The video above, and the text below, are of a speech given at a Magen David Adom ambulance fundraiser on December 5th, 2023, in Manchester, England.
THE MOMENT WE WERE PREPARED FOR
October 7th. This is it. This is the moment we were always warned about. The moment we prepared for. This is the moment where we were told we’d have to act. There is an evil that wants to hurt us. And we are going to win. You can be anxious - you can be scared at times - but that doesn’t mean you must not act. If you ever think we’re outnumbered or losing - then imagine what it would be like if we were to do nothing.
But again - I repeat - do not worry. We will win. Don't worry about the big picture. Don't worry now about what the end looks like. Don’t hypothesise about the outcome. It's an anxious habit that could lead you to feeling overwhelmed, paralysed or freeze with fear. Don't let your imagination concoct catastrophes that aren’t true. The only thing that is true is the small daily battle that is in front of you today. And tomorrow it will be the small battle in front of you then. And that is it. That's all you have to do. You’ve just got a series of small challenges to focus on each day. We take the losses when we lose. We enjoy the wins when we win. Know that the enemy’s game is to make you feel terrified and depressed. They want you to become ineffective.
That's what October 7th was. It was real - but it was also theatre. You were an audience chosen by them - and it was designed to make you crumble from within. Do not let it do so.
And the behaviour of Hamas supporters in the West?
Also theatre.
All their aggressive displays of numbers are designed to create the same intimidation. Marching in London or America isn’t going to free Palestine - but they believe it will free them of YOU. Because they fear what you are capable of. No one takes to the streets in such safety of numbers unless deep down they’re scared of Jews. And you know what? They should be. They should be scared of us. They are scared of us. And so they want you to quit and walk away. They want you to keep your mouth shut and voluntarily bow out of the game. But Jews have never gone anywhere and we are not going anywhere now.
What they think is our weakness is actually our strength. Every one of you has a profound and powerful advantage. There are so few of us that anything you do can achieve great prominence. Anything you say will be fast tracked to the top of the conversation. Anything you do can instantly take down a titan. We never stopped being David Vs Goliath. If you act with conviction and confidence - if you don’t ever apologise for loving Israel and loving your people - if you go on the offensive rather than defending yourself against every bad faith lie and accusation - we will win.
We face a wicked enemy. Every bit of gaslighting, every inversion of reality, every cry-bully tactic, every trick and manipulation they deploy is to help them try to hurt us again. We are not going to let that happen because we are fucking brilliant. Being small in number is not a weakness. It is our superpower. This has always been the Jewish superpower. Strength is not in numbers, it is in your soul, and it is in your willingness to act with all your heart and with all your resources. We’re small in number but the things we’re each capable of are mighty. So go out there every day and be mighty. And you should do so with utter confidence because there has never been more moral clarity to a fight than the one we face.
WHAT HAMAS DID
What Hamas did on October 7th - demons from hell would ask Hamas to be their teachers. Murder. Torture. Rape. Kidnapping. Men. Women. Children. Babies. The elderly. If all Hamas had done on that day - if all they had done was just ONE of the things we saw - it would have gone down in history as a dark and calamitous day. Now think of the magnitude of what they did. The multitude of crimes. The deliberately planned, coordinated slaughter of innocent people - and the joy with which they did it. I watched the 47 minute film of atrocities and I will never allow anyone to deny what happened or lie about the people who did it. These were Islamic fundamentalist fanatics who believed in what they were doing with total conviction and who from start to finish yelled the name of their God whilst doing things that would make most people question if God exists. It was an accumulation of every piece of evil since Cane killed Abel. They mastered the art of sin and it is something no one should ever have taught themselves to do, because now there are monsters among us. And we cannot share the planet with them. Hamas must be defeated. They must be destroyed. And the culture of racism and jihad they have instilled in Palestinian society must be reversed if there's to ever be the remotest chance of Israel ever having peace with it's neighbours. I want real peace. Not bullshit.
FROM NOW ON, EVERY DAY IS OCTOBER 6th
Visiting Israel and the scenes of these massacres, watching the footage of the atrocities, speaking to survivors and soldiers, the injured in hospital, the grieving, families of the kidnapped - has changed me. It has physically changed me. I inhabit a different body. There is nothing more important than this war we are in. I've temporarily parked my dreams for the sake of a bigger and more important dream: the right of the Jewish People to live in peace and security. I know I'm not alone. You wanna know how this has changed me? From now on I'm treating every day like it's October 6th. October 6th. It's the day before something awful might happen - and we still have the chance to do something that could prevent it. From now on we need to treat every bit of Jew hate as if it's October the 6th - and that the actions we take could be what tips the scales and prevents something terrible from happening. To this end, all of us are making sacrifices. Every Jew that does something to help - including you - is devoting energy that we'd much rather use for something more transcendent than war. But there can be no transcendence unless we win this very earthly battle. So ask yourself, what is your skillset? How can you give service? What is the most efficient way you can use your time? We don't all need to pick up guns. Israel can do that. We don't all need to yell into the cesspit of social media. But you will have some skills that can be your gift to the Jewish People. Think about what they are and then use them. A war is not just won by it's soldiers - it is won by it's citizens - and we are a diverse people with a multitude of personalities and gifts. What we can do when we pull in the same direction is supernatural!
