Advocate’s Brief: Monday, April 20
Tuesday decides Iran. Tuesday decides Europe. The holiday does not pause either.
Shalom, friends.
Yom HaZikaron begins at sundown. Tomorrow night Yom Ha’Atzmaut takes its place. In the window between them the Iran truce expires, Luxembourg convenes the first post-Orban EU foreign ministers’ meeting, and the nine-justice Ben-Gvir panel continues deliberating on a petition built from the conduct it was supposed to punish.
The siren ends. The arguments do not.
Before the paywall — a specific ask that’s worth the pause.
The reserve battalion that recovered Staff Sergeant Major Ran Gvili z”l from al-Batesh cemetery in Shijaiyah on January 26 — Operation Lev Amitz, closing the last hostage file in Gaza after nine hundred days — is Battalion 8101, Alexandroni Brigade. The same battalion seized Miis al-Jabal and Chula in the opening Lebanon maneuver of October 2024. They are deployed in northern Gaza right now under the 252nd Division. Most of the soldiers are on their sixth rotation since October 7. Their own officers have publicly named reservist erosion as the central operational concern of the moment.
I have a friend in this battalion. Forty-something, civilian job working at a kids-focused nonprofit in Kiryat Shmona, called up on short notice (many times). His wife and kids carry the cost of his absence on a timeline no one signed up for. He is, by any sane reading of a reserve roster, too old for this. Most of the battalion is. They went anyway. They are still going.
Their amuta — registered Israeli NPO 580810976 — runs a giving page on IsraelGives that takes both recurring monthly commitments and one-time gifts.
I signed on this morning at ₪500/month. The donor count went from zero to one.
Make it two. Then ten. Then a hundred.
The offer — through Thursday, April 30, end of day Eastern:
Give to Battalion 8101 Alexandroni — monthly or one-time, any amount you choose — and email the confirmation screenshot to [email protected].
Recurring monthly at any tier, or a one-time gift of ₪200 or more: six months of Israel Brief paid subscription, on the house.
Recurring at ₪500/month or higher, or a one-time gift of ₪2,000 or more: twelve full months of paid access, plus a gift subscription to pass to someone who ought to be reading this brief.
Recurring is the stronger help — it’s what the amuta plans around — but one-time gets the job done too, especially if a subscription commitment on a foreign platform isn’t your thing. Every shekel routes through the amuta to the soldiers and their families: logistical support, family assistance during deployment, mental health services, unit cohesion. IsraelGives is a recognized platform for American donors, and any recurring commitment can be canceled anytime from your IsraelGives account.
The battalion brought Ran Gvili home. My friend still carries has to carry a rifle. I’m on the donor list to try to carry a small part. Let’s make it a crowd to ease the carrying.
