Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan prays Israeli relatives will be safe

For millions of Jewish-Americans and Jews living across the world, the past few weeks have felt surreal, with emotions running between sadness, fear, anger, and an overwhelming sense of loss.

For many like Josh Lafazan, legislator for Nassau County’s 18th district, there is an added layer of worry for family members living in Israel as the war with Hamas shows no signs of stopping.
Lafazan explained that his uncle Eric Lafazan moved with his family to Israel from Rockland County in upstate New York roughly 20 years ago. The legislator explained that he grew up playing with his cousins, and over the years has stayed in close contact with them, frequently visiting for family and religious celebrations.

“There’s a really dynamic and vibrant community of a lot of Americans who have moved over there to be closer to the Jewish faith and to live in Israel, and they have absolutely loved it,” Lafazan said. “We as a family have visited them numerous times, whether it’s been for weddings, bar mitzvahs, or just to see them for the holidays.”

Lafazan’s uncle, aunt and five cousins live on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and there are also extended family members who reside in Tel Aviv “and all over Israel.” With only roughly 16 million Jewish people across the world, and roughly 2 million in New York metro alone, he added that most Jewish-Americans have friends, relatives or acquaintances living there.

So when the news of the attack was first announced, he said he was not alone in feeling a sense of terror and fear for his relatives living abroad. Furthermore, his grandmother Marcia was visiting his uncle at the time, and only managed to return to the United States last week.

“For all of us, it was so terrifying to not know the extent of the attacks,” Lafazan continued. “To not know who was involved and not know if family members were safe was such a terrifying experience. It’s been such a harrowing two weeks.”

Lafazan said adding to the fear was the difficulty of communicating with his relatives in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, as Israelis across the country were sheltering in place. While thankfully no one among his extended family was killed or taken hostage on that fateful day, he added that not everyone across Long Island and the state was so lucky.

The legislator said that his five cousins, whose names have not been included for their protection, have been called up on reserve duty, having previously completed their military service. While he added that he’s of course worried for their safety, Lafazan stressed the immense pride he feels in them for their selflessness in putting their lives on the line to defend their home, family, and nation.

“These are cousins who I grew up with as kids, right, and to see them as soldiers in uniform, it’s awe-inspiring,” he said. “Of course I’m worried about their safety every single day, but at this perilous moment for Israel I couldn’t be prouder of them. So my fear for their safety is trumped by my pride and gratitude for their service.”

Although Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, the European Union, Israel, and other Western countries, has mostly been pushed back into the Gaza strip, where roughly two million Hamas-controlled Palestinians live, they have continued launching rockets into Israel. While the ground attacks on Israel have largely ceased, Lafazan said that his relatives and the nation are still emotionally reeling and trying “to absorb that kind of shock and collective trauma of the nation and its citizens.”

One of the worst aspects of this experience has been seeing the tremendous outpouring of antisemitic rhetoric and attacks across the United States and the world following the outbreak of the war, according to Lafazan. Since Oct. 7, the Anti-Defamation League has tracked at least 168 incidents of antisemitic incidents across the country, and while there have been many peaceful protests to promote the need of humanitarian aid for Gaza residents and to raise awareness for the suffering of Palestinians, others have used the conflict as an excuse to promote hateful rhetoric and call for the deaths of all Israelis and Jews.

“There’s so much anger that so many of us feel in the shocking rise in antisemitism over the past two weeks alone,” Lafazan said. “To not have a worldwide, unified show of solidarity is frustrating, but at the same time we’ve had such a great show of support from local governments all across this country, and allies and citizens in this country have really stepped in to fill the void.”

Lafazan was adamant that Israel has the right to defend itself and retaliate against Hamas for this atrocity, and added that he believes that destroying the group will ultimately not just provide safety for Israelis, but also will free Palestinians from living under the yoke of Hamas.

“The innocent civilians of Palestine need to have Hamas eradicated from this earth,” Lafazan continued. “We have to stand with (the Israeli Defense Forces) no matter how long it takes, no matter how tough it gets.”

Lafazan added that he sponsored a bill last week to create the Nassau County-Israeli Commission, “dedicated to exploring opportunities to support Israel.” In addition, he said that Long Island residents interested in supporting Israel and providing resources should look to nonprofits such as the Jewish National Fund, and that even a small amount of dollars “is so important. It adds up, and it makes a real difference.”