Menachem Mendel Vile known as Mendel grew up in Chicago and made aliyah as a child. In December 2023, a Hamas anti-tank missile in Jabaliya tore through his unit and left his body full of shrapnel. Doctors said the road back would be long. He decided to run anyway. This week he crossed the Marine Corps Marathon finish line in Washington, carrying Israel’s flag and the call to #BringThemHome. Suffering turned into perseverance. Perseverance began to look like character. Character made hope visible.
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” — Romans 5:3–4, NIV
Then face the contempt
While courage ran through the streets of D.C., the internet tried to turn Jewish pain into a joke. People were submitting Jew-hate names for ice-cream cartons. “Mintifada” was the one that stuck. Ben Cohen left Ben & Jerry’s, and Unilever is now the parent company. His “Mintifada” push is his own, not a Ben & Jerry’s flavor. Dressing up hatred as a pint label does not soften it. It exposes it. Israel is still burying her dead and praying the missing come home. We either treat that reality with reverence, or we make ourselves small.
A test inside our own house
The same spirit showed up in a different suit. Tucker Carlson handed a microphone to Nick Fuentes, a man who spews open antisemitism and denies the Holocaust. Kevin Roberts at the Heritage Foundation chose to defend Carlson instead of denouncing Jew-hatred. Many conservatives answered differently. Senator Ted Cruz called it “a time for choosing.” Matthew Brooks at the Republican Jewish Coalition said he was “appalled.” David French, John Podhoretz, and David Limbaugh warned about elevating the fringe. Robert P. George urged young believers to stay far away from antisemitism. That chorus matters. This is not about which team you are on. It is about whether you can still call evil by its name when it stands on your side of the field.
Feed the right wolf
There is an old picture about two wolves inside us. One feeds anger, pride, and lies. The other feeds love, truth, and faith. Which one wins? The one we feed. One path turns sorrow into slogans and gives a stage to haters. The other path honors grief, protects the vulnerable, and tells the truth even when it costs applause. Our daughters are watching how we speak about Jews and about Israel. Our sons are watching whose courage we celebrate. Let us teach them that love tells the truth and that courage looks like Mendel at mile twenty-six, not a label that mocks the dead.
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” — Romans 12:9, NIV
Today’s Prayer
Lord of Hosts, give us clear eyes and steady hearts. Turn suffering into perseverance, perseverance into character, and character into hope. Strengthen Mendel and every wounded defender of Israel. Comfort hostage families and bring every name home. Give leaders and influencers—including Kevin Roberts and Tucker Carlson—the courage to reject antisemitism plainly. Make us modern-day Esthers who honor grief, speak truth, and stand with Israel without fear. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
