Lilia Gaufberg, at The Blogs

Lilia Gaufberg

Associate Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)

May 23, 2026, 9:25 AM

"There should be more flowers." I was standing outside the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21, 2026, having just sent my friend Katie a picture of the stone outside bearing the names and photographs of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky,...

May 22, 2025, 8:22 PM

They Came for Peace. Hate Was Waiting Outside.

Photo courtesy of: X / Embassy of Israel to the USA / @IsraelinUSA

Last night’s gathering at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC was about peace. @IsraelinUSA / X My friend Jojo Kalin was one of the organizers, and my friends and I came to support her. Jojo is the kind of person whose...

Feb 23, 2025, 10:05 PM

When innocence is murdered

Credit: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kfir and Ariel Bibas signify far more than the loss of two innocent lives. Since it was revealed that these young brothers from Israel’s Kibbutz Nir Oz were executed at the hands of terrorists who then mutilated their bodies...

Oct 4, 2024, 5:59 PM

October 7th crushed us into diamonds

On October 13th, 2023, I boarded a flight from Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport to Athens—the fourth flight I’d booked in a matter of days, the only one that hadn’t been canceled, to one of the few destinations to which...

Sep 3, 2024, 8:39 PM

A song for the hostages

A few hours before the news broke of Hersh’s murder, my sister Eva and I recorded a raw take of a song that I had written some time ago about the hostages. We had planned to revisit it later...

Feb 5, 2024, 7:36 AM

UNRWA: Your child abuse must stop

As a former elementary school teacher and a human being, my heart breaks for the children of Gaza. Picture a 5-year-old eagerly skipping to school, still navigating the intricacies of being in the world. In those formative years, curiosity knows...

Nov 15, 2023, 8:16 PM

A letter to a ‘pro-Palestinian protester’

Dear 'pro-Palestinian protester,' How we rallied for Israel in DC says everything you need to know about who is on the side of justice, freedom, and human rights…and who is not. Our gathering for Israel in DC was one of unity,...

Aug 7, 2022, 8:25 PM

‘Us’ versus ‘them’

Hundreds of rockets fired by Gaza-based terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad are currently raining down on Israeli civilian communities, leaving many Israelis with no choice but to huddle in bomb shelters for days on end. Sirens, red alerts, big...

Mar 14, 2022, 2:53 PM

A letter to Jewish college students in the States

Jewish college students in the States: even in your silencing, your erasure, I see you, I hear you, I feel you. You, who are constantly being slapped in the face with Israel’s narrative flipped on its head through accusations of...

Sep 5, 2018, 12:03 AM

I Love Peace and Freedom. That Is Why I Am Joining the Israeli Defense Forces.

Often, when I tell people in the United States that I am going to join the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a lone soldier, they are stunned and speechless. Through years of experience, I have become familiar with the...

About Me

Lilia Gaufberg serves as the associate director for digital content at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-profit, non-partisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. All ideas expressed on this blog are reflective of her personal opinions, perspectives, and experiences.

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