Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community 
Sometimes a country has to hit rock bottom before it wakes up. I believe that is the case with America. There is hope America can be fixed. The recent resignations of President Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania on December 9 and President Claudine Gay of Harvard on January 2 is a strong indication that America is in a state of transformation.
Israel’s Independence War of 1948, unbeknownst to many, took close to 10 months. The war against Hamas, which has been dubbed Israel’s Second War of Independence, is now in its third month. Most military analysts believe it will take at least three more months to do the job. Israel did not start the war of 1948 and it did not start the war of 2023.
Israel is leading the fight against barbarism, terrorism, and evil. Israel is in its own existential battle, but it is exposing the fault lines and fissures that face society today.
The depraved and barbaric murder and kidnapping of innocent men, women, and children by Hamas on October 7 will remain a blot on humanity for an eternity. There have been many failures of civilized society since. There have been a few bright spots. The overwhelming global response has been troubling, disheartening, and simply dreadful.
The October 7 massacre of innocent Jews has shaken the world. The depth and breadth of the killing, rape, torture, and mutilation is unparalleled in the history of mankind, according to archeologists who have made it their life’s work to study such things.
This past week Joe Nahmias z”l, the father of philanthropist and Chairman Commissioner of the Nassau County Bridge Authority Sam Nahmias, passed away at age 85. He was buried in Israel. He hailed from Morocco but spent most of the first part of his life in Israel. He worked for Israel’s intelligence Services for 23 years. He was best known as Prime Minister Ben Gurion’s bodyguard. He was wounded with scars to prove it on multiple clandestine operations. He was part of the Israeli Intelligence services that brought the nascent State of Israel into being. Without the bravery and fearlessness of people like Joe Nahmias, Israel would not have become the powerhouse success story that we are all so proud of.
