Photo courtesy of StandWithUs Actress Debra Messing and comedian and actor Brett Gelman were among the speakers who highlighted the StandWithUs “Israel In Focus” International Conference at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel from Mar 1-3.
Around 500 students and community members attended the conference. Messing received the “Guardian of Israel” award from StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein during the second evening’s plenary; Rothstein thanked Messing for her “inspiring leadership.” Messing called the award a “beautiful honor.”
“I was taught it was our obligation as Jews in the Diaspora to protect Israel.” – Debra Messing
The “Will & Grace” star said that the Oct. 7 massacre “shook me to my core” and that it was “unthinkable” that the next day there were “people on the street celebrating Hamas and blaming Israel.” Messing decided to visit Israel after realizing how “alone Israel must feel … I was taught it was our obligation as Jews in the Diaspora to protect Israel,” she added.
Her trip to Israel was “transformative,” as she heard stories from Oct. 7 survivors and Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers that “made the horror and the trauma feel very real.” But Messing didn’t expect that when she returned home there would be riots and calls for genocide against Jews on college campuses “and the world was silent.”
“So-called social justice activists have been brainwashed and Jewish students do not feel safe,” she said. Messing called for dismantling the “colonialist apartheid narrative” against Israel and for educating people about antisemitism, how anti-Zionism is racism and the truth about Israel.
“We must help create spaces where difficult conversations can be had with open hearts and a focus on the humanity of all people—the exact mission of StandWithUs,” Messing said. “We can transform darkness into light.”
Earlier that evening, Gelman spoke with his fiancé Ari Dayan and StandWithUs Israel Executive Director Michael Dickson. Gelman, who stars in the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things,” recounted visiting Israel after Oct. 7 and visiting some of the sites of the massacre, including Kibbutzim Kfar Aza and Be’eri. He described the sites as “absolute carnage. You could still smell the bodies … It was just so shocking that somebody could perform such evil as they did there,” Gelman said.
He also saw “the lives that people left behind” such as laundry in their washing machine, a peace poster, a Bob Marley poster, or an air freshener. “The humanity of that would come through which would make it even more horrific what you were looking at,” Gelman added.
Since speaking out against the atrocities of Oct. 7, Gelman has had to deal with trolls online who insult his appearance and even threaten his life. In fact, a couple of bookstores recently pulled out his scheduled appearances to promote his forthcoming book “The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories” due to “protester intimidation.” “These people are idiots,” Gelman said. “Very violent scary idiots.” He told the conference attendees, “I don’t know how you’re on a campus right now” and wished he could “come and guard all of you.”
A lot of the people that Gelman works with in the entertainment industry “have been very supportive,” but beyond that “you just don’t know,” and in Gelman’s view that’s “just as bad as knowing they’re not supportive.”
John Ondrasik, who performs under the stage name “Five for Fighting,” similarly lamented to conference attendees how “deathly silent” the music industry has been regarding the Oct. 7 massacre. Ondrasik released a new single in January titled “OK” that speaks out against Oct. 7, antisemitism and support for terror — and those who remain silent on the issue. “One doesn’t have to be Jewish to condemn the evil that is Hamas,” Ondrasik told conference attendees, contending that one just has to be a human with a brain and a heart.
Ondrasik recalled how after the 9/11 terror attacks, former Beatles legend Paul McCartney organized a concert in Madison Square Garden. “There needs to be one of those for this moment,” Ondrasik declared. “We’re going to do that.” He concluded his speech by giving attendees his phone number and offered to help those dealing with hate. “We’re in this together and I choose you,” Ondrasik said.
Day one of the conference began with a group of 30-40 pro-Palestinian protesters outside the hotel from 8 to 11:30 a.m. The protesters held signs with anti-Israel slogans: “StandWithUs Stands With Genocide,” “End the Siege on Gaza Now,” and “Defunding Israel Lies.” They chanted slogans, including “Zionists go back home, Palestine is ours alone.”
At the beginning of the conference, StandWithUs’ Michael Dickson said, “Right now a hate group that celebrated the genocidal atrocities of Oct. 7 is outside protesting this conference.” Behind him was an image of an Instagram post from Palestinian Youth Movement that stated, “Long live Palestinian resistance” next to a picture of Israel followed by a promotion of a Oct. 9 rally. “What these extremists don’t realize is that they’ve inspired generous supporters of StandWithUs to step up for all of us,” Dickson continued. “Starting now, for every minute this hate group spends, generous donors have committed that StandWithUs will receive at least 1,000 more dollars to support the work that all of us are doing around the world.” He declared “We will not be intimidated” and “No amount of hate will stop us. The people of Israel live. Am Yisrael Chai.”
The conference also featured Oct. 7 survivors as speakers, including Sagi Gabay (who survived the Nova festival massacre) and Aviv Nachmias, whose brother Itay —who served in the IDF’s special forces — was killed defending his town from Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Students also discussed how difficult life has been on campus for them following Oct. 7. One student who spoke was Tessa Veksler, the student body president at UC Santa Barbara who was targeted with hateful signage at the university’s Multicultural Center. “The more people tell you that you don’t belong, you must take a stand to show them that you are not going anywhere,” she told attendees.
Other speakers included Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Southwest Israel Bachar and Judea Pearl, chancellor professor of computer science at UCLA, National Academy of Sciences member and Daniel Pearl Foundation president.
The conference concluded with Rothstein asking attendees to share their highlights from the conference; students lauded the “unity” at the conference as well as the knowledge they gained and were inspired to “bring the spirit of this entire room” to their campuses.
“We’re doing this together, we’re growing together, we’re co-inspiring people together and we will continue to do that because we’re not going anywhere,” Rothstein told attendees. “Am Yisrael Chai.”.
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