**Reflection Friday – A Journey to the Holy Land - Bearing Witness & A Call to Action**

I have spent the past week in Israel, and what I planned to write about upon landing versus what I will today are vastly different. I arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday morning pre-Shabbat and found life bustling in the markets, restaurants, and beach. I'll admit, at that point, I thought, "Wow, maybe the war isn't having a real impact," and Saturday didn't change my mind. The day was a bit quiet, as it is Shabbat, but Jaffa was bustling, beaches were packed, and people seemed to be living their lives.

On Sunday, things began to change as we took a train to Jerusalem. I felt it was important not to leave without going to the Kotel, i.e., the Western Wall. This wasn't my first trip to Israel or the wall, but given the events of October 7th, it was a must on my to-do list. What I experienced was something I had never seen before—emptiness. That's right, the Western Wall and surrounding Old City were barren of people, and this was my first sign that things might be different.

Monday, we were back in Tel Aviv and decided to go on a food tour with some friends who coincidentally were also in the Holy Land. If you've never been to Israel, you likely won't comprehend how good the food is there, but trust me, it is the best. The tour itself was fun and educational, but we ended our journey at a café that provided work for Kibbutz survivors and heard a 16-year-old girl's story. It was a precursor for me of what was coming, but to learn she can't go home and has been in an apartment not of her own since October 7th was heartbreaking.

Tuesday was a mixture of great pleasure and some pain. We began the day at our daughter's work at a daycare/camp. It was super fun to see her in action and to get to play with these bright young children, even if there was some snot and dirt in places I wasn’t super happy about. Lunch was at The Sarona Market, which was bustling, and the shawarma was worth the wait. After our meal, we headed to Hostage Square. I took many pictures, but it is clear that this country is in pain, and until each of them is home—hopefully alive—there will be no end to the lengths the families will go to make sure their voices are heard. If I had to pick one item that made an impact, it was walking through the tunnel built to show what it is like to be held hostage in Gaza. The two-minute walk felt longer, and I had a hard time breathing, so I can't even begin to imagine what it is like to be held underground for an hour, let alone 270+ days. We ended the evening on a high note at dinner with my good friend Sagi Eliyahu , his wife, and our daughter. Dizengoff was on fire as usual, the food was great, and all seemed right in the world again.

Wednesday, life had a different plan for my family, and let's just say we got to experience the Israeli healthcare system firsthand. Everyone is healthy, but it was certainly a challenge to be in a place and not know the language while asking for an update or progress. The doctors were great, but we still had to take it easy for a day, which in turn was a blessing.

Thursday morning, my last full day in Israel, I was provided an unbelievable opportunity to go to the Israel-Gaza border. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this trip other than my eyes were about to be opened. Our small group began the day at a Kibbutz, which sits directly on the border with Gaza. A woman greeted us and began to tell the stories of October 7th and how this community had only 15 seconds to get to their shelters that day. She shared with us the tragedy of losing 20 of their Kibbutz family members and then took us out on the Kibbutz to show us firsthand what happened. We started in a small bomb shelter right next to the main area, where an 89-year-old woman hid that morning. The shelter has no door, so once the Hamas terrorists arrived via hang gliders, they proceeded to enter and shoot this 89-year-old woman at least 12 times—that is only because I stopped counting bullet holes. From there, we saw houses that were burned to the ground and more Kibbutz homes with massive bullet holes. In fairness, this Kibbutz got off relatively easier than others due to the fact that they had a massive wall between them and Gaza.

We spent a good hour or more seeing what the Kibbutz had built as a memorial for their people and then headed to the Sderot police station. If you aren't familiar with this story from a town that is a stone's throw away from the border, I'll do my best to summarize: this town was fully under attack on October 7th. The police station was taken over by terrorists who had stolen uniforms and taken control of the building while killing as many people as they could. The IDF arrived but unfortunately too late, so the only option to end the siege was to blow up the police station with the people inside. A once thriving town was now vacant and without police. They know they can rebuild, but you can only imagine how you would feel knowing the police and army you trusted to protect you couldn't.

Upon leaving Sderot, we headed to the Nova Music Festival site, where we were met by a mom who lost her son that day. When walking off the van, I felt a bit overwhelmed as the site is filled with memorials, tributes, and the faces of those who were killed for simply going to a show and being in Israel. Note, I didn't say Jewish. The pictures were a lot, but her story about losing her son that day and how even in death he was a hero stopped me in my tracks. She shared how his good friend Roni, who was in the car with him, had 28 bullet holes in his body when found next to her son, who thankfully only had two, nearly three weeks later. That's right, this woman waited three weeks to even learn if her son was kidnapped, dead, or alive. To hear her speak with such strength allowed me to see the power of resilience firsthand.

If we needed to add more to the fire, we stopped at the car graveyard to see something that can't be unseen. Cars by the hundreds piled on top of each other with bullet holes everywhere. Many were burnt beyond recognition as cars, and then we learned that because so many died, body parts had just finally finished being removed.

What I saw on Thursday will change me; I just don't know how yet. I am struggling to process what an 89-year-old woman did to be shot, let alone with 12 bullets. Was she going to chicken soup these terrorists to death? Why did they need to shoot these young people at Nova? Sure, by default, they are all technically soldiers, but not on that day. They weren't in uniform and they didn't have weapons, so why shoot them and so many times? How can someone hate that much?

So now comes the first call to action. You don't have to be Jewish to recognize that these attacks were barbaric in nature. They are not from a people who care about life in any way, and this is a fact displayed by the actions I saw firsthand. It is time for people who believe in good, believe that people are equal and deserve a right to live regardless of their religion, to stand up and be heard. While Israel may be on the front lines, I now have seen what the devil will do, and we need to combat this enemy head-on, or we will lose our way. So call your congressmen, politician, etc.. stand up against antisemitism and hate, but most importantly, don't get confused by your dislike for the Israeli government—that is what they want you to do.

Now to point number two. Israel needs your help economically, and not in the way you think. Donations are important, but they need you in Israel. They need you to spend money supporting local businesses that are simply dying without tourism. Send your kids to Birthright, Onward, HSI, as the life lessons and experiences will shape their future and strengthen their values. I get it, Europe is nice, the Caribbean is so pretty, etc., but we need you to prioritize Israel. And heck, as my friend Sagi Eliyahu says, there is no place on earth like Tel Aviv, as the vibe is off the charts.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Reflection Friday and will share this story with others who may not be subscribers to my newsletter or follow me.