On October 8, 2023, with renewed conviction, I hung an Israeli flag from my balcony.

I did it for myself. I did it for Israel. And I did it for Jews everywhere.

Okay, I also did it for the anti-Zionists who might happen to pass by.

For two years, that flag waved from my home, first by itself and eventually alongside my American flag. I wasn’t trying to make anything happen. There was no agenda beyond refusing to hide something that mattered deeply to me.

Then something happened that I never could have anticipated.

A young couple was house hunting in our community. They were having trouble finding the right home, but they were also struggling to find a place that felt right.

She was Israeli. And as they searched, she had noticed more than one Palestinian flag displayed around the area.

One afternoon, they arrived to look at another house. The location seemed ideal. They liked the neighborhood. They had their fingers crossed.

Two doors down, my Israeli flag was waving in the breeze.

She told me later that seeing it warmed her heart. They loved the house, but suddenly there was something more.

They bought the home.

Today, they aren’t simply neighbors. They are friends. They’ve welcomed my wife and me into their home for Pesach. Their dog apparently considers our yard an annex of his own and makes a beeline for us whenever we’re outside. Soon, they hope to introduce us to family visiting from Israel.

All because one day, while searching for a place where she could feel at home, an Israeli woman looked up and saw her flag.

A Different Kind of Signal

Another encounter happened at a work conference.

During the opening mixer, a young couple standing nearby approached me. The woman complimented my earring, a small........

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