Vampire Weekend's Surprising Jewish Stories
9 min read
Thank these righteous gentiles for being beacons of light.
Members of Congress, celebrities, schools, and popular establishments are condemning Israel and supporting Hamas. The world appears bleak. Yet, despite the darkness, there are beacons of light. Brave individuals and companies have made the strong decision to stand with Israel.
Here are the stories of some heroic gentiles who deserve our thanks for their support. Use the comment section below to share your thanks.
In an effort to support Israel, Novellus restaurant in St. Louis designated one day to serve kosher food only, donating all proceeds to Israel.
“When I saw the images and videos on TV, I knew I couldn’t sit idly by—I had to do something,” the owner, Bob Affholder, said.
Going kosher for one day is an intricate and expensive process that involves shutting down the restaurant for more than 24 hours beforehand. The process requires that all food surfaces be cleaned and heated to high temperatures with hot water or a blow torch. Then, a 24-hour waiting period is required before use. The owner sacrificed two days’ worth of sales for this process. In addition, Affholder announced that he is matching all donations up to $50,000.
“I want to be there for the people of Israel and show my support to Jewish people everywhere, now, in their time of need.”
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Dr. Phil posted a video on Instagram supporting Israel and educating the world on the realities of Hamas and condemning those who celebrated the mass destruction Hamas caused.
“The Hamas invaders were not soldiers, they were assassins. Hamas calls for the annihilation of all Israeli Jews and then the annihilation of Jews around the world. Sadly some people celebrated the slaughter and blamed those being raped, murdered and kidnapped.
“Many of the most respected and elite universities like Harvard, Yale, Georgetown and UCLA have had reactions that should raise concern if not outrage. These student organizations reveal a disturbing degree of intellectual rut.
“The heads of these schools need to say, ‘on this campus we don't celebrate racism, antisemitism, baby killing and murdering.’ What they are doing themselves are distancing themselves in hopes of us blowing over.
“I know for sure the atrocities and ensuing celebrations committed by Hamas are inexcusable and unjustifiable. These are not the acts of honorable soldiers, freedom fighters or militants. From a psychological standpoint I can't help but wonder “what do they say to themselves alone in the middle of the night after murdering terrified and defenseless little baby boy or girl?
“You cannot negotiate with people whose only acceptable outcome is to murder you and your entire race. We must stand up for what we believe and know is right!
“Israel is our friend and ally. They don't just need us to be their friend in good times. They need us to be their friend in bad times. To be their friend when it is easier not to be. Good friends are the ones that come through the door when everyone else is going out. This is a great time to show Israel and the world who we are.”
Dr. Phil made a heroic stance in posting his speech on social media. Since then his Instagram account has received severe backlash in response. Please show support and gratitude here:
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Billionaire and Harvard graduate Ken Griffin vowed he would not hire Harvard students who supported Hamas and blamed Israel for the attack on October 7. Griffin, who previously donated half a billion dollars to Harvard wrote, “Would you hire someone who was a member of a school club who issued a statement blaming lynching by the KKK on their victims? I don’t think so.”
Ken Griffin
Griffin and fellow billionaire Bill Ackman have called this act unforgivable and have blacklisted students who signed a letter written by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee.
Griffin, a non-Jew, was furious with Harvard’s apathetic response and their refusal to condemn the group of students. He reached out to Penny Pritzker, a senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, who put pressure on Claudine Gay, Harvard President to defend Israel more vocally.
The following day, Gay condemned the terror attacks but was unwilling to name students who signed the letter claiming the school allows for freedom of speech.
At 1:59 on October 23, 2023 a 22-year-old female associate posted a handmade sign that said, FREE PALESTINE in the window of the soft serve store Forty Carrots, located inside of Bloomingdales of Los Angeles Century City Mall. After placing it in the window, she clocked out for lunch break. Within minutes, a customer took a picture and posted it on social media. The customer also contacted Katy Suto, the GM of Bloomingdales. When Katy came down to speak to the customer, a group of infuriated customers had gathered.
Suto immediately removed the sign and fired the employee that placed the sign. This employee was escorted out of the store and no longer works for Bloomingdales.
