A Day in A War Unlike Any Other

It was not how I planned to start my day, much less spend most of it.  But it was one of the most uplifting days I’ve had, certainly since the war started on October 7, and in quite a while.

On Sunday, my good friend David Nekrutman called. Together, as Orthodox Jews, we have been building bridges and lasting deep relationships with Christians for decades.  Like me, he launched an emergency fund from the Isaiah Projects to help with the war effort in Israel and has been making tangible impact among many civilians. David asked if I would be able to help him through the Genesis 123 Foundation Israel Emergency Campaign to resettle entire families from the Gaza border area for a week or more in hotels as these communities were being evacuated so as to avoid any civilian casualties.

Even though our Israel Emergency Campaign had other primary objectives including helping soldiers, providing civilian security, and supporting the most at-risk youth in the Gaza border area, I said “yes” to David, without hesitation.  First, I knew if he was doing something, it was real and credible.  Second, we’ve been blessed by the support of thousands of mostly Christians donating as little as $2 and I had the money handy.

Yesterday, after finishing an early interview with a South African radio station, David asked if I wanted to come to the Jerusalem hotel to meet the people who’ve been evacuated for their safety.  I arrived shortly after and was there for several hours, visiting, speaking to the families, providing words of encouragement, hearing their stories, and listening to their needs. While we brought them to Jerusalem to uplift their spirits, I came away uplifted and grateful for the privilege of being able to help them, thanks to the generosity of so many who care about our safety and well-being here in Israel.

I met Hirsch, an octogenarian Holocaust survivor whose left eye was taken out as a child by a Nazi’s rifle butt.  Despite having only one eye, Hirsch is a veteran of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and was among the troops who pushed Egyptian army back across the Suez Canal, eventually surrounding Egypt’s Third Army just 100 kilometers from Cairo.

While Hirsch fought against Egypt, over the decades he shared that he had many positive relationships with Gazan Palestinian Arabs, hosting actual friends in his home, and being hosted in theirs. Something changed. While he doesn’t believe that his friends are terrorists, he sees that their children and grandchildren are.  This challenges his world view of peaceful coexistence. Even though he only has one eye, Hirsch has seen a lot.

I asked him which was worse, the surprise Egyptian and Syrian attack 50 years ago, or the Hamas terrorist attack this month.  He wasn’t sure, but noted that the Egyptians were fighting an army, and Hamas crossed the border expressly to kill, maim, violate, and kidnap civilians.  Hirsch is in a wheelchair and was grateful for the first good night’s sleep he had in a while. And he loved that Christians around the world were the benefactors of this opportunity.

I met Rachamim and Abigail who left home with their younger children but whose older adult children stayed back.  But they wanted to have all their family with them and were hoping that their other kids would be joining them soon.  We had a great conversation about our families, and think that their son might be a good fit for one of my single daughters. Who knows. Maybe a match will come out of this war.  Either way, they were pleased to be in Jerusalem and appreciative our help.

I met another family, three generations.  If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that they were on vacation. Except they spent the previous nine days stuck in their house next to their bomb shelters with just 15 seconds to take cover each time incoming rockets were fired their way. Neighbors and loved ones were killed. They enjoyed the warm Jerusalem sun, something we just take for granted, as the kids ran around in and out of the hotel.  I prayed that the memories they will have will be of this wonderful and needed respite, and not of the war itself.

If this were not all enough, and even more stories to share, when I paid for a large portion of the hotel bill, I asked the woman working what would happen if all these people were not staying in the hotel now.  “We would all be out of work,” she replied without hesitating.  Interestingly, she was an Arab, underscoring that our kindness has a positive trickle down much wider than just the dozens of evacuees.

Right next to the hotel is the showroom of J. Mark Interiors, a NY and Jerusalem based architecture and design firm owned by my good friend, Jeffrey Mark. Since I was there anyway, I went to visit. Jeffrey asked my help coming up with a project that he and his staff could get behind to be part of the war effort, rather than just sitting around worrying.  I told him about his new neighbors in the hotel. I told him that we needed to pay for meals for the families, especially on Shabbat, the sabbath.  I told him that this one-week respite that’s been paid for was not enough, and that we needed to raise funds for at least 2-3 more weeks, probably bringing more people.  I suggested that we needed activities for the kids to engage them, and give the parents some time alone.

Jeffrey sprang into action, garnering his staff, mapping out plans, and making a compelling and emotional video about the needs, asking his clients and friends to participate financially.  Within hours, people waking up in NY began responding generously.

God willing, more of the evacuees’ family members will show up this week. God willing, we’ll raise so much money that the next month is covered for these people, and we’ll have to find others to help. God willing, they will be able to go home soon, safely.

But none of these people are working now.  Some are farmers.  If they don’t tend to their crops, they will lose an entire season, and hundreds of thousands of shekels.  One photographer has had all his work canceled through December.  So I made an additional proposal.  Before they leave, let’s give each family a 10,000-shekel gift card to use in a local grocery store, giving them peace of mind that even with no income, there will be food on the table for some time.  God willing, people will continue to respond generously, and we can do this too.

The Genesis 123 Foundation has established a dedicated link to receive all war related donations, the proceeds of which will go to these stated needs.  Please visit www.love.genesis123.co.

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six and grandfather of three (so far). Throughout his life and career, he has worked to build bridges with Christian supporters of Israel through the Genesis 123 Foundation, and hosts “Inspiration from Zion,” as the only Orthodox Jewish host of a weekly podcast about and from Israel on the Charisma Podcast Network. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.