Today’s guest columnist is Richard Friedman.

I hugged her as soon as I saw her.

This friend, a Birmingham Christian woman in her 20’s, had just come back from Israel.

She’d been there during the June war with Iran, sheltering in Jerusalem.

She had helped lead a group for a national organization that connects young Christians with Israel and Jews.

My wife, Sally, and I were meeting her for dinner at Birmingham’s Summit.  We became friends right after October 7, 2023, when she reached out to comfort our Jewish community in the wake of the murderous attack by Hamas.

“When are you going to Israel?” she wanted to know. “September 3-17,” we told her.  “Be prepared,” she said. “It’s not the same country.”

We’re back and she was right. Israel is not the same country.  It’s stronger.

Yes, Israel is anguished – over its devastating losses, hostages Hamas still holds, and Palestinian civilians who’ve died because the terror group has used them as human shields. There also is sadness for the Palestinians who’ve suffered from hunger due to a distribution crisis largely manipulated by Hamas.

Yet, Israel has gotten stronger these past two years.  This was clear as we traveled to the Gaza, Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian borders and points in between talking to Israelis, most of them connected to Birmingham, about the impact of October 7 and its aftermath.

Remarkably, over the past two years Israel, with America’s help, has defeated Iran; dismantled Hezbollah (remember the pagers?); attacked the Houthis; played a role in regime change in Syria; intensified its war against Hamas while securing the release of a sizable number of hostages, and eliminated a vast swath of terrorist leaders.

This tiny country, with a population not much larger than Alabama’s and Mississippi’s combined, also has fought a devastating and unfair PR war, found the time and resources to make medical breakthroughs, and revolutionized the Middle East’s geopolitical map not only to its advantage but also to America’s.

And Israel has done the above while helping Jews around the world, including in the US, fight back against an explosion of hatred not seen since the Holocaust, a pandemic of antisemitism that erupted the day after the October 7 massacre, weeks before the Israeli army entered Gaza.

Determination, resilience, affirmation and strength were the words I scribbled in my notebook throughout my trip.  “We are resilient. We are strong,” we heard from Israelis in every region of the country regardless of their political differences.

Particularly powerful was an evening with longtime friends in Rosh Ha’ayin, a Birmingham city Sister City. The adults were talking about the predicaments Israel faces in Gaza. Their three daughters — 19, 16 and 12 — sat listening, not saying a word. Finally, I asked them what they thought. The 16-year-old answered: “Am Yisrael Chai!” The People of Israel Live.

Support matters

Having worked for Birmingham’s Jewish community for decades and now a volunteer, I know that Birmingham and Alabama are incredibly supportive of Israel. Many see Israel as a valued ally, a Holy Land important to their faith, and a country to be admired for achievements. This support matters.

Visiting a Biblical site along the Jordan River, important to Jews and Christians, a site where Christians go to be baptized, we talked to the pastor performing the baptisms. He had lived in Alabama and had been in Israel for four years. He told us how strong the country is and that more than ever Christians must stand with Israel.

While we were in Israel, a delegation of 250 state legislators was scheduled to arrive, some from Alabama, for a visit hosted by the Israeli foreign ministry.  Ties between Alabama and Israel are deep — in 1943, Alabama was the first state to call for the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel — and those ties continue to strengthen the country today.

“Christian support is so important to us — especially in the wake of October 7,” said our Israeli guide, Itai Tennenbaum, who has guided many Christians and Jews from Birmingham, as we talked at the site of the music festival where 378 civilians were murdered by Hamas. “We are strong and resilient— and this support makes us even stronger.”

As I finish this Comeback Town column the new Jewish year, which starts with Rosh Hashanah, has just begun. The beginning of the new year is marked by a powerful ten-day period of introspection, repentance and renewal culminating with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. As the year begins, I will be thinking about – and thanking — those Christian friends who’ve stepped forward since October 7.

I’ll end with a story about another one of those friends.

This friend, well-known in Birmingham’s non-profit community, visited Israel with a Jewish group earlier this year.  A true ally of the Jewish people, she was the only Christian in the group.

During a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust, sirens warning of an incoming rocket from the Houthis started blaring.  She, along with the others, rushed to a safer area of the building.

The irony was not lost on her: While viewing an exhibit about an evil regime killing Jews, an evil regime was trying to kill Jews. The warning passed.  My friend and her group finished viewing the exhibit and exited into the sunlight, standing on a steep hill.

Before her was a breathtaking panorama of  Jerusalem — the ultimate symbol of the redemption of the Jewish people in their Biblical homeland, a life-celebrating response to the exhibit of death her group had just endured.

Before her was an old-new city stretching to the horizon, sparkling against the brilliant blue sky, a city and a country coursing with resilience and strength.

Before her were people powered by memory, with tears embedded in their hearts.

Before her were the Jews. Lonely since October 7. But not alone.

Richard Friedman is a journalist and retired executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown.  He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com