WE, LIKE OUR ANCESTORS, WILL BUILD BEAUTIFUL LIVES
And we ARE going to win. Remember this at all times - our grandparents and our great grandparents were brutalised and they went on to build beautiful lives from out of the ashes of horror. Whatever horrors happen today, we too will build awesome lives. Their strength, their survival, their spirit is in you. They made you. You are made of the same grit as them. And look to heroes of Jewish history. Leonard Cohen. King David. Esther. Draw upon their example for strength - and in doing so - let US become the people future Jews look to for inspiration.
We won't let each other down because we are awesome. So let’s give our enemies hell. If you’re a soldier give them hell with your gun. If you’re a civilian give them hell with your words. And if that isn't your thing - give them hell with your happiness. Give them hell with your smiles and hell with your songs. And if you can’t sing give them hell with your prayers. And above all give them hell with your Jewishness. Be Jewish. Because it’s hell for the haters to see us survive and thrive.
IT’S OKAY TO FEEL SCARED
I'm not saying it's going to be a pleasant journey. But we are going to win. Do you have some fear in your heart? That's fine. Don't be scared of fear. It doesn't feel nice, but it is there to help you. It's a feeling and a sensation that has evolved in you to give you instincts, intuition, foresight and the ability to act to pre-emptively stave off disaster. Listen to it. Use it. Control it. See it as something positive.
Do you feel vulnerable? That's okay too. You know who else felt vulnerable? Our ancestors. And they got through things. Just as we'll get through things. And know this: that as vulnerable as we feel - we will never feel as vulnerable as they did with no State of Israel. We can only imagine what it would have felt like to be a Jew with nowhere to go when the rug is pulled from under our feet. And now look at us. We actually live in a time when Israel exists and our ancestors would be so, so happy for us. We are in the best position to defend ourselves as Jews for 2000 years. Do you realise how lucky we are? We are the luckiest Jews in 2000 years. We are lucky that when it's our turn to fight, we live in this era. We are blessed. And if we have enemies to the left of us, to the right of us, in front of us and behind us - then good - because we have been blessed with the opportunity of a mitzvah everywhere we turn. Everywhere we turn there is a bad guy to defeat and we get the honour. We are surrounded by 360 degrees of mitzvah opportunity to fight badness and bring good into the world. We are the luckiest Jews in 2000 years. And let me tell you this: I would take ten thousand times the abuse the world throws at us just to be Jewish. There's no way I'm walking away from this covenant, this blessing, this beautiful, holy meshugga journey of being a Jew. We are going to win - and every one of us is going to have an incredible future.
FIGHT AS IF EVERY DAY IS DAY ONE
The first step? We must not stop fighting for our kidnapped brothers and sisters held hostage by Hamas. Because they would not stop fighting for us. You know in your heart - you know they would not stop fighting for you. So revitalise your heart. Refresh your soul. Cleanse your mind and start over. We fight with as much freshness and vitality as if this was day one of the war. We do not stop until we bring every hostage home.
WE WILL WITHSTAND ANY WAVE
I'm gonna end things with this. In my personal fight against antisemitism - my voice is heard by non-Jews. But several years ago my true target audience became Jews - not the non-Jewish world. I realised that waves of antisemitism come that cannot be stopped. We are in the middle of such a wave right now. And I realised that in a world lies - as long as WE know who we are and what the truth is - and stand firm like a rock - we can withstand any wave. We will withstand this wave. And deepening your Jewishness is how we stand firm. Learn your history. Study. Read Torah - even if an atheist - that is our national literature containing the soft living fossil of our ancestors thoughts and dreams. Be proud. Know that your ancestors are warriors as well as poets. And love Israel. We are a people whose origin is indigenous to Israel. Israel - a word that refers to a people AND a place. The DNA of Jewish identity is this double helix between the Tribe of Israel and the Land of Israel. If you try to pull them apart all Jewish life collapses.
And so I say to all Israel. When just one of you is in danger, when just one of you is scared, when one of you is hurting - we don't run away from you - we run to you. And we will be a Magen - a shield for you - just as you will be a shield for us.
We are one people. One tribe. Massively outnumbered and surrounded by hostile enemies. They don't stand a fucking chance. Am Israel Chai. Baruch Hashem.
THE JEWISH SUPERPOWER