Today marks 301 days since the horrific attacks on October 7.

301 days of loss, fear, anger, and anxiety for too many people.

301 days of demanding the safe return of all the hostages.

Then, this week, the war took an interesting and concerning twist. On Tuesday, Fuad Shukr, who Israel claims was responsible for last Saturday’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams, was killed in Beirut by the Israel Defense Forces. Shukr was Hezbollah’s most senior military officer and ‘right-hand man’ to chief Hassan Nasrallah. He was also wanted by the United States for his role in the 1983 Marines barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. servicemen. Then, late Tuesday night, we learned that Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated while in Tehran. And yesterday, even though it had been rumored, Israel confirmed it killed Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ top military chief and a planner of the October 7 attack, in a July strike in Gaza.

A friend asked me if we should marvel at the ability of Israel to get these terrorists inside these foreign countries or should we be more concerned about the potential fallout? I say -- both.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to Haniyeh’s killing. The pressing issue is not whether an Iranian or proxy response is imminent but what form it will take and what the outcome will be. The United States reiterated its “unwavering commitment” to defend Israel if it is attacked. What happens next has us all on edge.

One additional note about the 12 children killed at Majdal Shams. A colleague from Dror Israel, a long-time funding partner of the Jewish Federation, saw the email I sent last Sunday and shared with me that three of the children killed were participants in Dror Israel’s youth movement activities.

Happy to see Wall Street Journal journalist, Evan Gershkovich, finally released from Russian prison after 70 weeks in a prisoner swap, which included Paul Whelan and other political prisoners.

During all of this, the 2024 Paris Olympics continue. Amazing to watch Simone Biles win a gold medal in gymnastics at the age of 27 and to see Katie Ledecky continue her incredible greatness in the swimming pool.

Knowing my mother would love this, here are Jewish athletes who have won medals to date:

Jessica Fox – Australia – two Gold medals -- Canoe Slalom

Jemima Montag – Australia – Bronze medal -- 20k Race Walking

Nick Itkin – United States – Bronze medal – Foil Fencing

Maia Weintraub – United States – Gold medal -- Team Foil Fencing

Jackie Dubrovich – United States – Gold medal -- Team Foil Fencing

Claire Weinstein – United States – Silver medal – 4x200 Swim Relay

Sarah Levy – United States – Bronze medal -- Rugby

And I would be remiss to not mention Israeli judokas Inbar Lanir and Peter Paltchik, who won silver and bronze medals, respectively, the country’s first medals of the 2024 Games.

Lanir’s win marks the second-ever Olympic silver for Israel, its eighth medal in judo and the 15th overall Olympic medal for the Jewish state.

Minutes after winning the silver, Lanir told Israel’s Sport5 broadcaster: “It’s a bit hard to be happy after losing in the final because I always want to beat everyone, but I’m really happy. The fact that I have the privilege to give a little happy news during this time is worth everything to me.”

Lanir wore a yellow “scrunchie” in her hair, the color used to call for the return of the hostages held in Gaza. She said, “Those who understand it, will understand. I wear it to show that I am thinking about them.”

Paltchik, meanwhile, won the bronze medal in judo. After winning his match, Paltchik said, “The period we’re going through in the country — the war, the wounds, the people who we won’t see again — I just wanted to make everyone happy. I fought for everyone, for our flag, we worked so hard for this moment.”

His coach, Oren Smadga, made the difficult decision to take part in the Olympics just six weeks after his son, Sgt. First Class (res.) Omer was killed fighting in Gaza. Smadga said, “This is the best public relations we have, [to show that] we are loving, we’re respectful, we know how to appreciate the Olympic values and spirit.” (You may recall my email from last Sunday when I shared some athletes would not shake hands with Israeli athletes and one disqualified himself on purpose so not to face an Israeli in judo.)

May we continue to see more incredible accomplishments from all the athletes at the Games.

Finally, on a historical note, 90 years ago today, with the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became the absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuhrer, or “Leader.” The German army took an oath of allegiance to its new commander-in-chief, and the last remnants of Germany’s democratic government were dismantled to make way for Hitler’s Third Reich. Hitler assured the Germans that the Third Reich would last for a thousand years, but Nazi Germany ended just 11 years later -- however, not before murdering six million Jews. We must never forget.

Shabbat shalom.