October 7, 2026
Where were you three years ago? I was flying to Budapest, Hungary, for the first time to speak at a pro-Israel summit. As our plane made its final approach, my WhatsApp began flooding with images and videos of Israelis murdered on highways, in streets, and in kibbutzim. My friend Nadav was sending me videos of terrorists in trucks driving through Israeli towns. I had no idea of the scale of what was unfolding before our eyes and couldn’t make any sense of what I was seeing.
On the most horrific day for the Jewish people in my lifetime, I found myself in a foreign country alongside a small handful of American and Israeli friends. We were scheduled to speak at a conference that Monday. Instead, we were trying to comprehend the incomprehensible and didn’t know if the conference would go on.
What happened next reminded me why the Jewish people are still here, more than 3,000 years later.
One by one, non-Jewish Hungarians stood up at the conference and declared their support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Hungarians, Hungarian Jews, American Jews, and Israelis rallied together, forming a bond none of us will ever forget. In the darkest of moments, we found solidarity, friendship, and strength from total strangers.
My bond with the Hungarian people was forged during that trip. I will never forget the warmth, love, and support they showed us when we needed it most.
Today, on the third anniversary of October 7, we must call out those who invoke “accountability” while excusing Hamas’s atrocities, or use accusations against Israel to justify hatred of Jews. Whether that hatred comes from the far left, the far right, or radical Islamists, we must confront it without hesitation and with strength.
Where is that same outrage toward Hamas? Where are the demands for accountability for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which arms and funds those seeking Israel’s destruction?
Anyone serious about justice must demand accountability from them, too. As troubled as the world feels, I take comfort in three truths:
1) Yes, the Jewish people suffered a devastating blow three years ago, we fell down, but we rose, fought back, and refused to surrender. This is our calling card. Resilience.
2) The State of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, continues to stand strong against those determined to destroy it – just as @khamenei_ir.
3) The Jewish people are supported by righteous gentiles (Non-Jews), all around America and throughout the world. The crazies we see on social media professing their hatred for Jews, threatening to kill Jews, are the fringe minority. These are three truths that I felt in Budapest three years ago and it’s a strength I carry with me every single day. Pictured below alongside my dear friend @KoskovicsZ and @MortonAKlein7.
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