Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
They are good things.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We will share some good news, but we also have
some sobering topics to discuss, and one of those I
want to just jump right into because I've got a
great guest joining us here, and as many of you know,
a week ago yesterday was a horrific attack in Boulder
where the person who was from Egypt here illegally through
(00:22):
Molotov cocktails and to a crowd of individuals who were
simply there helping people remember the hostages that were taken
six hundred and thirteen days ago by Hamas in a
brutal attack. And it is time for us to make
sure we all understand that we have a role to
play to de escalate the anti Semitism that is going on,
(00:44):
the normalization of violence and standing up for those who
are trying to read individuals like this out.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Of our country.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Joining me today is a dear friend, someone who is
a patriot.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
He serves on the South Metro.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Fire District Board, has served in many different ways. He
is an American citizen, has lived in Israel and is
always helping us have a perspective.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
On what is really going on. And that is Rich
Socle Rich, thank you so much. For joining me. I
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Hey, it's my pleasure to be with you. I wish
you could be under better circumstances.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yes, I know, one of these times I'm going to
have you come on. You're a really funny guy, and
sometimes we're going to have you come on and just
tell jokes. But that is not today, unfortunately. You know,
I just want to jump right into it with you.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Rich.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Over the years that I've done radio, you and I've
been on the air right after October seventh, I want
people to remember that day because when we forget the
horrors of that attack, that barberism, just give us a
very quick overview again of what happened that day, Rich,
how many people were killed by hamas and those are
(01:51):
brittal attacks, how many hostages Sarah.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Thank you. So we actually should go back to nineteen
forty eight when Israel was formed. Five Arab argies attacked
Israel on the day of it declared its independence, and
no one thought Israel would win because they were outnumbered
one hundred and one outgunn outmanned out everything. And yet
they want But unfortunately there's still been a large part
(02:15):
of the Arab population that does not accept the existence
of a Jewish state in their mins, so they are
sworn to its destruction. And they have been fighting Israel
basically ever since. There's in several wars. So most people
in Israel think of this as just a continuation of
Israel's war for existence. So on October seventh, Hamas which
(02:39):
is the Islamic terrorist group. Hamas means Islamic resistance movement,
and they control the Kaza Strip after Israel unilatterally pulled
out and gave it to the Gazans that unfortunately, they
voted in Hamas, which is an internationally recognized terrorist organization
and has amass ruled the Gaza Strip since two thousand
(03:02):
and seven. And instead of building power plants and infrastructure
and airports, Hamas instead has built tunnels to house their
terrorists and to house their weapons and set up their
communications network. And HAMAS has been attacking Israel on and
off ever since they took power in two thousand and seven. Yeah, confederation, And.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
One thing I want to point out real quickly when
people talk about the civilian casualties in Gaza Strip, those
tunnels were purposely built under schools and under hospitals where
HAMAS has used human shields, So so many of the
casualties were because of the way Hamasa that that was purposeful,
that was intentional, and I just want to make that point.
(03:48):
But let's know, I think you were leading up to
October seventh.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
So on October seventh, Hamas again attack, and this time, unfortunately,
they were much more successful than they had in the past,
and roughly three thousand terrorists breached the fence that separates
ca Isral from Gaza, and they overran several military posts nearby.
They overran several communities nearby, killing all the inhabitants people.
(04:17):
I'm store aware of the music festival. They were in
the large music festival going on nearby, and paragliders from
Hamasque came in and killed hundreds of young people who
were accept The theme of the music festival was peace
and love. Unfortunately Hamas didn't get that memo, and on
that day, roughly twelve hundred Israeli civilians were killed and
(04:40):
two hundred and fifty five were taken hostage back to Gaza.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, and then you mentioned yeah, go ahead, no go ahead,
for no continue and we know.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Right now, as you mentioned, there's still fifty five hostages
left inside Gaza, in the tunnels of Gaza As. Some
of them have been rescued or released in prisoner in swaps.
We hear the stories of how they are literally tortured.
