Amos 9 (The Prophets)

This was written in 760 BC, but it could have been written for this moment. A friend of mine has been texting me paragraphs of Nevi’im all night: the Book of Judges. He is a non-Jewish, honorary Jew, and a real Zio. And always cool as a cucumber, because he believes in Hashem. Any time I’ve panicked in the last few months, he has said, in his calm London accent: Chiiiiiiiiillllllllll, it is written, Hashem will take care of it, trust.

Well after today, I think he’s onto something.

181 ballistic missiles were launched from the Islamic Republic of Iran at Israel today. We woke up in a state to the news that the missiles were incoming. I have never seen the Red Alert map look like this. This is what an attempt at genocide looks like.

Have you ever? Imagine if this was the United States? The United Kingdom? Any other part of Europe? Anywhere on Earth really… You can’t. Israel is the only country on the planet that has to put up with this.

181 ballistic missiles were fired. It was the biggest missile attack on a sovereign state in history. And only one person died. The person who died was a Palestinian from Gaza, who was living in Jericho. A giant missile fell directly onto him. The footage is graphic and I won’t post it here. But it looks unreal.

I consider all this and I ask: Is that you, G-d?

Before this past year, I haven’t had need for a god. I haven’t trusted there was one. But now I’m less convinced.

A horrifying terror attack happened in Jaffa just outside Tel Aviv only moments before the entire country was ordered to take shelter in stairwells and in safe rooms until further notice. On the railway in Tel Aviv, two terrorists murdered eight Israelis, before being neutralized. I will not post the images of the maimed bodies, but here are the scumbags who have since been taken out.

The murdered included a mother clutching her baby (the baby was saved by a nearby stranger), and this young woman.

May their memories be a blessing.

Immediately after this horrific attack, the ballistic balegan began. My WhatsApp groups were exploding with anxious thoughts, fear, selfies in shelters, mothers cradling their children, and ill or well-placed humor, depending on your stance. With Rosh Hashanah less than 24 hours away, one joked that perhaps a Chabad Rabbi could deliver a very special honey cake to Khameini in his dark bunker in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A rigged honey cake, or a deadly pomegranate.

The panic. Over 12 hours later, I still feel like my fingers are pulsing. My heart has been sprinting for a whole day. The Jewish nation just stared total extermination in the face, and overcame. And this is what it looked like:

In that last terrifying video you see rockets impacting, but all landed mainly in open spaces, which is a call the Iron Dome engineers have to make during such overwhelming bombardments.

Finally, here’s a shot of the Western Wall being attacked, with missiles flying dangerously close to Al Aqsa mosque. The Mullahs care not for the religious sites of Muslims, Christians or Jews, or indeed the lives of ten million people who live in Israel of all denominations. Jew or Arab, the IRI doesn’t care. They want total destruction.

The regime in Iran has attacked a sovereign state today, directly. This is what appeasement does. The calls for ceasefire produce this. Iran may have fully lost its mind during this attack. But so have the useful idiots of the West, by helping to embolden this evil for a whole year. Together with the Ayatollahs, they brought the Middle East closer to a third world war. Every single one of these missiles is intended to kill innocent men, women and children. And Israel will respond to this, with or without the world’s help. Because Israel is the bravest nation on earth.

And Israel is the one nation who is within a shot of freeing Iran from its brutal regime now. Which is why for years we have stood with our brothers and sisters in Iran, the people of Iran, who have sought to topple the Mullahs since 1979.

Today I was thinking about the engineers I met - all young women - who were operating the Iron Dome, during a clandestine trip on my last Israel delegation. I was willing them to do the best goddamn job of their lives this morning, and tonight I salute them because they excelled. And I know it was them. We only hung out for an hour but it was one of the best hours of my life.

I cannot believe it is October again. Can you?

I didn’t sleep last night, or the night before, or the night before that. Because October is back.

This last 12 months, the Jewish calendar year, has been a 12 months in which we have all felt Jewish first and foremost, because the world has made it so. We were forced to confront our nightmares, our fears, the true depths of our relationships, our strength, our pride, our inner turmoils and conflicts. We were forced to confront what it means to be a Jew. I know all of our lives have changed beyond recognition. In the coming days with Rosh Hashanah hopefully a distraction will be provided for the inevitable pain of an anniversary we are all dreading. Just remember that the body keeps the score. If you’re sleepless and anxious and sad and afraid, it’s just your body fighting to keep going while you take stock of the nightmare of last October. We are not there any more. We are here. It is different and we are stronger.

I would hope that our friends will be with us now, but even if they are not, we will do this without them. I still maintain hope. Hope is contagious. I hope that they remember us. I hope they are sending us strength. I hope that if they cannot be strong with us, they can nod and smile in our direction. We stand for freedom. That’s why I wear a Star of David, the greatest symbol ever. That’s why I wear a yellow ribbon, to will the release of our 101 innocents. That’s why I wear the People of Iran’s flag, because I know them to be our greatest allies in crushing our enemies. All these are consistent symbols, and together can blast light against the dark.

This evening I received a nice surprise. I have been included in The Jerusalem’s Post list of the Top 25 Young Visionaries of 2024. A visionary, you say? I am extremely flattered to be alongside friends and heroes.

Perhaps this next year of 5785 will see our greatest visions come to fruition.

They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine

They shall till gardens and eat their fruit

Before I go, I read a book a month ago that completely changed my perspective. I’d say it saved my life, in some ways. I am embarrassed I had never read it before. “Man’s Search For Meaning” by Viktor Frankl; a survivor of Auschwitz, and a pioneer of psychology. He explores how to find meaning in the darkest of circumstances. How to understand suffering and turn it into purpose – in both work and love–, and the application of his findings are universal to anyone struggling with a traumatic event. “Those who have a 'why' to live,” he writes, “can bear with almost any 'how'.”

It is an astounding book that I would gift to anyone I care for. And I care for all of you. I am wishing you all a sweet, happy and fulfilling new year.

Shana tova, u’metukah.