My interview with Elad Levy, uncle of a missing IDF soldier.
Elad Levy's niece is a missing IDF soldier. He is speaking to the world.
Dear readers and listeners,
Today I’m sharing my interview with Elad Levy, an Israeli whose niece is a missing IDF soldier, Roni Eshel. Roni was serving at a base in Nahal Oz, near Gaza. Her family hasn’t heard from her since Saturday morning, and the IDF has since notified them that she is missing. Elad has been speaking out to the world, pleading that we see the atrocities of Hamas and support our friends in Israel as they embark on a difficult mission to rescue hostages and defeat Hamas.
Six days after the unimaginable took place, there are a few conclusions on our mind.
First, the Israeli nation has come to a solemn realization that Hamas cannot be contained; it must be eradicated. Like ISIS and the Nazis before it, there can be no co-existence with Hamas, an organization whose raison d’être is to murder Jews.
Second, we saw the hollow character of so many American elites on display. The president of Harvard University, who was quick to condemn in no uncertain terms a litany of controversial domestic events, like the 2020 death of George Floyd, took days to issue a statement. When she did release a statement, she couldn’t find the moral conviction that was so easy for her on subjects important to the academic left. My alma mater, Stanford, has suddenly discovered a position of institutional neutrality — this coming from an institution whose leadership announced their personal distress during the Minneapolis trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer.
And third, it showed us the deep resolve of the Jewish people worldwide to survive and build civilization in the face of barbarism. There were inspiring reports of American Jews standing at the El Al counter at Kennedy Airport in New York — paying for the tickets of reservists going home. The words of Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem (“The Hope”) rang out in Paris.
The light of civilization won’t go out. Not on our watch.
Am Yisrael Chai.
— Joe