They're literally starved, they're chained. The average food is in
(05:13):
you know, a piece of moldy bread a day. They're
being brutalized by their captors, and some of them, when
they've been released, they literally look like they've come out
of a concentration camp. Yeah. So Hamas is brutal, brutal, brutal,
And why the world doesn't see this is beyond me.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, you know, And one one quick thing when when
you see everybody, I feel like the world is looking
for a cause, but they're embracing the wrong ones, you know,
embracing and standing up for people who are here illegally,
not all of whom are criminals, but many are. If
you want to cause to stand up for, let's stand
against a true barbarism that is happening. The fact that
(05:52):
you know, you and I've talked to Rich, we've seen
the unedited Hamas body cam footage. There is no moral
equivalency here between anything other than Hamas and pure barbarism.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Terrorism, horrific activities.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
So now we go to Boulder a little bit over
a week ago, and this was a group called Run
for their Lives. I think it's a great name because
the fifty five remaining hostages, now six hundred and thirteen
days in captivity, cannot run for their lives. So this
is the only reason that they were there. And then
you have this horrendous attack by an Egyptian national who
(06:30):
was here illegally.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Let's talk about something you brought up.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
An interesting point, by the way, because people are always
looking at an instance and trying to fit into whatever
narrative they want to push.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So you know, obviously this happened in Boulder.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
The individual traveled all the way up from Colorado Sprains.
Can you talk about what you found interesting about that?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Sure? So we know the perpetrate came from Colorado Springs
and he drove all the way up. I twenty five
asked Denver to Boulder to commit this attack. Now, the
group Run for Their Lives has two walks here every Sunday.
One is actually in wash Park here in Denver, and
(07:16):
the other is in Bolder. So the perpetrator throw literally
on I twenty five asked the wash Park march and
went all the way up to Boulder. So the question
is why did he do that? Why didn't he just
go to the closer one in wash Park? And we
don't know the answer, of course, but people are speculating
(07:38):
it's because of the difference in concealed carry laws between
Denver and Boulder. So in Denver and public spaces, you
were allowed to conceal carry. In Boulder you are not.
So what struck me when I saw the videos of
what happened when he threw the molotov cocktails. There are
literally people on the ground, his victims, these peaceful marchers
(07:58):
on the ground on fire, and other people nearby, of course,
are getting water and trying to bounce the fires out.
Meanwhile the perpetrator is just walking back and forth, nearly
ten feet away from where the people are that he
just set on fire, and no one's taking the guy out.
We got very lucky last Sunday, and that he threw
(08:20):
two molotov cocktails. He had over a dozen more with
him that he could have thrown. Because you know, the
police are great. The first responders got there pretty quickly,
but it still took three minutes from the first nine
to one call to the time the police apprehended him.
Think about the damage he could have done in that
three minutes.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yeah, so yeah, that's a huge point.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
There was someone if there had been someone there who
could have taken the guy out. In retrospect, I wish,
of course there would have been, But yeah, I think,
you know, we have to recognize what our laws are
and why this guy went to Boulder instead of doing
this in Denver.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, you and I were talking about people this are
evil and I don't use that word very often, but
certainly in this case, I don't know another word that
I could possibly use. But they're not stupid. And that's
the same case when you look at there were a
theater shooter went past numerous theaters closer to his home
and went to one specifically that was a quote unquote
(09:20):
gun free zone. They know where to go to have
maximum damage. And the horrific perpetrator of this action in Boulder,
as we know, had been denied a permit. It can
still carry permit. But once again, that actually proves the point.
It doesn't matter the method of destruction that someone uses.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
It matters the person and their intent.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Whether it's people driving cars into gatherings, whether it is
someone now doing homemade molotov cocktails. If to desire and
the hate is there, they will find a way no
matter what the.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Tool they use.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
And like you said, you know antisecond Amendment can still carry.
Anti can seal carry laws only keep the good people
from carrying the weapons, not those who wish to do ill.
