“I feel like we should be in a bar right now, even though it’s 10 o’clock in the morning,” I said.
“I know you, and that would not be a deterrent.” Geoff Berg and I have been friends for a long time, probably since 2009 or 2010. We met on Twitter. He had a Houston radio show; I had a podcast. He’s a liberal American Jew, and I’m a conservative Catholic convert. We disagree on 80% of policies, yet we remain friends — good friends, but not in the sense that we talk all the time or see each other regularly. I would go to bat for Geoff’s character and integrity any day of the week and twice on Shabbat; he’d do the same for me, just not on Shabbat.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, Father Mike Schmitz offered a Catholic Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City for Israel. For those who aren’t familiar with a Catholic Mass, the long and short of it is summed up nicely by EWTN:
On the cross Christ physically shed His blood and was physically slain, while in the Mass there is no physical shedding of blood nor physical death, because Christ can die no more; on the cross Christ gained merit and satisfied for us, while in the Mass He applies to us the merits and satisfaction of His death on the cross.
At every Mass, Catholics honor, revere, adore, and physically put themselves at the place of Christ’s sacrifice. The priest says, “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.” The congregation replies, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church.” In this instance, Father Mike offered Christ’s body and blood to God, praying for God’s loving blessings and peace that surpasses all understanding to envelop Israel.
WATCH: 5,000 Catholics just offered mass for Israel then lead a massive Eucharistic procession that spanned for BLOCKS through the heart of New York City
Leaving bystanders in TEARS in the middle of Times Square.
God is on the move.
Watch in awe. pic.twitter.com/zyTRshSVYo
— Danny De Urbina (@dannydeurbina) October 13, 2023
“You’re the most vocal Catholic I know,” Geoff told me, “and I wanted to say thank you to someone.”
“I have a really wild idea — how crazy are you feeling today?” I asked.
“Well, I’m still trying to enlist in the IDF, so pretty f***ing crazy.”
“Can I interview you for PJ Media?”
“F*** yeah, I’m up for it. Or down. Or whichever direction the kids say.”
Speaking of “the kids”, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez says the United States is obligated to ensure accountability for violations of human rights. Lindsey Graham says we should “go after” Iran and essentially make them pay for funding Hamas. It’s sad that those two unserious people are getting the attention, but we should probably have clearer expectations.
What is the United States’ role?
“The United States’ role, always, first and foremost, is to do what’s in the best interest of the United States, the national security interests, the moral and ethical interests of the United States. It’s inarguably in the best interest of the United States to stand up for free societies and people who want to live their lives in freedom. Palestinians who want to live free from barbaric, violent, ignorant organizations like ISIS/Hamas. Lebanese people who want to stand up to Hezbollah. The people of Iran who deserve to be free from backward, medieval ideology.”
If Kamala Harris had a Venn diagram for this conversation, there would be a single circle because Geoff and I agree on this. It would be unconscionable for the U.S. to sit back and watch free societies fall to terrorism, especially Israel.
Islamic Jihadists, in general, are part of a “paranoid, ignorant cult that believes if only they can kill enough people, then the world will be perfected. It’s so barbaric with it’s belief system that if they can just kill enough @TXTrendyChicks and enough moderately-out-of-shape old Jew lawyers from Texas, then it will be a perfect world. It’s a wish for death. It’s a wish for slavery of themselves to whatever perfect commander they think is the 12th Imam.”
While there is no reasoning with Islamic Jihadists, is there any hope for the students at American universities running around, chanting “from the river to the sea”?
Sophistry and people hating their parents
“Yeah. God, I hate this. My own alma mater — people are putting up posters of Israelis taken hostage and it reads MISSING. I saw a group of kids at my own school ripping them down. At NYU of all places. It’s abhorrent.” Geoff’s emotions during our call were a steady mix of compassion and resolve, but during this exchange, I saw something closer to betrayal flutter across his face and voice.
These posters are not hung because anyone thinks a child taken by Hamas from a kibbutz will suddenly turn up in SoHo but because they want you to look at the faces, names, and ages of the innocent people currently being held captive. Tearing down the flyers is the equivalent of erasing those people, blatantly saying “nothing to see here, move along.” Geoff is right, it is abhorrent.
“I think it’s a function of sophistry, immaturity, ignorance, and people who hate their parents,” he said of the college kids. The next iteration of irresponsible hate speech is seen in the Harvard Law students with rescinded job offers because they blamed Israel for Hamas’s butchering of *checks notes* Israelis. “Don’t blacklist them because of their misguided and asinine political beliefs,” said Geoff, “let them go because you don’t want to hire a lawyer with such bad judgment!”
I agree. Have whatever political beliefs you want, but when those beliefs start to publicly damage the brand that feeds you, maybe you should think twice about being so belligerent with your opinions. “Some people might call that common sense; others will call it oppression,” I said, earning a hearty laugh from my friend.
