I have never known or felt such depths of sadness and pain.
The horrific assault on Israel is a deeply depraved and evil one. Hundreds of innocent people were robbed of their lives in an instant including mothers, babies, and the elderly. Many were reportedly raped, murdered, and spirited away into Gaza as captives. Yes, there was—and still is—a deep vacuum of leadership. But the vacuum of truth and love in the quest for peace across lands and peoples is an even greater one.
This morning I heard from a friend who shared his son’s message from the front lines, that the teams on the ground are committed to preserving, living, and dying by the values that are core to our Nation, values of “humanity, morality and mutual responsibility.” Other friends and family are sharing that Israel's protest movement is now fully engaged with augmenting the infrastructure required to assist those on the ground: cooking meals and packing clothes and blankets, providing medical care and mental support. That is the Israel I grew up in. Truth, loyalty, empathy, and co-existence even—and especially—in the face of conflict; all were part of our M.O. growing up. That was my Israel. And I long for those values to prevail.
With roots in Ukraine and shoots in Israel, the tree of my life—and the lives of so many like me—are like curled willows, weeping and longing for amity. My heart beats with and for those who have lost their loved ones: I stand with you.