I want to talk about this aspect, Rich, because I
know I can imagine, and I've got many friends like
you are who are Jewish, and what this rise in
(10:19):
anti Semitism, how it's impacting you. And I want people
to hear this directly, and I want anyone listening to
put yourself in the position of someone who is Jewish today,
a parent.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
A grandparent.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Rise of anti Semitism has risen by almost nine hundred
percent in the last ten years in our country. The
Anti Defamation League has said that in Colorado nearly four
hundred percent and five years. You're a parent, Rich, tell
me what this is like and whether it's doing to
so many in your community.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
So there is just out and outphere right now in
our community, Jewish people feel very unsafe. I know yesterday
I was at synagogue and at all synagogue events now
and my synagogue we have to have an arm guard.
You know, five years ago we didn't have an arm guard.
And that's just not my synagogue, that's every synagogue in
America basically now has to have arm guard. We have
(11:15):
people trained at our synagogue that patrol the grounds, that
carry just so that we're prepared in case something happens.
But I think even more so than just that, we
also fear for our children. So, for example, one of
my children is going to the East Coast on Wednesday
to a Jewish leadership seminar, and my wife and I
(11:37):
are having the discussion should she wear anything that identifies
her as being Jewish. She wears a Star of David
around her neck, so we're discussing whether or not, seeing
the other kids she's going with, should they even wear that,
because if they're identified as Jewish, they could be at risk.
We know other Jewish families, most Jewish families, on their doorposts,
(11:59):
on their front door to their homes, they have what's
called a mezuzza, which is a squirrel with a prayer inside.
A lot of the Jewish families are now thinking of
taking down their missizzas because they don't want anyone to
know that their Jews because they may be at risk.
Now let me say against this. I think by doing
(12:21):
those things, we let the terrorists win, and we have
never let the terrorist win. We can't alter what we do.
We need to stand up, stand strong, stand louds down proud.
But the fear is still there. And who would have
thought this could have happened in our backyard, dead up
the road. Yeah, you know it takes a flamethrow and
(12:44):
throwsmallo tough cocktails at elderly people who are just marching,
you know, for release of hostages. And by the way,
that people want to know for the march. You could
be any political persuasion, and there are people on the left,
there are people on the right. This is not a
political state about the Israeli cause of war. All it
was was we want to bring attention to the hostages
(13:07):
and get our hostages home. There's no other political statement
than that. Yeah, and yet the guy who did this
wanted to kill Zionis, who wanted to kill Jews.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Yeah, I agree, and he made that very clear. And
I'm grateful that for once, when we see an attack
like this, there isn't this long pause of what we're.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Trying to figure out his motive.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
He said what his motive was, he wanted to kill
Zionists in any way anywhere he could.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I want to end with this, Rich And if.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
You're tuning in Deborah Floor sitting in for Mandy Connell,
my guest, Rich Sokele. You know you pointed out that
people that were there in Bolder a week ago and
also then yesterday, therefore a positive, peaceful reason standing up
for releasing of hostages, you know, not realizing that that's
what that was about, or maybe did and didn't care.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
But people need to know that.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
You know, when we talk about the moral equivalency of
and I'll share after the break a story when I
was at the Holocau.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Museum this past weekend.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
But this moral equivalency where they're trying to say, oh,
you know, well, Israel killed individuals in Gaza, which we've
just stated was really Hamash using them as human shields.
The whole moral equivalency idea, which is false. Can you
share something beautiful that you talked with me about of
what the true Jewish goal is? And as a Christian,
(14:23):
by the way, kind of a grafted mind, it's my
goal as well.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
You just said it so beautifully.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
So we as Jewish people that believe that God gave
us a purpose, and that purpose is coined in the
Hebrew phrase tikun olam. Tikun means to repair and olam
means the world. So we believe the purpose, the reason
for the Jewish people is to repair the world wherever
we see injustice, wherever we see suffering, and so many
(14:52):
of us have dedicated our lives to that, so we
know we have a long ways to go, and of
course we invite all peoples to join us. And this
is not just a Jewish cause, it's a human cause.
