A friend invited me to the Palm Beach Synagogue and, after an inspiring service run by Rabbi Moshe Scheiner, there was a lunch featuring powerful speakers talking about what’s happening in Israel.
The rabbi introduced a 30-year-old soldier, with his arm in a sling, who stood and told his nerve-wracking story about being in the IDF (Israel’s military) and his experiences on the ground fighting Oct. 7. He thought he was going to die from his wounds trying to save innocent kibbutz settlers. He graphically told us about how the barbarian Hamas soldiers butchered the people living there.
Although I have heard the stories, I have been too afraid to watch the 42-minute video that exists showing the barbaric acts of killing children in front of their parents and parents in front of their children, beheadings and burning people alive. Hearing those stories first hand sent shivers up my spine and tears down my cheeks.
This brave man had his arm severed and his best buddy killed trying to save innocent Israeli lives.
He was there to raise money for equipment that Israeli soldiers need. With him was Rabbi Steven Weil, CEO of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, who shared his experience recenl;y taking a general to West Point and how the cadets had tears rolling down their cheeks as they heard the details of the Oct. 7 attack.
Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said no other country had been as humane as Israel, who is fighting for their survival.
The discussion included Israel’s humane operations and how they alerted Palestinians, even moving them out of harm’s way, even though Hamas has tunnels under the hospitals and schools, putting their people in endless danger. He shared how in the miles of tunnels, the IDF found armaments, computers, offices of the attackers and supplies.
No slaughter of Israelis has been as bad as Oct. 7 since the Holocaust.
Hearing the horrendous acts of cruelty reported by the speakers, I felt I wanted to hug my children harder and tell them how much I love them.
With wars for survival in Israel and Ukraine, I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made here in Palm Beach and happy to spend time with people who are making a difference.
New York Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright and her husband Jay Hershenson, the VP of Queens College, were in town and I met some of their friends at her fundraising party at Kim Renk Dryer and her husband Greg’s home.
The next day, it was so sweet to meet her friends, prolific writer Paulette Cooper Noble and her Emmy Award-winning TV producer Paul Noble. What a unique couple!
On Sunday, Julie Ratner came to town from the Hamptons to meet with some special women and promote The Ellen Hermanson Foundation’s work. The foundation is a group she founded in memory of her sister that helps raise money for people going through cancer treatments. Great women helping a great cause!
Love to you, my dear readers. Until next time!
Seen on the scene