Kathy Suto
Suto stated, “This is horrifying and there is no place for it. The sign was up for less than ten minutes, and as soon as we discovered it, we took it down. We are disgusted with this employee and have terminated her. We stand with Israel. I am not Jewish but I can’t even imagine how terrible it must be for Jewish people everywhere.”
“More than half of my store’s staff is Jewish or Israeli and we are navigating this as best as we can. I've been General Manager of the store for 17 years. Never have I had the pleasure of working with a team of this kind. Being here for each other and being kind to one another at this very diverse workplace is what we have to do to get through this. I am proud of this team who embrace those that are different. They have been an amazing group. The only thing that will get us through this mess is kindness.”
Chris Rock signed a letter supporting the hostages in Israel. He is being viciously attacked on social media for standing with Israel. It's important that celebrities like him see the support of the Jewish community.
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Read more about celebrities supporting Israel.
Camille Jesalva, a Filipino caregiver saved her own life and the life of Nitza Hefetz on October 7, when terrorists broke into her employer’s home in Kibbutz Nirim.
Nitza, 95, was sleeping when Camille heard several loud voices aggressively shouting in Arabic. They broke into the home and suddenly Camille found herself face to face with Hamas terrorists.
There were several of them but Camille stood up and bravely said to one of them, “Hello sir.”
He asked her where all the money was. At this point Nitza woke up and began to protest. That’s when the terrorists started yelling and getting nervous. Camille urged Nitza to be quiet and said to the terrorists, “Please sir, she is old and doesn’t understand anything. Please don’t do anything.”
Camille further calmed them by opening her wallet and gave them the money she was saving to go visit her son in the Philippines. She had not seen him in a year and a half.
She told Ynet. “It’s a miracle that I stayed alive. I told my mother that I was going to die, and I asked her to send me a picture of my son because I felt that I wouldn’t get out of this alive.”
The terrorists eventually left, taking Camille’s phone with them. Camille and Nitza held each other for two hours while they waited for the IDF to arrive. Camille postponed her flight to the Philippines, saying she couldn’t bear to leave Nitza. “I feel like I can’t leave her, like she’s my best friend. It’s a miracle we are alive.”
Dr. Andrew Thierry, a 46-year-old radiologist, was fired after making several virulent antisemitic comments online. This ex-Chief Medical Officer claimed “Zionists are gynocidal, demonic, greedy, pedophilic retards… The only thing Zionists are Superior at are lies, deceit and genocide.”
ExpertMRI came out with the following statement:
'Expert MRI is aware of the disturbing, anti-Semitic comments posted by Dr. Andrew Thierry on his personal X/Twitter account. Effective immediately, Dr. Thierry is no longer Chief Medical Officer of ExpertMRI and will not be affiliated with the company in any capacity moving forward.'
'As stated previously, ExpertMRI emphatically condemns antisemitism as well as any other expression of hate, all of which are contrary to the company's and its owners' core values.'
Their comment and decision to fire him came after receiving backlash from the Jewish community. They did the right thing. Take a moment to thank them for taking a stand.
Phil Dawson* is a Central American non-Jewish sports trainer and coach located in Southern California. He bravely stands with Israel and the Jewish community, and has decided to donate a portion of his earnings to help Israel.
He stated, “Even after seeing everything that happened on the news and realizing my entire business is based in the Jewish community, I was nervous about making any kind of statement. I was treading water because of my ignorance.
“I spoke to my mentor about the conflict and started doing some research. When I realized what was really going on I knew I had to do something to help. I told myself, I can’t just stand by and not do something about it. These people have helped me so much, I have to help them too. "
When one of the mothers of Phil’s clients suggested he donate towards Israel, Phil jumped at the opportunity to help.
These righteous gentiles have made the courageous choice to stand with Israel in their time of need. They serve as glimmers of hope to all Jews. I urge you to speak up and thank them for their kindness.
Click here to read Celebrities Supporting Israel.
*name has been changed
Thank You Sarah. Amazing. I love these stories. These righteous people are very, very special ( tho they don’t always tell you that) . Please write another great article like this. There’s many more of these courageous people.