And we're also taught that we may not be able
to solve every problem in the world, nor are we
allowed to refrain from trying. So we do our part
(15:14):
and we hope others follow us until we can create
a better and more perfect world. Yeah, and that's what
we try and do, and that's what we urge others
to join us, and hopefully we lead by example.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Well, I tell you, I know I'm joining you. I
know many others will, And that is really one of
the reasons why I want to end with that rich
because it's such a beautiful way for listeners to understand
the tamping down of this hate, of this anti semitism,
of this dehumanizing, of this normalization of violence. It's going
to take every single one of us and you and
(15:46):
I've talked a lot about there's two battlefields here for
what's going on, the fight against the barbarism in the
Gaza strip.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
There is the actual battlefield, the.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Military battlefield, and then there's a battlefield a public opinion,
and every one of us can be a part of
that and say this is wrong, this is a human goal,
and let's join with the beautiful Jewish statement of tikun.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Olam to repair the world. I think that's beautiful. Thank you, Rich.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
We're heading to a break, but I so appreciate you joining,
my friend, and I want you to know I'm speaking
for myself, but I know I'm speaking for many others.
We are praying for you, We're praying for our Jewish
brothers and sisters in this country, and we will work
together to get to a point where no one needs
to feel like they're afraid for their children if they
wear something expressing their identity or their faith.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
So thank you so much, my friend, Bev.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Thank you. If your listeners want to join us at
Run for their Lives at the walk, it's Denver's ten
am on Sundame Boulders at eleven am. You could just
google it, but that's a tangible way that you can
say we stand for good, we stand for fixing our world,
and we stand against terrorists.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Here here, we will be there, we will be joining you.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
So thank you for that. Thank you, Rich We're heaving
to your break you take care and God.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Bless you, God bless you, Thank you, thank you. Bye bye. Well,
don't go anywhere.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
When we come back, we're going to talk a little
bit more about this, but I want us all to
think about that phrase. Take kun olam repair the world.
We are not responsible for doing it solely. God ultimately
has to do it. But the reality is we are
not off the hook for doing our best in that
area and we can.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
That's a hopeful part.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
We come back, we'll continue that conversation if you want
to text in five six six nine zero. That's five
six six nine zero. This is Deborah Flora sitting in
for Mandy Connell.
They are good things.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We will share some good news, but we also have
some sobering topics to discuss, and one of those I
want to just jump right into because I've got a
great guest joining us here, and as many of you know,
a week ago yesterday was a horrific attack in Boulder
where the person who was from Egypt here illegally through
(00:22):
Molotov cocktails and to a crowd of individuals who were
simply there helping people remember the hostages that were taken
six hundred and thirteen days ago by Hamas in a
brutal attack. And it is time for us to make
sure we all understand that we have a role to
play to de escalate the anti Semitism that is going on,
(00:44):
the normalization of violence and standing up for those who
are trying to read individuals like this out.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Of our country.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Joining me today is a dear friend, someone who is
a patriot.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
He serves on the South Metro.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Fire District Board, has served in many different ways. He
is an American citizen, has lived in Israel and is
always helping us have a perspective.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
On what is really going on. And that is Rich
Socle Rich, thank you so much. For joining me. I
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Hey, it's my pleasure to be with you. I wish
you could be under better circumstances.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yes, I know, one of these times I'm going to
have you come on. You're a really funny guy, and
sometimes we're going to have you come on and just
tell jokes. But that is not today, unfortunately. You know,
I just want to jump right into it with you.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Rich.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Over the years that I've done radio, you and I've
been on the air right after October seventh, I want
people to remember that day because when we forget the
horrors of that attack, that barberism, just give us a
very quick overview again of what happened that day, Rich,
how many people were killed by hamas and those are
(01:51):
brittal attacks, how many hostages Sarah.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Thank you. So we actually should go back to nineteen
forty eight when Israel was formed. Five Arab argies attacked
Israel on the day of it declared its independence, and
no one thought Israel would win because they were outnumbered
one hundred and one outgunn outmanned out everything. And yet
they want But unfortunately there's still been a large part
(02:15):
of the Arab population that does not accept the existence
of a Jewish state in their mins, so they are
sworn to its destruction. And they have been fighting Israel
basically ever since. There's in several wars. So most people
in Israel think of this as just a continuation of
Israel's war for existence. So on October seventh, Hamas which
(02:39):
is the Islamic terrorist group. Hamas means Islamic resistance movement,
and they control the Kaza Strip after Israel unilatterally pulled
out and gave it to the Gazans that unfortunately, they
voted in Hamas, which is an internationally recognized terrorist organization
and has amass ruled the Gaza Strip since two thousand
(03:02):
and seven. And instead of building power plants and infrastructure
and airports, Hamas instead has built tunnels to house their
terrorists and to house their weapons and set up their
communications network. And HAMAS has been attacking Israel on and
off ever since they took power in two thousand and seven. Yeah, confederation, And.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
One thing I want to point out real quickly when
people talk about the civilian casualties in Gaza Strip, those
tunnels were purposely built under schools and under hospitals where
HAMAS has used human shields, So so many of the
casualties were because of the way Hamasa that that was purposeful,
that was intentional, and I just want to make that point.