“If you criticize what they say, then they retreat to their safe space and start whining that they’re being persecuted. No, you’ve engaged in free speech in the marketplace of ideas and the marketplace doesn’t want what you’re selling.”
This is currently happening at the University of Washington.
“There is only one solution. Intifada Revolution.”
It’s insane how many college students are waving Palestinian flags while calling for genocide against Jews.
pic.twitter.com/BkEUbeo6X1— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 12, 2023
But what starts out as ignorance so prevalent that it would be funny were it not so violent can turn to evil actions so disgusting that we cannot even fathom it. For example, a 6-year-old child was murdered by his landlord, who stabbed the boy 26 times simply because he was Muslim. And the landlord wasn’t always a stupid, bigoted, violent monster — he was considered a grandfatherly figure in the child’s life, even building him a treehouse. How many more beasts will emerge amidst the rhetoric and unchecked vitriol? It starts with an old man choosing evil and stabbing a boy who ran to him for a hug and, with enough time, becomes young adults who are capable of “burning babies and beheading bodies.”
“To me, it’s a degree of evil that is so foreign. How do you kill a baby? How do you stab a child? How do you care for child hostages and then still kill them on command?” This time, it was my turn to grapple with emotion. I have a brother (adopted) who is Jewish and a lifelong best friend who is a Pakistani-American Muslim. I am a mother of two small children, one of whom looks very much like Ariel, except my son has blue eyes. Islamic Jihadists are monsters.
We are still looking for Ariel and Kfir who were taken by Hamas last Saturday. If anyone has them, please return them. They are brothers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/SbQoLiMKNo
— Jane Pounder (@PounderJane1) October 17, 2023
“As my friend, as someone who is politically savvy, as a Jew, help me understand, Geoff, what do I do?”
Action steps
“You are my friend and I know your heart, and it’s so good. Follow your heart. Do what your internal moral compass tells to you do because it’s right.”
To him I replied, “You want to talk about what my heart says? It says I’m going to grab my 9mm and go over there and save all of those hostages and take out the bad guys. Freakin’ Wonder Woman style. I want to save every single one of them, stand on a pile of rubble, and be like, ‘That’s right, y’all.'” Geoff humored me, saying if I did all of that, he would teach me how to say “That’s right, y’all” in Hebrew. Confession: I didn’t actually say “y’all.” What I actually said rhymes with “fishes.”
While I’m still not sure what other big things I can do outside of shining a light on good people and real stories, Geoff has a better plan.
“I volunteered with a program called Sar-El. It’s an IDF support organization that puts volunteers to work doing the garbage work so the real soldiers can go do other work. I’m waiting for additional forms.” I asked how long he would stay. “I would stay for as long as I’m needed if I’m needed. I don’t want to be in the way. I don’t want to be a burden. If I can be useful, I want to go.”
He quoted Golda Meir, the first female Israeli Prime Minister who spoke to young volunteers who fled to Israel’s aid during the six-day war: You were ready to die with us. Why don’t you live with us?
“I’m always mindful of that,” Geoff said, “and I think there are a lot of other American Jews who are mindful of that. We are Americans. We love America. But when your people are in mortal danger, it’s a natural sort of human instinct to want to go and protect them and, if necessary, die with them. It’s not really an act of bravery or anything exceptional. It’s just, you know, this was the biggest massacre since the Holocaust. There is something visceral and primal that touches all of us. Well, I shouldn’t say all of us. I’ve seen a lot of far-left wackos disproportionate to their numbers getting attention on social media for whom this is not a serious issue.”
So here are five things you can do today to help, assuming you can’t throw on an IDF uniform and hop over to Jerusalem:
- Eliminate denial. Terrible things are happening. Do not look away or find a distraction. After you do that, proceed to options two through five.
- Give $20 to Sar-El so they can provide additional lodging for volunteers coming from all over the world to assist the IDF.
- Call out those siding with terrorists. “Hamas holds Palestinians captive in their own hospitals and homes — they do not allow them to leave. They force innocents to die for their cause.” or “Hamas are not freedom fighters, they are terrorists.” You don’t have to be abrasive, but don’t be silent.
- Ask your Jewish friends and neighbors how you can support them. It’s good to ask how someone is doing, but it’s better to put words into action. Do they need help with their children while they prepare for Shabbat? Is their synagogue looking for people to monitor the parking lot? Do they have family in Israel who need material goods?
- Stop the “whataboutism.” Before the Gaza Gripes or Azerbaijan Aches start, recognize it’s okay to pick one cause and focus on that. We can’t be all things to all people and, while Janet Yellen may think we can afford to fund two wars, most personal and family budgets can’t. So pick one and make your efforts mean something.
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