Torah Fund Stands With Israel: A Timely Discussion in May 

The one recent moment of joy in the Israel/Hamas war was the release of Edan Alexander, the last surviving hostage with United States citizenship, whose reunion with his mother was heartwarming and memorable. The fate of the remaining hostages is unknown. Antisemitism is on the rise, and we mourn the murders of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, two young, idealistic staff members of the Embassy of Israel in Washington. 

Portraits of Israeli Courage 

Torah Fund vice chair, finance Marilyn Berkowitz introduced her rabbi, Rabbi Richard Camras, who delivered a d’var Torah. Rabbi Camras is the co-senior rabbi of HaMakom in Los Angeles, CA, and is the past president of the Pacific Southwest Rabbinical Assembly. He was ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary in 1992 and has been a lecturer at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies for two decades.  

Rabbi Camras recommended the podcast Free Press with Bari Weiss, where she interviewed historian Douglas Murray about his new book, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization. Mr. Murray opined that those with anti-Israel beliefs chose the wrong people to fight. As Golda Meir said when describing Israel’s “secret weapon” in its struggle with the Arabs: “We have no place to go.” 

Rabbi Camras then described Yom HaZikaron (Israel Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) as the saddest and most hopeful days in Israel. He spoke of the recently released Gaza hostages, beginning with Gadi Moses, who is 80 years old, gray, and balding. In a photo where he is surrounded by Hamas terrorists, he is seen with a slight smile, standing erect, proud, and determined, the photo capturing his defiance and resilience.  Rabbi Camras then referenced the photo of released hostage Mia Schem who assured the world “We will dance again.” He referred to Emily Damari, her fingers blown off, who became a superhero with children wearing costumes in her likeness, and Agam Berger, who, braiding the hair of other hostages, was a symbol of strength in captivity. Even after everything he went through, and after a quarter of the residents of his Kibbutz Nir Oz were killed and the kibbutz virtually destroyed, Gadi has expressed that he can’t wait to return and rebuild. He embodies the power, possibility, and hope of the State of Israel. 

Rabbi Camras thanked Torah Fund for the important work it does to help students study and experience their connection to Israel. 

A Grateful Citizen Proudly Serves Israel 

The featured presenter was Ariella Rada, Spokesperson and Consul for Media Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York. Her role is managing traditional and social media, and her scope includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware. Ariella has served in the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as deputy ambassador to Peru, and in the Office of the Consulate General of Israel in Chicago.  She has a BA in government, diplomacy, and strategy from Reichman University in Herzliya and speaks English, Hebrew, Spanish and Amharic. 

Ariella started by saying despite what Israel has been through, it is still building, hopeful, and resilient. She was born in Ethiopia and came to Israel during the era of Operation Moses, when Ethiopian Jews were evacuated. In Ethiopia, Jews were called Falasha, a derogatory term meaning “intruders.”   

After serving abroad, Ariella returned to Israel in 2021. She was in Beersheva on October 7, 2023, and immediately knew the situation was dire when sirens began sounding every few seconds and she saw atrocities on TV. Ariella shared evidence of rape, barbarity, and kidnapping at the Nova Festival on her personal social media and was shocked by the level of hate expressed to the victims by women. She chose to utilize her skills in social media to represent Israel and the Jewish people, and she considers her diplomatic work on behalf of Israel to be her lifetime mission. 

Ariella reviewed the current situation. In Gaza, Hamas has repeatedly refused a resolution of the war. More reserve soldiers have been recruited, and Israel’s goals continue to be dismantling Hamas and bringing the hostages home. Unless and until these goals are achieved, it is difficult to end the war. Hezbollah still is a challenge despite a ceasefire and the IDF needs to maintain a presence due to continued incidents on the Lebanese border. Iran directs and funds the Houthis and considers the United States the “big devil” and Israel the “small devil.” Both the United States and Israel agree Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. The new President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is an emerging threat. World leaders are embracing him, and he is fashioning himself as a diplomat, despite his rebel background. 

Ariella then addressed the global rise in antisemitism. She believes Jews don’t feel safe walking around wearing identifying Jewish symbols. She advised to be vocal and use social media to counteract the negative characterizations of Israel and to raise our voices to counter the isolation of Israel. She cautioned that when news information is wrong and misleading, it needs to be corrected, and that context and perspective are very important. 

In responding to audience questions, Ariella described the relationship between Israel and the United States as very good.  Examples of this cooperation include moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognition by the United States of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, and visits of Netanyahu to the U.S. 

In response to an inquiry about Israeli publications writing that reservists don’t want to fight an escalating war, Ariella reminded that Israel is a democracy, there is not one unified position in the country, and the situation is complicated. However, she said that Hamas cannot stay in power, as they will continue their effort to destroy Israel and Israel has the right to protect itself. Ariella ended by saying, “Sadly, if the Holocaust taught the Jews anything, it’s that we can only rely on ourselves.” 

We appreciate Ariella giving her unique perspective as a grateful immigrant who admirably serves her country.