Eyal Waldman is a decent and honorable man whom I have gotten to know closely since October 7, and was one of the first Israelis to reach out to me online once I had grown a presence following the tragedy of my family’s killing in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes. Despite losing his daughter to Hamas’s heinous massacre on October 7, he has been relentlessly pursuing radically pragmatic initiatives, and we have both been in multiple spaces, conferences, events, and arenas to discuss ways in which Palestinians and Israelis can both have safety, security, self-determination, and freedom. He not only supports peace and the inevitable need to establish a Palestinian self-rule because it is the moral thing to do, but he also recognizes it is imperative for protecting Israel’s long-term interests and needs as a Jewish and democratic state.
The blind hatred by the so-called “pro-Palestine” activists against Eyal here is typical behavior of brownshirt-esque militias who simply hear someone’s identity and react blindly despite his goodwill gesture and outreach. The “pro-Palestine” mafia fails to appreciate that there will never be a free or independent Palestine without making alliances with broad segments in Israel, including in government, civil society, business, and faith communities. You don’t have to agree with everything Eyal says or believes to acknowledge that he is a decent, honorable, and a class-A human being, the embodiment of pursuing peace and reconciliation across entrenched narratives and deep personal trauma.
Eyal Waldman hired 20 engineers in Gaza, donated $360K to a Gaza hospital, and spent years building partnerships toward between Israeli and Palestinians.
Pro-Palestinian protesters screamed “murderer” at him in Venice this week. His daughter was killed at Nova on October 7.