Tribute to a fallen Israeli hero and his final letter that touched a nation
PLUS: Here’s the recipe for the chocolate cake IDF Staff Sergeant Adi Leon loved so much
NILI, ISRAEL — As nearly 300,000 Jews and Christians marched in Washington, DC in support of Israel this week and prayed for our hostages to be released, thousands of Israeli families are grieving the death of their fallen soldiers and other loved ones in this horrific war.
Tonight, on THE ROSENBERG REPORT, I’ll sit down with the family of the late-IDF Staff Sergeant Adi Leon in the Israeli community of Nili.
A member of the Givati Brigade, Adi was one of the first of our soldiers killed in combat on Oct. 31, the night the IDF began its ground incursion in northern Gaza.
There are three reasons I chose to focus on this particular family.
First, Adi is the nephew of the fantastic and much-appreciated producer of THE ROSENBERG REPORT, Michael Shapochnic, so this story is very personal for me.
Second, Adi left his family a final 6-page, handwritten letter that is so beautiful and moving that my wife and I dissolved in tears when we read it.
When Adi’s 18-year-old sister, Zohar, posted it on her Instagram page, the letter suddenly went viral, capturing the heart of the country.
It even reached Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who quoted it during a major speech of his last week.
Tonight, I’ll read from the section of the letter that was the most moving to me.
Third, the recipe for a chocolate cake that Adi loved so much was shared by his aunt on a WhatsApp channel of moms in their community.
Then that, too, went viral.
Now people all over the country – and the world – are making Adi’s favorite cake, even sending them to Israeli troops on the frontlines in his honor.
Here is the recipe – our family is going to make one this weekend – I hope yours will, too.
So, please join me tonight as I sit down with Amir and Nurit Leon – Adi’s brave parents – and his remarkable Uncle Michael for their first interview in English, and first with an American TV network, after doing many interviews in Hebrew with the Israeli media.
It’s a candid and touching tribute to a fallen Israeli hero and his beautiful family – tonight on THE ROSENBERG REPORT at 9 p.m. EST on TBN.
You can also watch on the TBN app.
And at www.RosenbergReport.TV.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.