(03:48):
But let's know, I think you were leading up to
October seventh.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
So on October seventh, Hamas again attack, and this time, unfortunately,
they were much more successful than they had in the past,
and roughly three thousand terrorists breached the fence that separates
ca Isral from Gaza, and they overran several military posts nearby.
They overran several communities nearby, killing all the inhabitants people.
(04:17):
I'm store aware of the music festival. They were in
the large music festival going on nearby, and paragliders from
Hamasque came in and killed hundreds of young people who
were accept The theme of the music festival was peace
and love. Unfortunately Hamas didn't get that memo, and on
that day, roughly twelve hundred Israeli civilians were killed and
(04:40):
two hundred and fifty five were taken hostage back to Gaza.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, and then you mentioned yeah, go ahead, no go ahead,
for no continue and we know.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Right now, as you mentioned, there's still fifty five hostages
left inside Gaza, in the tunnels of Gaza As. Some
of them have been rescued or released in prisoner in swaps.
We hear the stories of how they are literally tortured.
They're literally starved, they're chained. The average food is in
(05:13):
you know, a piece of moldy bread a day. They're
being brutalized by their captors, and some of them, when
they've been released, they literally look like they've come out
of a concentration camp. Yeah. So Hamas is brutal, brutal, brutal,
And why the world doesn't see this is beyond me.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, you know, And one one quick thing when when
you see everybody, I feel like the world is looking
for a cause, but they're embracing the wrong ones, you know,
embracing and standing up for people who are here illegally,
not all of whom are criminals, but many are. If
you want to cause to stand up for, let's stand
against a true barbarism that is happening. The fact that
(05:52):
you know, you and I've talked to Rich, we've seen
the unedited Hamas body cam footage. There is no moral
equivalency here between anything other than Hamas and pure barbarism.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Terrorism, horrific activities.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
So now we go to Boulder a little bit over
a week ago, and this was a group called Run
for their Lives. I think it's a great name because
the fifty five remaining hostages, now six hundred and thirteen
days in captivity, cannot run for their lives. So this
is the only reason that they were there. And then
you have this horrendous attack by an Egyptian national who
(06:30):
was here illegally.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Let's talk about something you brought up.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
An interesting point, by the way, because people are always
looking at an instance and trying to fit into whatever
narrative they want to push.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
So you know, obviously this happened in Boulder.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
The individual traveled all the way up from Colorado Sprains.
Can you talk about what you found interesting about that?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Sure? So we know the perpetrate came from Colorado Springs
and he drove all the way up. I twenty five
asked Denver to Boulder to commit this attack. Now, the
group Run for Their Lives has two walks here every Sunday.
One is actually in wash Park here in Denver, and
(07:16):
the other is in Bolder. So the perpetrator throw literally
on I twenty five asked the wash Park march and
went all the way up to Boulder. So the question
is why did he do that? Why didn't he just
go to the closer one in wash Park? And we
don't know the answer, of course, but people are speculating
(07:38):
it's because of the difference in concealed carry laws between
Denver and Boulder. So in Denver and public spaces, you
were allowed to conceal carry. In Boulder you are not.
