It was definitely one of the most spiritually exhilarating evenings of my 29 years on this Earth. Recently, Jeremy and I hosted the first Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem of the year. As a fierce war was erupting on our southern

Seared deeply into my soul was the smile of a four-year-old girl.

border, the people of Israel needed a boost of morale - and that is exactly what they got. As the night unfolded in the downtown Jerusalem's Hechal Shlomo theater, the positive energy became increasingly tangible in the standing-room-only crowd.

While we were pleased to host Ambassador Danny Ayalon who served as the Israeli ambassador to the United States for four years, and happy that he could finally part with his overwhelmingly “politically correct” past, the part seared deeply into my soul was the smile of a four-year-old girl just as the show was ending. She was up on stage with her parents, Orly and Michael Pollack, who were forcibly evicted just a couple weeks earlier from their home in Beit HaShalom in Hevron. We had this family on the show not only because we wanted to hear their story and learn what their lives are like in the oldest Jewish city, but because we wanted to thank them. At this time, more than ever, they needed a little bit of love.

I believe that deep down, a large portion of the Jewish population in Israel identifies with the settler movement and is truly sympathetic to them. A recent poll in a prominent Israeli newspaper showed that almost three quarters of Jews in Israel have an emotional connection to Hevron; so how can they not have empathy for their besieged Jewish brethren who are keeping the second holiest city in Judaism accessible to Jews? How can they not identify with the terror of these 500 Jews surrounded by 120,000 hostile Arabs when we, as a country, are just five million Jews surrounded by 300 million Muslims in 23 countries that seek our destruction with the same zeal.

The Jews of Hevron were sent there as heroes in the early 1970s, with the blessings and support of the government and the nation. Everyone from David Ben-Gurion to Menachem Begin saw the critical importance of the Jewish presence in Hevron; and these brave heroes picked up the torch and ensured that the Jewish presence in Hevron - from nearly three thousand years ago until today, with a brief and tragic interruption after the massacres of 1929 - would remain intact. Due to the courage and faith of these Jews, over half a million people from around the world are able to reconnect with the “city of connection” - hibur, from hebron, means "connection". It is the burial place of our forefathers and mothers, of Adam and Eve, and our sages say it contains the entrance to the Garden of Eden. The essence of the Jew lies in Hevron, and these brave heroes embody that essence.

Yet, for some reason, the Jews of Hevron feel alone and abandoned by their nation. The question is: Why? My personal feeling is that it takes tremendous conviction and determination to stand against the government, the police, the Supreme Court and other state institutions. For many, the state represents civilization, order, law and even justice. Although they see the state perpetrating such a flagrant injustice of evicting these Jewish heroes

The love and support showered on them by the beautiful Jews in the theater was contagious.

from their legally bought property, the prospect of speaking out is too formidable and intimidating to embark upon. So they remain quiet, muttering words of support to each other, perhaps in their prayers, but not in public, not to the Hevronite Jews themselves, and not to the media either.

Yet, on a recent Tuesday night, the Jews of Hevron got a standing ovation. The love and support showered on them by the beautiful Jews in the theater was contagious, and there was no shortage of tears, hugs, laughter and love. I will never be able to express my gratitude to the Creator that I merited to serve as a vessel to allow such an event to take place in the world.

For reasons both in my control and not, I am not living in Hevron right now. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know heroes when I see them. And if there is anything a Jew is about, it is the expression of gratitude. And finally, that Tuesday night, the Jews of Hevron were not alone. They finally received the recognition and gratitude they deserve.