{"id":2136654,"date":"2023-12-30T08:52:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T13:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-chicago-jew-who-dropped-everything-to-go-fight-hamas\/"},"modified":"2023-12-30T08:55:36","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T13:55:36","slug":"meet-the-chicago-jew-who-dropped-everything-to-go-fight-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-chicago-jew-who-dropped-everything-to-go-fight-hamas\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Jew Abandons All to Combat Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmeet-the-chicago-jew-who-dropped-everything-to-go-fight-hamas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2136654&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2><b>Israeli-American \u2062Rushes from Chicago\u2064 to Fight Hamas in \u2063Gaza<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shraga Stern didn\u2019t hesitate to buy a\u200d ticket from Chicago to Israel on October 7 \u2062to join the coming fight against Hamas, even before\u2063 the Israeli\u200c Defense \u2063Forces asked him to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cOne of my\u200c men met\u200c me\u2062 at\u2063 the airport,\u201d Stern told The Daily Wire in southern Israel. \u2063\u201cI already had all my gear for\u2064 my uniform, and everything and I came straight to the battlefield.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern, 38, is\u2062 one \u2063of more than 360,000 reservists \u2063called up to defeat Hamas \u200dafter its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-marks-ukrainian-independence-hours-after-war-sparks-rift-on-gop-debate-stage\/\" title=\"Biden acknowledges Ukrainian independence amidst GOP debate division over war.\">brutal\u2062 attack<\/a> on Israeli civilians in early\u200b October. When he arrived in the area surrounding Gaza, \u2062he\u200b observed burnt cars with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gunmen-dump-16-bodies-in-central-mexican-state\/\" title=\"Gunmen Dump 16 bodies in Central Mexican State\">bodies hanging<\/a> out of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe showed up where the Nova Festival was and there were still bodies laying around \u2062and fighting\u2064 was still going on,\u201d he said. \u201cTowns that were burnt and destroyed. It felt \u2062like the whole region was totally a war zone \u200cout \u2062of control.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><b>Surviving a Terror Attack<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern is a reservist \u200bofficer\u200c in the IDF who was stabbed in 2016 while on patrol\u2063 searching for a \u200bterrorist\u2063 in the\u200d Israeli city of Efrat in\u200c Judea and Samaria, also known as the West\u2063 Bank.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_672791\" style=\"width: 586px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-672791\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shraga Stern \u200cwas \u200cinjured in 2016 after he was stabbed \u2063multiple \u2063times\u2064 by a terrorist in Efrat. Courtesy of \u200cShraga Stern.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cA terrorist came right at me with a\u200d knife,\u201d he said. \u201cI jumped out of the car at him without my gun,\u200d which was \u200cin the car, and I just wrestled him \u200band fought him\u200d down\u2064 to the ground while being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-us-attorney-bill-mcswain-declares-bid-for-governor-of-pennsylvania\/\" title=\"Former US Attorney Bill McSwain Declares Bid for Governor of Pennsylvania\">stabbed multiple times<\/a>. At \u2062some point, I was able to grab him by the neck, lift him, and throw him on the ground \u200dwith my body weight over him, and one of my men \u200cwas able to shoot him in the head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Brothers for \u200bLife<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern said he was \u2062thankful for his second chance at life\u2063 when he awoke in the\u2064 hospital, and decided to look for new \u200dways to find meaning. \u200cHe was introduced to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brothersforlife.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Brothers for Life<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a sixteen-year-old nonprofit \u200dorganization dedicated to\u200c helping \u2062injured IDF veterans with medical, emotional, and financial support.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_672785\" style=\"width: 2570px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-672785\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants of Iron Brother \u200d2022 in Eilat,\u200b Israel. \u2064Credit: \u2064Courtesy of Brothers for Life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern said\u2064 he joined the organization\u2019s triathlon team which forced him to focus\u2064 on\u2062 regaining his strength. Soon after\u200b he started\u200c to help others through the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Preparing for What \u200cComes After the War<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although \u200bhe\u2019s serving in the current conflict, he said Brothers\u200c for\u2062 Life is already \u2062assisting \u2063injured soldiers in the war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt truly gives me a lot\u200d of strength knowing that every mission that I make a decision on and every mission that I \u2062lead, I know that if \u200banyone \u200dhere gets injured, I\u2019m not forgetting about them,\u201d he\u200b said. \u201cOnce this tour is over and I\u2019m back \u2062in my life, \u2064we\u2019re going to keep taking\u2062 care\u200d of these guys for the rest\u200c of their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite his previously nearly mortal injury, Stern said he wasn\u2019t fearful to join the\u200d fight again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cTo tell\u2062 you that there\u2019s\u200d no fear would be foolish, but the fear that \u200cis there is manageable \u2062and we trained\u200c for\u200b this day,\u201d he said. \u200b\u201cWe have no other\u2064 choice but to\u2062 totally eliminate Hamas because the end game\u200d for us is rebuilding our towns, rebuilding our \u2064communities, and rebuilding\u200d life \u200chere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_672783\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-672783\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shraga Stern with\u200c a Brothers for Life flag on a tank by the Gaza border.