so families can have bring some dignity to their loved ones and have a proper burial.
There are no words to describe the carnage. These “homes” are tiny. A 6 x 16 room, and a room that fits a mattress. And there were hundreds of bullet holes. The walls, the ceilings. The excessiveness of the attack reveals the depths of hatred that was behind it. Stories of tires set on fire and thrown in to the room to smoke out the kids hiding inside. A husband holding the safe room door closed and being riddled with bullets to let his wife and child escape out a window.
The acts of bravery in the face of terror further solidify my belief that Israelis are the most courageous, resilient, hopeful people I’ve ever met.
May all those souls lost that day, rest in peace. And may all those who loved them find comfort in their memory.
#kibbutz #Israel #hamas #terrorattack
KFAR AZA KIBBUTZ Part 2
Touring the homes of slaughtered young people will take a long time to process. We unexpectedly encountered Shimon, the father of Sivan Elkabetz , who was sitting where his daughter spent her last moments. As a parent of a 19 year old, I can’t imagine carrying the images that will haunt this bereaved father for the rest of his life. Torture.
I pray for his healing.
I pray for an end to terrorism.
I pray for peace.
#kibbutz #israel #kfaraza Kibbutz Kfar Aza
This is the most beautiful and true post.
To all my Jewish brothers and sisters~ please take a moment to listen.
#ourchildren #israel #judea #jewishgenerations #family
Repost from @jessseinfeld
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Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
Repost from @jessseinfeld
•
Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
Repost from @jessseinfeld
•
Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
Repost from @jessseinfeld
•
Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
Repost from @jessseinfeld
•
Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
Repost from @jessseinfeld
•
Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
Repost from @jessseinfeld
•
Torture, rape, and barbaric brutality. Jeffrey Gettleman has covered it for years in Africa for the New York Times. He, along with @anatschwartz and Adam Sella have written the definitive, though utterly sickening piece, on the torture, mutilation, and mass rape of women on October 7th. This act of terrorism should’ve been condemned by the world but we know that is not what happened.
Thank you @henmazzig for making this wretched and traumatizing story postable. I hope the writers are able to soothe their souls somehow after getting so close to the most extreme violence.
I am so angry and I cannot wait to block anyone who denies, or whatabout’s the victims in this story. Enough is enough.
Read with caution.
#october7 #sexualviolence Israel
This is Adva Adar, granddaughter of 85 year old hostage Yaffa Adar.
She saw the video of the terrorists parading her through Gaza as a trophy.
She survived captivity, thank G-d, but her cousin is still in the tunnels. He is a father of 2 young children.
Another announcement today of a hostage executed in captivity. They have been coming regularly now.
And the world is silent.
Please pray for his safe release.
Reminder:
Hamas REJECTED Israel’s call for a ceasefire for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The hunger, the need for medical intervention, and Hamas said Nope.
Hamas does not care about the Palestinian people.
They admit to stealing all the humanitarian aid brought into Gaza for the people in need, and holding it all for their “fighters.”
They shot and killed a little boy yesterday who tried to get some of the aid.
This is all on Hamas.
If they returned the hostages and surrendered, the war would be over immediately.
Why aren’t you screaming for Hamas to release the hostages?
Why aren’t you screaming for the UN and the Red Cross to stop Hamas from stealing the aid? The Palestinians are suffering terribly. Demand Hamas release the hostages and surrender so the war will end and everyone can get the aid they need.
I’ll wait.
#hostages #hamas #gaza #war #humanitarianaid Gaza – Israel
Something beautiful.
A balm for our souls.
These joyous children from @theps22chorus singing the traditional Hanukkah song “Mi Yimalel.”
Thank you Mr. Paul for filming this, and a special shoutout to the two wonderful soloists Jeremiah and Esther.💙
Happy Hanukkah🕎
#childrensinging #hanukkah #childrenschoir
This is Shelly Shemtov. Her son Omar is still being held hostage by Hamas. He is young, playful, loving, vivacious, and in captivity. Still. Shelly has left his messy room as it was October 7th. She will make him clean his room when he is released. Pray for them
This is his story.
#bringthemhome
#hamas #terrorist #hostage Israel
Repost from @scooterbraun
An honest unfiltered conversation with IDF commander and born and raised Israeli @lilaq_logan98. This is a complicated time for many but my goal in going to Israel was to show human stories, with all the misinformation. As you can see, she is not a white supremacist genocidal maniac. People I met there want peace and not war and the suffering of others is something no one wants. Here are her words. I think it is important to hear what she is saying. No one wants innocent lives lost and everyone wants peace. She is one of the most honest people I have ever met and these are her opinions coming from someone living there. Honored to have met her.
#idf #israel #peace #hamas #terrorist
Repost @mandanadayani
Grateful to sit with my dear friend, @henmazzig to discuss many of the issues we are seeing and experiencing and how we are feeling (which partly turned into a vent session). Sharing one of many moments to come.
