Radio legend Sid Rosenberg has traveled from Canarsie to a kibbutz on his first visit to Israel, and has a message for Americans: “Get your act together.”
Seeing Israeli unity and patriotism in times of grief and war, Rosenberg, a Brooklyn native and lifelong New Yorker, can’t help but contrast it with the strife in the US
“We’re a divided country,” lamented the host of 77 WABC’s “Sid and Friends in the Morning,” who had just returned from a weeklong visit to the disaster-stricken Jewish state. “This country is a mess and patriotism is at an all-time low.
“There is no one – not a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, or a man who makes falafel – who is not willing to die for Israel,” the 56-year-old said. “They have resilience, patriotism and loyalty.
“That’s not the case with America anymore.”
Watching the horror unfold on October 7, Rosenberg, a “proud Jew” who grew up attending yeshiva in Canarsie, vowed to make his maiden visit to the Jewish state, airing his top-rated morning show abroad without missing a beat. He conducted a moving 30-minute interview with Rachel Goldberg, mother of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23.
Sid Rosenberg was inspired to visit Israel after the October 7 attacks. Courtesy of Sid Rosenberg
Rosenberg never let fear stop him or his family – he was accompanied by his wife and two teenage children – from their important pilgrimage to the war-torn holy land.
While walking through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem on her way to the Western Wall, Rosenberg wore her favorite sweatshirt displaying both the American and Israeli flags and the slogan, “New York stands with Israel.”
“Shut up,” someone hissed.
‘I didn’t give a–t,’ Rosenberg recalled.
Sid Rosenberg’s pro-Israel shirts are not well received in Muslim quarters. Courtesy of Sid Rosenberg
There were other close calls – such as having to run to a bomb shelter near kibbutz Be’eri, one of the most devastated communities, where more than 100 were killed. “The ground really shook. Physically, our bodies are moving,” Rosenberg said of the powerful explosion.
He admitted he was “surprised, but never scared. Frankly, I’m more scared to get on the 3 train at 2 in the morning than to walk through Jerusalem.”
And while it’s confusing and reassuring, “everyday people have guns — men and women,” that they learn how to use during their mandatory military service, he said. “Not like in New York, where they don’t know what they’re doing.”
The radio host admitted to being scared of the subway after seeking shelter in a bomb shelter. Courtesy of Sid Rosenberg
Upon his return to New York earlier this week, Rosenberg was honored with the “Guardian of Israel” award by the Fifth Avenue Synagogue. Now, he proudly brandishes the gold Israeli dog tag he just bought.
“Those who protest Israel and support Hamas are disgusting. They support people who rape women, who put babies in ovens, cut out children’s eyes, kill children in front of their parents,” he raged.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
