MAINE, Maine — David Brinn is currently the Senior Editor and former Managing Editor for the Jerusalem Post, one of the main English-language newspapers in Israel.
Brinn has lived in Israel for close to 40 years and explained how gut-wrenching it is to digest all of the developments and news that is unfolding following the Oct. 7 attack where Hamas terrorists took more than 200 Israelis hostage in Gaza.
Brinn said Israel is a small country and it's not hard to know people who are fighting for the country against terrorists, people who have lost loved ones, people who were or are still being held hostage, and people who in one way or another have been affected by this ongoing war.
Brinn shared that his 29-year-old son was called back to serve at the Israel Defense Forces for three months and just recently was released from duty. But he said that's the case for hundreds of Israeli civilians who have dropped everything to join the army and help fight the fight. He wants Mainers to better understand that most of the soldiers serving on the Israel Defense Forces right now are real people.
"They are our friends, our family, our insurance agents, our computer technician, these are the people that are fighting in Gaza," Brinn said.
Brinn said despite the ongoing efforts — life is still going on as usual in Israel, with more and more places opening up and more people walking through the streets of the country. He said some of the unsafe areas in the northern and southern parts of Israel have been evacuated, and over a million Israeli families in the target zones have been placed in hotels or are now living with other family members for their safety. It's also a common occurrence for people to get notified on their phones or through sirens that rockets are flying nearby, so they can seek shelter, he said.
The newspaper's senior editor said according to his research, he found more people have come back to Israel to join the battle and serve, rather than flee.
"I think Mainers like all Americans should identify with Israel as the only true democracy in the Middle East. We advocate the same policies as America, and we are on the front lines against the extremism that is threatening the Western world, Europe, and America. Hamas is just another face of ISIS, they showed their true face on Oct. 7 and they threaten violence elsewhere outside of this area. So I think Mainers should support Israel's efforts in the war because we're trying to keep the region and the world safe for democracy," Brinn said.
Despite what's going on, Brinn said he feels safer in Jerusalem right now than in any of the major cities in the United States.
He said it has been very emotional for everyone living there to think about the hostages who were or are still being held captive, the Israeli soldiers who are dying in the battleground, and all the innocent Gazans who are also dying.
Brinn suggests people get their information from multiple sources about this war and he encourages people to digest information from different news outlets, as there's a lot of misinformation on social media platforms.
"People have to think for themselves if they believe in the efforts that Israel is doing and they realize that the people who are supporting Hamas are the places like Iran, Hamas, and Russia and I just feel that if those countries are supporting something, that goes so much against the grain of American values, then most Americans should realize that supporting Israel is the right thing to do. As far as following what's happening, it's very difficult what's happening in Gaza because there are no reporters allowed in Gaza because Hamas doesn't allow it, and it's a dangerous place," Brinn said.
Last week the United Nations' top court ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction, and any acts of genocide in Gaza.