Gabriel Boxer, aka Kosher Guru, board member of American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS), speaks with Josh Hasten in the Israel National News - Arutz Sheva studio in Jerusalem, on his social media activities, where he does not stop talking night and day about Israel, and getting the truth about the Land of Israel, and especially Judea and Samaria, out to the world
Gabriel Boxer from Hewlett, New York [the Five Towns] founded Kosher Guru and set up a big online presence, promoting kosher establishments in the US and around the world. He describes how he “started off as a 15-year-old kid working in the food industry, worked my way up for many years between catering companies, supermarkets, etc., until the social media exploded in the world and I thought I’ve got to get involved. I needed a name. ‘Kosher,’ even though I’m not a rabbi, I’ve got no Semicha, but for a $1.99 I became a guru. Kosher Guru was then formed, where I love sharing my kosher experiences, travel, products, restaurants, anything living a kosher lifestyle. That's what I love sharing with the world.”
Kosher Guru has expanded way beyond the initial plans, as a result of the situation in Israel and the October 7th Massacre, when Boxer turned his social media sites into a platform for getting the truth out about what's going on in Israel. Boxer says that his activities, “Actually started before October 7th. I was always a proud Jewish Zionist living in America, but the past few years have been very, very scary and less safe for Jews. I grew up in Queens, New York, I was always a proud Jew. I traveled the subways, the buses, always with my yarmulka, walking the streets of Manhattan, all over New York City, being a proud Jew. When I became frightened and afraid to wear my yarmulka, to be Jewish in public, I said ‘this is not right. I did not grow up like this. This is not the country that I was born in. This is not the country that I am a citizen of, and it's got to stop.”
Click here to become a member of the American Friends of Judea and Samaria
Boxer explains how after October 7th, “I said the world has to know the truth. Whether you're on Instagram, Facebook, X, or Tik Tok, I saw the vile hatred, the vile lies that are being spread by so many people around the world against the Jewish people, against Israel, against America, against the truth, and I said, ‘We have to speak up! So, I decided to use my platform for good and share what I believe. Now the truth is out there.”
Boxer has been ‘putting his money where his mouth is,’ and has been making a huge impact in helping the soldiers on the front lines and the residents who are displaced in Israel. He says that he is, “Proud that I became a board member of the AFJS [American Friends of Judea and Samaria]. I got to meet and become very close friends with Yigal Dilmoni, Rafi Lazerowitz. We went on some beautiful trips with American Friends of Judea and Samaria and saw the importance of changing the narrative, explaining to the world what Judea and Samaria is. The importance of Judea and Samaria to Israel, to the Jewish people and to the integrity and the safety of all of Israel, and all of its citizens living here in Israel.”
Boxer describes how he, “Wants to be part of this amazing educational organization. I unfortunately never joined the IDF. I am not a soldier on the ground. I am a soldier for the Jewish People. We all are and can be with what we do. On October 7th at night, I hit the stores. We started buying food for our soldiers, supplies for our soldiers. We bought battery packs, camel backs, all kinds of rain gear and other items that they needed, because all of a sudden within the next few days hundreds of thousands of people got called up to miluim. They got called up to the reserve duties, they dropped whatever they were doing, around the country and around the world, they came back, ran straight to their bases, without having the proper time to prepare properly, without having certain necessities that they needed.”
Over the past nine months AFJS realized that there are many units in the IDF that could use drones to help save soldiers’ lives. This past week I met a unit that was training with drones and they explained the importance of the drones in Gaza on a daily basis and how they're going to use it in Lebanon to save their lives. I got permission to go into Gaza to meet with the Paratroopers Unit 646 in Khan Yunis, which is a specialized unit, and see how they're using drones on a daily basis. We donated two drones to them that day and over the course of weeks donated many more, because I saw firsthand how these drones are saving the lives of our IDF soldiers. They also save the lives of people in Gaza; they don't even realize it. It's on both sides.”
Gabriel Boxer, Kosher Guru, explains that, “Each and everyone of us can help Israel during these difficult times. A few weeks ago, I visited the Pinah Chamah in Gush Etzion, a cosy place where soldiers can stop off, get a drink, a meal, rest, before heading back to duty. The soldiers said, ‘You have no idea what you do for us, when we spend weeks at a time in Gaza and we come out and see that fellow Jews from around the world are hosting a barbecue for us, are bringing us gifts. This shows the Jewish support from around the world. You don’t realize what a big deal this is. This soldier was almost in tears, explaining how important it is for them to see Jews from around the world who care for them, making them barbecues, bringing them gifts.”
You could help sponsor such projects, you could come to Israel to volunteer at some of these events, bring gifts to soldiers. We even brought gifts recently for evacuees from Kiryat Shmona, who are living in a few different hotels. There is so much we could do, so I say, JUST DO IT.”
Boxer explains that, “One of the reasons I started doing what I'm doing on social media is because of the antisemitism that I've experienced and seen in the US. I'm telling you, ‘right now the safest place for a Jew in the world is here in Israel’.”
What can you do for the IDF soldiers? What can you do for Israel?
1. Follow Kosher Guru on Instagram.
2. Become a member and check out the Thermal Drones Campaign which “Saves the lives of our soldiers.” Go to the campaign and donate today!
3. On Sunday July 21st join a special webinar with Avi Abelow, one of the top public diplomacy experts on Israel and MK Boaz Bismuth from the Likud party.
4. On Wednesday, August 7th, the one and only tour guide and podcast host, Eve Harrow, will take you on an amazing experience. If you're coming to Israel, looking for something meaningful, see how the whole situation down in Gaza is really connected to Judea and Samaria, and it's all connected, you're going to want to see that for yourself. Go online and sign up for that special tour.
Boxer passionately explains that, “If I didn't meet the members of the Yesha Council, members of AFJS, and get involved with the Yesha Council and AFJS, as much as I love the Land of Israel and love Israel and love all the Jewish People and all of Israel, I would never really have understood the importance of Judea and Samaria to the Jewish Nation.”
I find it very important for everyone out there to contact AFJS, even if you're not going to donate, contact them, go on the website, learn about what Judea and Samaria really is, learn about the importance and the history of Judea and Samaria, get on a Zoom webinar, join a day trip here, feel Judea and Samaria, walk the ground that our forefathers walked, understand the importance of Judea and Samaria to the security of all of Israel, because this is where our safety is next. You think it's Gaza, you think it's Lebanon. We need Judea and Samaria to protect and keep Israel safe.”