Entrepreneur and philanthropist Eitan Neishlos, one of the up-and-coming Jewish leaders of our time, arrived in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, November 14, to deliver an emotional and stirring address to members of the US Congress, Israeli delegates, and Jewish and Christian leaders amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization.
Neishlos, dedicated to advancing coexistence and peace among people of all religious denominations, was selected as one of the 50 most influential Jews of 2023 by The Jerusalem Post. At a call to action in Washington DC, Neishlos, along with representatives of the Jewish community – among them UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Doron Almog, and a representative of the families of the Israeli hostages – spoke at an event on Capitol Hill about the need to strengthen support for Israel amid rising anti-Israel protests and growing antisemitism on US college campuses and across European capitals.
As negotiations for the hostage release deal were underway, the Israeli delegation made a direct plea to US decision-makers about the urgency to get Israeli captives back to their families, some of whom are in need of urgent medical care.
In his powerful speech, Neishlos shared his pain and concerns, as well as his hopes, regarding the Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Jewish people. As a Jew living in the United Arab Emirates, the first Arab country to sign the Abraham Accords peace agreement with Israel, Neishlos presented his unique perspective to an important audience during a critical time.
With antisemitism rising to peak levels across the world, Neishlos explained that he feels extremely safe and welcomed in his home in Dubai, noting that the Arab state is a pillar for the Middle East and an example of Jewish-Arab solidarity. He also shared his deep gratitude to the Biden administration for its unwavering support for the State of Israel after the October 7th massacre of Israelis by Hamas terrorists, stating that the support is unprecedented and historic.
Neishlos, a grandson of Holocaust survivors, sees a clear parallel between the images emerging from the war and those from the Holocaust. The inspiration for his philanthropic mission stems from his late grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, and her saviors – a devout Christian family that hid her from the Nazis and were murdered in cold blood with their infant in their arms, paying the ultimate price. He called on the world to wake up and make sure that history never repeats itself, so that the horrors that his grandparents endured will not become the fate of the future generation of the Jewish people.
The full speech
Following is the full text of Neishlos’s emotional address, delivered at a reception held by the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) in partnership with The Jerusalem Post:
I AM THIS JEW, son of Hanoch & Hana, Grandson to Holocaust survivors: Avram, Basia, Shmuel, and Tamara, of blessed memory.
I AM THIS JEW, whose grandmother Tamara was saved from the Nazis by a devout Christian family who hid her away in their chimney. The Chodosevitch family paid the ultimate price – they were murdered at gunpoint with their baby in their arms, at the same place where the Jews of that small town in Belarus were gathered up and murdered by the SS. They were honored by Israel as Righteous Amongst the Nations.
I AM THIS JEW, who was born in the State of Israel, and I’m proud to call myself an Israeli, no matter where I am.
I AM THIS JEW, who was in Israel on October 7, on that bloody Saturday, in utter disbelief at the evil that was spewing in our country, on the day which marked a turning point for Israel, for the Jewish people, for the region, and the entire world.
I AM THIS JEW, who, on the day of the massacre, spoke on the phone to a woman in the South, terrified and out of breath while being hunted down by demonic monster terrorists in HER neighborhood. The slaughter was worse than any nightmare one could dream.
The burning of families alive in their homes; the raping of women; the beheading, mutilating, and killing of children in front of their parents, parents in front of their children.
Families ripped apart. Horrors that cannot be imagined by even the greatest Hollywood film producer. Horrors that leave a deep and painful scar in the hearts and memories of the survivors.
The bereaving orphans, the parents, the siblings who lost their loved ones, their home, their naiveté.
The people who woke up on Saturday to Hamas-ISIS in their homes, soaking their tiles and painting their furniture with blood, livestreaming their atrocities proudly for the world to witness their so-called “victory.”
I AM THIS JEW, who, every day, sheds a tear as my heart aches for the 239 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas terrorists into Gaza – babies as young as 10 months, toddlers, over 30 children under the age of 18, women, elderly over 80, and even a Holocaust survivor.
The unforeseen strength and unwavering belief of the hostages’ families is an inspiration to us all. It’s a reminder to hold on. I cannot fathom how they must feel at every waking moment and during 38 sleepless nights. A living nightmare that is hard to comprehend.
I AM THIS JEW, who saw his friends and family take off to defend our land.
I AM THIS JEW, consoling my loved ones, attending funeral after funeral after funeral, and continuing to do so as Israelis die from the barrage of rockets fired into cities across the country – over 10,000 since the onset of the war – and as our brave soldiers are killed in the line of fire, risking themselves to ensure our future.
I AM THIS JEW, who is constantly being harassed with “show me the evidence” before I can even finish speaking.
I AM THIS JEW, who has been told that I don’t have a history, who’s heard people exclaim “from the river to the sea,” referring to an ethnic cleansing of my people from their ancestral land.
I AM THIS JEW, who is witnessing the reawakening of vile antisemitism masked in anti-Zionism, as Jews around the world, including across the United States, are removing their Mezuzas from their door frames and taking off the yarmulkas from their heads to mask their Jewish identities, because they are terrified to simply be who they are. Young adults, the leaders of tomorrow, spouting antisemitic slurs and sentiments on college campuses.
I AM THIS JEW, seeing dark images re-emerging, images I was sure only my grandparents would have witnessed – of Kristallnacht, of the Holocaust, of genocide, of pogroms.
I AM THIS JEW, a Jew who has hope for a better future.
I AM THIS JEW, who is living under the shaded palm of the Abraham Accords in the United Arab Emirates. A country that I am proud to call my home. A country that exposes the beautiful reality of multiculturalism, coexistence, and mutual respect amongst people of all religious denominations. A country that delineates how Jews and Arabs can live as brothers and sisters, with the same values and a shared vision for our peoples and our region.
I AM THIS JEW, who sees the fruits of peace before me. A Jew who feels safe in a Muslim country, a country that shows the beautiful truth of Islam. A country that is part of the axis of peace and prosperity, that stands firmly against evil and extremism.
I AM THIS JEW, who will continue dreaming about a Middle East where Jews and Palestinians live peacefully together.
I AM THIS JEW, who salutes the United States for its leadership and unwavering support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The same United States that liberated concentration camps from the Nazis in World War II, the same country that saved my own grandparents.
I AM THIS JEW, who watched President Biden make a historic speech that moved an entire nation, filling our people’s broken hearts with so much hope, as we watched the president reiterate his support for the Jewish State and reaffirm the unbreakable alliance between the US and Israel. A speech that reminded us all of America’s leadership in the world.
I AM THIS JEW, who witnessed a US president and secretary of state landing in Israel during the peak hours of the war, sending a clear message to the axis of evil: “Don’t.”
A message that grew stronger as US aircraft carriers arrived at the eastern Mediterranean to protect Israel and deter our common enemies.
I AM THIS JEW, but I am only one Jew; like me, my brothers and sisters share my anger, my sadness, my fear, and my worries about our future.
US JEWS, we’ve endured evil before.
We fought, we struggled, we believed, we prayed, and we survived.
And as we’ve done for thousands of years, we will prevail.
Never again is now!
Let us sing the Jewish prayer for peace:
Oseh shalom bimromav. Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu. V’al kol Yisrael V’imru, imru amen. [He who makes peace in the heavens shall make peace among us and all Israel, and we say amen.
Bring them home now!
Thank you.