Donations Received as of January 12: $798,812
Number of Donors: 511
Amount Spent: ₪2,833,412

MARCH 9, 2026 - OPERATION ROARING LION - BY YITZHAK SOKOLOFF

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For the past week Israel has been living through the most intense stage yet of what is essentially a decades long war with Iran initiated after leadership of the Islamic Republic declared the destruction of Israel to be its main objective back in 1979.   I trust you have been following events closely—with concern, questions, and perhaps some hope for what might emerge when the guns go silent.

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Last week I was hosted on a podcast produced by Potkin Azarmehr, the director of a Farsi speaking television studio in London, which beams its programs into Iran via satellite.  He began by asking me about the mood of Israelis.  I told him that as far as I can tell the dominant feeling is one of relief—both that we are finally acting decisively against an extremely dangerous and determined enemy very much committed to our destruction, and that we are doing so in alliance with the United States. I also mentioned the somewhat whimsical notion batted about Israel today that we are finally repaying our debt to Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem 2500 years ago. To my surprise, Potkin told me that Iranians are familiar with the story of Cyrus, and that they too appreciate the historical twist of events.

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For Israelis, the war has quickly become part of daily life.  The sound of planes overhead is almost constant. Even as I write this, I can occasionally hear distant explosions from interceptions taking place too far away to trigger the sirens. And this past Monday the Hezbollah entered the war with all the weapons it was supposed to have given up in the most recent agreement. The north of Israel is once again subject to almost constant bombardment and this afternoon we once again heard the horrible words “The IDF has cleared for publication” regarding two soldiers who were killed along the Lebanese border by an anti-tank weapon.  

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In my neighborhood in Efrat we have had to descend to our shelter about thirty times. In a somewhat unexpected way, though, the sirens have also brought us together. One of our neighbors brought his electric piano along. On Purim my daughters came with a flute and and violin, and the music and dancing that ensued were amazing.  We even played wedding music for a five-year-old “bride” celebrating Purim. 

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But the shelter experience grows old quickly. When the “all clear” announcement comes, the first instinct is to check to see where the missiles have struck and whether there have been casualties. The news from Beit Shemesh last Sunday was devastating. A shelter beneath a synagogue suffered a direct hit. The synagogue was destroyed

completely ; nine people in the shelter were killed instantly and dozens were wounded. My wife and I decided to pay a shiva call on the Biton family, who lost three children. We had never met them, but we felt compelled to reach out—especially because we know all too well the pain of losing a child.

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The Biton's are still in deep shock, but their expressions of faith—both personal and national—were deeply moving. They belong to the Sephardi Haredi community, and they spoke about their hope that somehow the tragedy might become a catalyst for greater unity within Israeli society and the Jewish people.

 

One of the remarkable things about this moment is the near-universal consensus in Israel that this war is both just and necessary. This does not mean that Israelis have suddenly rallied around the government or Netanyahu.  Far from it. But across the political spectrum there is broad agreement that the Iranian regime should be taken at its word when it declares its intention to destroy us and dealt with accordingly.

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I know this view is far from being shared universally  in  North America. Friends in the United States have cautioned me that Iran is not necessarily viewed there as an immediate existential threat justifying  American military entanglement in a far-away conflict, or that the lack of formal congressional approval may threaten the essence of American democracy.  Even in Israel one can found those who view the war more as political theater than as an essential act of self-defense. A good friend and a lifelong Zionist told me last week “I want to believe there were alternatives to military force.” I respect his humanitarian instinct, but wanting something to be true does not necessarily make it so.  The absolute consensus of the Israeli security community is that this war is both necessary and just. We pray that it will enable the Iranian people to free themselves as well.

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It is a privilege to live in an age where the defeat of a modern Haman does not depend solely on the unlikely twists and turns of the Purim plot, but on the courage,  skill and determination of the men and women of the Israeli Air Force, together with the friendship of the United State and its armed forces.  Expressing support for  those who are currently risking their lives in combat  is not necessarily a vote of confidence in the governments of either Israel or the United States,  but it is an acknowledgement of the risks  they take on our behalf and the dangers of leaving the Iranian regime intact.The Holocaust once lay beyond the limits of human imagination.Today, we know all too well the depths of evil of which people are capable, particularly when coupled with the destructive power of modern technology. The Iranian regime has been no less explicit about its intentions than Hitler was in his day.  

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THE KESHET EMERGENCY ISRAEL RELIEF FUND- How This Works

Keshet will continue to advance its own funds as long as possible, but for
our efforts to be viable we need your financial assistance. We have
partnered with our good friends at Temple Beth-El
in Hillsborough, NJ to facilitate this process. Tax-exempt contributions
can be made to TBE, which will in turn issue tax receipts to donors as a
recognized U.S. based non-profit organization.  Based on your support we
will expand our operations during the duration of the crisis, but in the
interim we will continue to allocate our own resources based on pledges
that we receive from you. This model has enabled us to disperse hundreds of thousands of dollars in response to urgent requests within 48 hours or less.

How to donate to the Keshet Israel Emergency Relief Fund
Contributions should be sent to Temple Beth-El Israel fund via the TBE website: https://templebethelnj.shulcloud.com/form/israel-emergency-relief

Or send a check made payable to: Rabbi's Discretionary Fund

Mailing Address:
Temple Beth-El
67 US Highway 206
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Memo:  KIERF

(If you would like to make a donation by bank transfer, please be in touch with us for details at the email address below.)

Please be sure to send us a note in parallel to your donation if paying by check indicating the amount of your donation by e-mail to IsraelNow@keshetisrael.co.il.

 

Sincerely, Yitzhak Sokoloff and the Keshet Team