So what struck me when I saw the videos of
what happened when he threw the molotov cocktails. There are
literally people on the ground, his victims, these peaceful marchers
(07:58):
on the ground on fire, and other people nearby, of course,
are getting water and trying to bounce the fires out.
Meanwhile the perpetrator is just walking back and forth, nearly
ten feet away from where the people are that he
just set on fire, and no one's taking the guy out.
We got very lucky last Sunday, and that he threw
(08:20):
two molotov cocktails. He had over a dozen more with
him that he could have thrown. Because you know, the
police are great. The first responders got there pretty quickly,
but it still took three minutes from the first nine
to one call to the time the police apprehended him.
Think about the damage he could have done in that
three minutes.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yeah, so yeah, that's a huge point.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
There was someone if there had been someone there who
could have taken the guy out. In retrospect, I wish,
of course there would have been, But yeah, I think,
you know, we have to recognize what our laws are
and why this guy went to Boulder instead of doing
this in Denver.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, you and I were talking about people this are
evil and I don't use that word very often, but
certainly in this case, I don't know another word that
I could possibly use. But they're not stupid. And that's
the same case when you look at there were a
theater shooter went past numerous theaters closer to his home
and went to one specifically that was a quote unquote
(09:20):
gun free zone. They know where to go to have
maximum damage. And the horrific perpetrator of this action in Boulder,
as we know, had been denied a permit. It can
still carry permit. But once again, that actually proves the point.
It doesn't matter the method of destruction that someone uses.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
It matters the person and their intent.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Whether it's people driving cars into gatherings, whether it is
someone now doing homemade molotov cocktails. If to desire and
the hate is there, they will find a way no
matter what the.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Tool they use.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
And like you said, you know antisecond Amendment can still carry.
Anti can seal carry laws only keep the good people
from carrying the weapons, not those who wish to do ill.
I want to talk about this aspect, Rich, because I
know I can imagine, and I've got many friends like
you are who are Jewish, and what this rise in
(10:19):
anti Semitism, how it's impacting you. And I want people
to hear this directly, and I want anyone listening to
put yourself in the position of someone who is Jewish today,
a parent.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
A grandparent.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Rise of anti Semitism has risen by almost nine hundred
percent in the last ten years in our country. The
Anti Defamation League has said that in Colorado nearly four
hundred percent and five years. You're a parent, Rich, tell
me what this is like and whether it's doing to
so many in your community.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
So there is just out and outphere right now in
our community, Jewish people feel very unsafe. I know yesterday
I was at synagogue and at all synagogue events now
and my synagogue we have to have an arm guard.
You know, five years ago we didn't have an arm guard.
And that's just not my synagogue, that's every synagogue in
America basically now has to have arm guard. We have
(11:15):
people trained at our synagogue that patrol the grounds, that
carry just so that we're prepared in case something happens.
But I think even more so than just that, we
also fear for our children. So, for example, one of
my children is going to the East Coast on Wednesday
to a Jewish leadership seminar, and my wife and I
(11:37):
are having the discussion should she wear anything that identifies
her as being Jewish. She wears a Star of David
around her neck, so we're discussing whether or not, seeing
the other kids she's going with, should they even wear that,
because if they're identified as Jewish, they could be at risk.
We know other Jewish families, most Jewish families, on their doorposts,
(11:59):
on their front door to their homes, they have what's
called a mezuzza, which is a squirrel with a prayer inside.
A lot of the Jewish families are now thinking of
taking down their missizzas because they don't want anyone to
know that their Jews because they may be at risk.
Now let me say against this. I think by doing
(12:21):
those things, we let the terrorists win, and we have
never let the terrorist win. We can't alter what we do.
We need to stand up, stand strong, stand louds down proud.
