When Hate Comes to Your Daughter and Love Rushes to Protect

There are many reasons why I moved to Israel. In truth, antisemitism was not one of them. I didn't run away; I ran to...Israel was my destiny from the time I learned the truth of my heritage. My people have never been home, other than when they were/are in Israel. Israel is our past, our present, our future. Our home, our safety, our essence.

The picture you see on the side is a picture of an antisemite who accosted two young women who were doing nothing but sitting in a club far far from home. This creature approached these young ladies and asked where they were from. They believe he heard them speaking Hebrew. Without thinking, and why should they, they answered, "from Israel." For several long minutes, he verbally abused them, accused them of being murderers, called himself a Hamas terrorist, and demanded they be thrown out.  And the rest was a terrifying experience at the mercy of a drunk madman.

Like many Jews, I have experienced antisemitism. In fact, I don't actually remember the first time I was castigated for being a Jew. What I now know is that I was five years old and only learned about the event recently from my sister. A lasting impression it did not make. The story goes like this. Some girls approached my seven-year-old sister and me. They told us that we had killed Jesus. According to my sister, I started to cry, and with all of my five-year-old experiences behind me, I told them that I didn't kill Jesus or anyone else.

In Alabama, when I was in my early twenties, I was with some friends filling a van with gas. From across the station, a man saw me and yelled, "F***** Jews, go back to New York."

Years later, married and the mother of five children, I traveled to Poland with my oldest daughter. She had insisted that she wanted to join others on a trip to concentration camps and bear witness to the horrors found there. In Poland, a drunk peasant screamed, "Hitler" at me. My response was to raise my camera and pretend to take his picture. Like a rat, he scurried behind a building. A few minutes later (we were stuck waiting for the bus to arrive), he came out from the street. I raised my camera, and he ran away. In truth, most antisemites are cowards.

In retrospect, maybe deep down, there was a belief that if I moved to Israel, my children would be spared. Spared from people saying they killed Jesus, spared from being cursed at.

Tonight, my youngest daughter called me. She is in the Philippines with a friend, traveling during the summer break before her final term at university. She was safe in her hotel room; she even showed me the locked door. And she told me what happened. After hearing she was from Israel, this man began yelling at them.

Drunk, but sober enough to ask if they'd served in the IDF. Nasty enough to call them murderers. Hateful enough to instruct the Filipinos to throw them out. They called the police instead.

He was clearly drunk, my daughter said. Most likely from Australia or New Zealand... the accent was unfamiliar...perhaps he was from Sweden, my daughter said, or Finland. Anywhere where they hate Jews was the hidden message. 

The man, drunk as drunk can be, went to the fish tank, attempted to catch a fish, spat in or near the tank, and returned to verbally accost the girls.

But these beautiful loves of mine were smart...smarter than him, that's for sure. The first thing they did was call for help... no, not from the Filipino police, but from Israelis. There's a WhatsApp group they'd joined, and they put out a message that they needed help. And within minutes, three things happened. The Filipino waiters called the police; the drunk man left, and the Israeli boys showed up.

It was then, after they were safe, that the two young women started to cry...but it was okay because the Israeli men were there..,there to calmed them, tell them they were okay, and keep them safe. They escorted them to where there were many other Israelis and there they were surrounded with love.

They are fine, my baby, her friend. They are okay. They're in a locked room across the world, and I want them to come home. They won't...not yet...a bit more vacation and they'll be on a plane to home. This is their home. No, they did not serve in the IDF; they did the national service that many religious Jewish women do. They murdered no one...for that matter, though you may not believe me. Believe the fact that the sum total of people murdered by the IDF is zero, and the sum total murdered by Hamas is around 1,200. 

From October 7 onwards, it has been war. A war Hamas started by murdering Israeli (and non-Israeli) civilians. Yes, Israel has killed thousands of Gazans - the vast majority have been terrorists from Hamas and/or Islamic Jihad. And yes, hundreds, even thousands, of innocent Gazans have been killed. Killed, not murdered. Murder is a targeted crime...where your goal is to inflict death on an innocent. Israel has not intentionally targeted Gazans.

By contrast, Hamas targeted civilians on October 7, and nearly every day since. Targeting innocent people makes it murder. Nothing happening in Gaza justifies two young women being targeted and terrorized on a Saturday night in the Philippines. In truth, the drunk man did say one honest thing - he called himself a Hamas terrorist, terrorizing two young women because of their nationality,  because they were Jews. 

Yes, to be attacked as an Israeli is to be attacked as a Jew. It was the first thing my daughter said to me when she called, that she'd experienced antisemitism for the first time. My daughter says she's glad the Israeli men didn't show up while the jerk was still here; part of me wishes they had. 

When the police came, they told my daughter they could come down and make a report. Despite the confirmation by the Filipino waiters, the police made no effort to find the man, who was seen a short time later by my daughter and her friend. Happily, by then they were surrounded by Israelis...friends among friends, protected, comforted.

A reminder, though unneeded, that in this world, we are often alone. All we have is each other. I told my daughter and her friend that I was very proud of them. They did not fight back and risk being hurt. They reached out, sent out a call for help, and help came running towards them...three strong, proud Israeli men. I don't know who you are, but I send you a mother's love and a mother's thanks.