In an interview with the Yediot Aharonot daily leading Israeli musician and comedian Nancy Brandes addressed the artists' strike that accused IDF soldiers of war crimes and sharply attacked the initiators.
"My son has been fighting in Gaza since October 7th," he said, "My son Yonatan has told me that there is no army that is more moral than the IDF. True, there are exceptional cases, in wars people are killed, but he told me how careful they are not to harm anyone who is not involved. With all due respect to Chava Alberstein and others, who are you to call my son a war criminal?"
Brandes, who has survived five different situations in which his life was at risk, said that these experiences strengthened his belief in the existence of supreme providence. "When I was finally released from the hospital, a strange thought went through my mind - 'The fact that I am alive is not just thanks to medical advancements.' I believe from the depths of my soul that I am being watched over.
I remained secular and continued to observe the religious rituals that I adopted twenty years ago when Lior, my eldest daughter (44) and the most rebellious child, became religious. Out of love for Lior, I say the ‘Modeh Ani’ prayer every morning and wash my hands. Thanks to her, I also don't eat chametz [leaven bread] on Passover and I fast on Yom Kippur, although to this day I have no idea why I fast. After I left the hospital, I asked myself how I could repay the debt I had to the One who saved me. Do you know what I did? On Rosh Hashanah, I took Lior and three grandchildren to Uman. It was like a madhouse."
Brandes is twice divorced, a father of four, a grandfather of five, and recently became a great-grandfather to Shira, the daughter of his grandson Eliezer (23), a Breslov Hasid. "As far as I know, he didn't evade IDF service. He didn't even receive a call-up order, but I'm not getting involved, even though I think haredi people can and must serve."