But the fear is still there. And who would have
thought this could have happened in our backyard, dead up
the road. Yeah, you know it takes a flamethrow and
(12:44):
throwsmallo tough cocktails at elderly people who are just marching,
you know, for release of hostages. And by the way,
that people want to know for the march. You could
be any political persuasion, and there are people on the left,
there are people on the right. This is not a
political state about the Israeli cause of war. All it
was was we want to bring attention to the hostages
(13:07):
and get our hostages home. There's no other political statement
than that. Yeah, and yet the guy who did this
wanted to kill Zionis, who wanted to kill Jews.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Yeah, I agree, and he made that very clear. And
I'm grateful that for once, when we see an attack
like this, there isn't this long pause of what we're.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Trying to figure out his motive.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
He said what his motive was, he wanted to kill
Zionists in any way anywhere he could.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I want to end with this, Rich And if.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
You're tuning in Deborah Floor sitting in for Mandy Connell,
my guest, Rich Sokele. You know you pointed out that
people that were there in Bolder a week ago and
also then yesterday, therefore a positive, peaceful reason standing up
for releasing of hostages, you know, not realizing that that's
what that was about, or maybe did and didn't care.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
But people need to know that.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
You know, when we talk about the moral equivalency of
and I'll share after the break a story when I
was at the Holocau.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Museum this past weekend.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
But this moral equivalency where they're trying to say, oh,
you know, well, Israel killed individuals in Gaza, which we've
just stated was really Hamash using them as human shields.
The whole moral equivalency idea, which is false. Can you
share something beautiful that you talked with me about of
what the true Jewish goal is? And as a Christian,
(14:23):
by the way, kind of a grafted mind, it's my
goal as well.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
You just said it so beautifully.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
So we as Jewish people that believe that God gave
us a purpose, and that purpose is coined in the
Hebrew phrase tikun olam. Tikun means to repair and olam
means the world. So we believe the purpose, the reason
for the Jewish people is to repair the world wherever
we see injustice, wherever we see suffering, and so many
(14:52):
of us have dedicated our lives to that, so we
know we have a long ways to go, and of
course we invite all peoples to join us. And this
is not just a Jewish cause, it's a human cause.
And we're also taught that we may not be able
to solve every problem in the world, nor are we
allowed to refrain from trying. So we do our part
(15:14):
and we hope others follow us until we can create
a better and more perfect world. Yeah, and that's what
we try and do, and that's what we urge others
to join us, and hopefully we lead by example.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Well, I tell you, I know I'm joining you. I
know many others will, And that is really one of
the reasons why I want to end with that rich
because it's such a beautiful way for listeners to understand
the tamping down of this hate, of this anti semitism,
of this dehumanizing, of this normalization of violence. It's going
to take every single one of us and you and
(15:46):
I've talked a lot about there's two battlefields here for
what's going on, the fight against the barbarism in the
Gaza strip.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
There is the actual battlefield, the.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Military battlefield, and then there's a battlefield a public opinion,
and every one of us can be a part of
that and say this is wrong, this is a human goal,
and let's join with the beautiful Jewish statement of tikun.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Olam to repair the world. I think that's beautiful. Thank you, Rich.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
We're heading to a break, but I so appreciate you joining,
my friend, and I want you to know I'm speaking
for myself, but I know I'm speaking for many others.
We are praying for you, We're praying for our Jewish
brothers and sisters in this country, and we will work
together to get to a point where no one needs
to feel like they're afraid for their children if they
wear something expressing their identity or their faith.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
So thank you so much, my friend, Bev.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Thank you. If your listeners want to join us at
Run for their Lives at the walk, it's Denver's ten
am on Sundame Boulders at eleven am. You could just
google it, but that's a tangible way that you can
say we stand for good, we stand for fixing our world,
and we stand against terrorists.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Here here, we will be there, we will be joining you.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
So thank you for that. Thank you, Rich We're heaving
to your break you take care and God.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Bless you, God bless you, Thank you, thank you. Bye bye. Well,
don't go anywhere.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
When we come back, we're going to talk a little
bit more about this, but I want us all to
think about that phrase. Take kun olam repair the world.
We are not responsible for doing it solely. God ultimately
has to do it. But the reality is we are
not off the hook for doing our best in that
area and we can.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
That's a hopeful part.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
We come back, we'll continue that conversation if you want
to text in five six six nine zero. That's five
six six nine zero. This is Deborah Flora sitting in
for Mandy Connell.
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