Utter Shock 10/8/23
Thank you so much to those who have reached out. It is a gut wrenching time for those with family and friends in Israel. Our family is secure and we are trying to bring our school-age members out when flights resume. The remainder will stay to support Israel in whatever way possible. I am writing this massive email because I am doing a bad job of keeping up with my individual correspondence; I'm overwhelmed. It will take days to parse through the carnage, but we know that hundreds have been murdered, kidnapped and wounded. It's surreal and the numbers will only get worse. The death toll skyrocketed to 600 today because roughly 260 youth were found massacred in a field, where they were attending a pro-peace/nature music festival. If this massacre had occurred in the US, it would be the worst mass shooting in our history, 20 times deadlier than Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech and Columbine combined.
I am disgusted by the online support of supposed activists who, after seeing young women dragged through the streets or pulled bloody out of jeeps, justify their deaths. There is no justification. To be unequivocally clear, this is Israel's 9-11. It did not provoke, it was attacked. No one supported al-Qaeda on 9/11, or ISIS when it attacked Paris, and it is unacceptable for the world to excuse Hamas when it murders civilians.
To offer perspective, the roughly 600 lives lost - and that number is assuredly higher - is the equivalent of 20,000 US lives lost. That's how small Israel is; how devastating the loss. It is the size of New Jersey and this attack, coupled with the newfound perception of vulnerability, has only put Israel at greater risk. Hezbollah is now sending rockets from the north. Israeli troops are mobilized and accumulating across the entire perimeter of the country to secure the border. Reserves have been called. Panic and safe rooms are being stocked in preparation for attacks. It is an unnerving time, but Israel is determined to triumph. To do so, Israel will need its Allies' unequivocal support. I urge you to PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CONGRESSPERSON: Urge Congress to Stand with Israel.