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern said he takes \u200bthis war personally \u200bas\u200d the grandson of two Holocaust survivors. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe always grew up with the notion\u200d that Israel is the promise \u200cthat Jews would never be slaughtered again unprotected,\u201d he said. \u2064\u201cI\u2063 feel that the tanks here \u2064behind me \u2014 but \u2062also me and my men \u2014 \u2063we are the\u2063 promise for the Jewish people that Jews won\u2019t be slaughtered unprotected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern said he believes \u200cthe terrorist who tried to kill him five\u2062 years ago \u200cwas motivated by the same hatred as Hamas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI\u2062 know that what motivated him is a total annihilation of\u2063 Israel, which is what he stands for and that\u2019s what Hamas stood for,\u201d he \u2064said. \u201cWe saw hundreds \u2063and hundreds of \u200bterrorists like that, maybe better\u2064 trained, better equipped,\u2063 better planned and ready\u200d to do the same. \u200d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThat\u2019s\u2062 why I\u2019m here,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How can individuals get involved \u200cand support the mission of Brothers for Life<\/h2>\n<p><span>  That my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-russia-moldovan-breakaway-state-of-transnistria-denies-troops-are-massing-near-ukraine\/\" title=\"Pro-Russia Moldovan Breakaway State of Transnistria Denies Troops Are Massing Near Ukraine\">soldiers perform<\/a>, \u2063that if something bad \u200dhappens to me or to\u2064 them, that \u200cBrothers for Life will be there for us and our families,\u201d Stern said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The organization provides \u200dsupport services such as counseling, physical\u200c therapy, and financial aid to injured IDF\u2064 veterans and \u2062their families. It aims\u200b to help them in their recovery process and assist with their reintegration into civilian\u200b life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cBeing part of Brothers for Life, they take care to try and help us in any way possible,\u201d Stern said. \u201cIf \u2062I need therapy, they\u2063 are \u200dhelping \u200dme with therapy. \u200dIf\u200d it\u2019s something financial, they\u2019re also there to help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_672793\" style=\"width: 511px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-672793\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shraga Stern (center) with fellow triathletes who are\u2062 part of the Brothers for Life organization. Courtesy of \u200bShraga Stern.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><b>Supporting Israel \u200bat \u200bHome and Abroad<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Brothers\u200c for Life\u200b not only provides \u200bassistance\u200d to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/carrie-underwood-raises-over-420000-for-veterans-and-first-responders\/\" title=\"Carrie Underwood raises 0K+ for vets &#038; first responders.\">injured\u200b veterans<\/a> but\u2062 also works to \u200cpromote \u200cawareness\u2064 of the challenges they face. The organization conducts events and activities to\u2062 engage the community and gain\u200d support for its cause.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stern is grateful\u200d for the support he has received from Brothers\u200d for Life, both \u200dduring his recovery process and as he serves on the front\u200c lines. He encourages \u200bothers to get involved and \u200dsupport \u2063the organization\u2019s mission.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_672799\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-672799\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brothers\u2062 for Life supporters\u200d holding a sign expressing their solidarity \u200cwith injured IDF veterans.\u200c Courtesy of Brothers for Life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThey\u200d can help in any way\u2064 possible, whether it\u2019s participating in \u200cevents, supporting it financially, or volunteering \u200dtheir time,\u201d he said. \u201cBrothers for Life helps \u2063us \u200bveteran soldiers continue our mission and gives us a lot of emotional\u200c and financial \u200bsupport.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the conflict in Gaza continues, Stern\u200d remains \u2063dedicated to his duty as a soldier and\u2063 grateful for \u2063the support he receives from \u200dBrothers for Life. His story serves as a testament \u200cto the\u2063 resilience and\u2062 determination of those who fight for \u2063the defense of their\u200c homeland.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shraga Stern wasted no time purchasing a ticket from Chicago to Israel on October 7, eager to join the battle against Hamas. Even before the Israeli Defense Forces requested his assistance, Stern arrived in southern Israel fully equipped, with one of his comrades meeting him at the airport, as he shared with The Daily Wire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":597,"featured_media":2136655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2136654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/597"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2136654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2136655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2136654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2136654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2136654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}