This week, I got a phone call that broke my heart.
Evyatar, a wounded IDF soldier, reached out to me. Now, Evyatar is no ordinary soldier. He is a hero who saved countless lives on October 7th and subsequently spent 584 consecutive days in reserve duty. He saw the unthinkable. He experienced the unthinkable. And next week, he will stand before President Isaac Herzog to receive a medal of honor.
On the morning of October 7th, Evyatar and his unit headed south. They reached the Chalat Junction and then entered the area of the Nova music festival. There, he and his fellow soldiers faced a mission beyond imagination—trying to gather and evacuate the bodies of dozens of slaughtered civilians and soldiers—all while still under active fire.
During one rescue, an anti-tank missile was fired at them. The blast struck Evyatar’s head, shattering his jaw, nose, and back. He suffers from chronic pain and can hardly speak properly. Still, he continued, ignoring the pain, evacuating more bodies, even from inside Gaza.
This is the man who came to New York—with his wife and children—for a moment of peace and a chance to recharge.
But instead, the opposite happened.
While walking through Times Square, Evyatar was pickpocketed. His pouch—containing $5,000 in cash he had painstakingly saved—was stolen.
He went straight to the police, who simply told him, “Do you see how many thousands of people are in Times Square? There’s nothing we can do.”
Evyatar was crushed. Having already endured so much, being left powerless, abandoned in the heart of New York City was the final straw.
When he called me, his voice was broken. Instead of a hero, he sounded like someone utterly bereft.
I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think about was Evyatar, a Jewish hero, who gave everything for us, standing helpless in Times Square.
The next day, I shared his story in one of my WhatsApp groups:
“We have a wounded IDF soldier visiting New York with his family. He was robbed in Times Square. Pickpockets stole $5,000—the money he was relying on. He is devastated. This is a decorated soldier who risked his life for Am Yisrael. If anyone would like to do a mitzvah and help lift his spirit, please reach out.”
And then something incredible happened.
Within minutes, Jews from all walks of life responded. Donations began to pour in, small and large, each one an act of love. In less than an hour, the full $5,000 was raised.
I called Evyatar and asked him to stop by my office. He thought I needed a favor. Instead, I handed him an envelope.
“Here’s $5,000. The Jewish people want you to know: you are never alone.”
He froze. Then his eyes filled with tears and he hugged me, completely overcome and at a loss for words.
New York may have shown Evyatar scathing indifference, but we—Am Yisrael—stepped in to heal him with love and unity.
How fortunate are we to be part of a nation who have each other's backs! We don’t shrug and say, “There’s nothing we can do.” We say, “We’re here, we’ve got you, we won’t let you down.”
Ultimately, Evyatar left New York with something far more valuable than $5,000: the knowledge that wherever he goes, Am Yisrael has his back.