Why didn't you provide the email addresses? I just many minutes researching and emailing the righteous people you mentioned. Would you like me to post what I found?
Thanks so much for sharing this important information regarding support from celebrities, it does matter because they have influence. I’m not a celebrity but I will encourage all people regardless of your background to do your research and fact finding in history ,about Israel and Palestinian (Palestine). Please include the Bible in Genesis.A must to be honest accept truth and not allow bias, emotions ,hatred ,and lies keep you in bondage. The history of Israel is awesome!! I’m a Christian so I thank God for Israel. Thank You
I'm not a celebrity but I've been writing letter after letter to Congress in support of Israel. I've been taking a crash course on the Middle East, learning Hebrew and Arabic and reading the Torah and Qu'ran. I'm also reading a number of other books about Islam and about Jews and Arabs in the Levant. In addition, I'm writing to friends and others encouraging them to support Israel. I see what happened in Israel as a vital turning point in the Middle East discussion that I believe will lead to Israel's vindication and thriving. I am not afraid. I wear a gold Star of David with a little cross inside on my chest.
God Bless!
thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you/ thank you. thank you. thank you, thank you thank you
we need the entire WORLD to take a stand.
When black Americans were mistreated in this country, it was the JEWISH community that treated then with respect and caring. awash attornies.that help start the civil rights movement ad defended black American unfairly charged with crimes.It was Jews who fought the KKK clan and hid blacks from lynchings.
Where is the back community today defending Jews in America?
Jews were the first to stand by homosexuals and defended their rights to same sex marriages, adoption of children, and non harassment or firings from employment.
Where is the gay community today defending Jewish rights to live and be a part of the society they made humane?
Please provide contact info for these people so we can thank them.
This whole horrible paradigm is not a religious, not even really a racial conflict. Power brokers want no peace not equitability. Israel is a representative democracy. That is the last thing that Hamas, Iran, Russia, etc. want to allow.
Thank you to all who support Israel. Dr Phil some magnificently. And quite honestly, I was surprised to hear that Chris Rock spoke out in support. I always liked him but at this point, I’m not surprised when I find out that an entertainer whose work I enjoy now calls for a free Palestine. Thank you, Mr Rock and all the other righteous people. 🇮🇱🙏🏼❤️💪🏼
Thank you to all the above. They are a light in these dark times.
Thank you to all these righteous souls for their support! I am so grateful to all of them!
In reply to Dr. Phil: firstly, thank you! As for the universities, clearly they are educating their students to be psychopaths.
Also thanks to all who stand for decency and justice!
Another thought: perhaps the next time someone puts up a “Free Palestine” poster, we should simply add the words “Israel is working on it!”
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Brave gentiles like these people are what gives us hope that humans can - and do - care about those different from themselves.
Thanks and gratitude to all of you that have come forward to stand with the Jews and Israel mayor positions be as a light to the world and helping them understand the conflict and what was done. Space space is not interested in peace and in no way are they willing to make peace they call for the total destruction of the Jewish people and until they’re willing to acknowledge our right to live. They really cannot be any peace a two State solution will not work if one side is still dedicated to the destruction of another thank you again to those that stood With us
Yes it is important to thank these people. It is also extremely sad that ONLY 8 PEOPLE could be listed! Where is humanity? Where is truth?
Your'e an idiot. Noone said it was an exhaustive list.
No need for pejoratives. Just give the fact without the vitriol; we've got enough of that flung at us by our enemies.
Truth isn’t allowed in the same way, we remember when Truth Was Mandatory. Things will change, but we must commit to truth, with much courage. Kindness and Truth are everything.
Wonderful article and so important!
If contact information can be included for each of these people, either within the article or in a condensed list at the end, that would be very helpful!
Please print more of these. It would be great if you could list businesses supporting Israel so the we know where to shop.
AND WHERE NOT TO SHOP!
8 wonderful people. I love you all for being upstanding in your support of Israel and Jewish people. Thank you all!!
There’s lists on the internet. I actually like the long list of where to shop. You’d like it to and many companies we already use and enjoy.