The Israel Defense Forces were founded shortly after the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948.
That same year, the fledgling army found itself in battle as several Arab nations invaded the newly formed nation of Israel.
Without the IDF, Israel would have been annihilated many times over, including in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.
This army has defended its tiny nation from multiple attacks by Arab forces including the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Lebanon War.
Unlike most of the countries that oppose them, Israel’s military treats women as equals, and they are conscripted alongside their male counterparts into the IDF at 18.
But none of this history matters to the brainwashed pro-Hamas protesters on the streets of New York, as Noa Cochva, Miss Israel 2021, found out on Monday.
Cochva, who serves in the Israeli military when she is not fulfilling her duties as an ambassador for the nation, attempted a social experiment.
The 25-year-old beauty queen walked around carrying a sign that read, “I’m an IDF soldier. Ask me anything.”
The purpose of the experiment was clearly to start up a peaceful dialogue in the hope that it would open minds to the experiences and viewpoints of Israeli soldiers, especially among those who have only been exposed to a negative view of them.
Do you support Israel’s right to exist?
However, in many instances, Cochva was not given that chance.
“You are a war criminal,” one man growled at her.
“How do you sleep at night?” another bystander asked, to which she replied, “I sleep really well because I know that I’m on the right side of history.”
A young man called the social experiment “stupid” and said, “You all should go home.”
Thankfully, some expressed their support for Cochva.
“I’m with your people and I thank you for being so brave and showing that,” a woman said.
When a U.S. airman inquired about Cochva’s perspective on Israel’s mandatory military service, she told him, “It’s the best thing ever. When I served my duty, I felt like I had a really big purpose.”
But the most frightening moment caught on video was when a young woman in a camouflage crop top and pants came looking for Cochva, saying, “I heard there was a Zionist here.”
“Lots of us,” a man could be heard saying.
“Yeah, all of us,” Cochva said, referring to the supporters around her.
The camo-clad woman produced a knife and then proceeded to pull it out from its sheath with her teeth.
“I work on a boat,” she said, and then proceeded to use profanity, referring to Cochva as a “little Zionist.”
Miss Israel and IDF soldier @noacochva took questions on the war in Gaza. Here’s what happened. pic.twitter.com/M6SPTS4bjy
— FactsForPeace (@Facts_For_Peace) May 7, 2024
At the end of the video, Cochva, clearly shaken and in tears, recorded her reaction to the ugliness she had faced.
“The amount of hate that people had to me today,” she said.
“I was just trying to have peaceful conversations with them, but it’s a whole different experience to witness something like that,” she said. “We can’t let things like this happen.”
This was not the first time Cochva had been attacked while attempting to advocate for her country in the United States.
According to the New York Post, in late March, the former Miss Israel attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square along with fellow Israel supporters.
Their presence carrying an Israeli flag angered the demonstrators, one of whom struck Cochva in the face with a placard, leaving her with a black eye.
Cochva said police officers on the scene were unwilling to make an arrest at the time, though she did later press charges, according to the Post.
“I feel like if you’re a police officer, and you see a woman get hit in the face, you should probably find the guy because that’s your job,” she said.
Israel’s beauty queen, Noa Cochva, was attacked by barbaric pro-Hamas protesters in New York, and needed medical treatment.
She said she simply wore her Star of David necklace, and they began getting violent and aggresive.
Fanatics, all of them. pic.twitter.com/U4gAngKjHG
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) March 31, 2024
Cochva has a right to talk about duty.
After the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, she put her culinary studies on hold and rejoined the IDF as a medic, serving just outside of Gaza, according to the Post.
She has treated dozens of IDF soldiers, talking to them to “help them to come back to life because their mind is still in Gaza.”
“Hi, I’m Noa Cochva. I am Miss Israel. Everybody knows a beauty queen’s goal in life is to achieve world peace,”
Miss Israel 2021 Noa Cochva called out Hamas for its atrocities and defended her country Israel from accusations it has oppressed Palestinians pic.twitter.com/N4OUH6vgns
— TheQuestion (@TheQuestion5150) November 3, 2023
It must be quite an experience for a wounded young man to be cared for by a beauty queen.
Cochva recalled an incident where a soldier woke up and asked, “Did I die and go to heaven? Because you’re an angel.”
However, her compassion is not restricted only to IDF soldiers.
The remarkable young woman shared with the Post that she has also cared for Hamas fighters.
“As a combat medic, you take an oath to swear to save every person’s life, no matter if he’s an enemy or a loved one,” Cochva said.
The juxtaposition is striking — a young woman who has given up so much for her country amid its existential struggles, still upholding the highest ethical principles by providing medical care to Hamas combatants.
Contrast this humanity with the hatred and sheer ignorance exhibited by the New Yorkers who likely can’t even find Gaza on a map and yet threatened, demonized and even assaulted her.
It just goes to show that you can find a reason to be compassionate in the worst of situations and a reason to hate without any provocation or reason at all.
Cochva and the woman in camo are the opposite sides of the spectrum of choices every one of us has to make every day — choose the path of humanity and understanding, or give in to prejudice and hate.
Which side we choose depends on us.
