LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — An Israeli-born man who lives in Lexington and recently returned after weeks fighting Hamas in the West Bank spoke at a Hanukkah Menorah lighting in Triangle Park on Saturday night.
Sahar Turovsky is a Lexington business owner. Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, whose Chabad of the Bluegrass organized the event.
"I said 'no way I can stay here and not do anything,' I was thinking about it all day long," Turovsky said. "I've lost 5 good friends of mine - a few of them in horrible ways."
Chabad of the Bluegrass also paid for his flight to Israel.
"It's meant a lot to me," Turovsky tells LEX 18. "I'm a combat medic, my military profession; I just know I need to be there for my guys."
When asked about the calls for a ceasefire that have grown in the United States and the criticism Israel has received, Turovsky explained a ceasefire would give Hamas more time to acquire weapons - leading to another October 7th-style attack inside Israel.
"And then we'll need to attack there again, so if you really care about Palestinian lives, let them finish with Hamas now because if Hamas stays in control, this will faintly happen again, and more Israelis and more Palestinians will suffer from it," Turovsky said. "So if you really care about Palestinian lives, the last thing you want is a ceasefire right now."
He said the experience has taught him to appreciate life and that everything has meaning.
Turovsky said what has allowed him to return to the U.S. is that the war hasn't expanded to new fronts. Early on, he had been concerned that Hezbollah in Lebanon could have joined the war.
