Comeback Nation

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the international bestselling author of thirty-eight books, translated into over twenty languages. A prominent public intellectual and one of Israel’s most outspoken defenders, he has been described by the Washington Post and Newsweek as “the most famous rabbi in America,” by the New York Observer as “the most famous Orthodox Jew in the world,” and by The Jerusalem Post as one of the fifty most influential Jews on earth. He served for eleven years as Rabbi at Oxford University, where he built the second largest student organization in Oxford’s history and mentored many current world leaders. A skilled debater for Israel, he remains the only Rabbi to have ever won the London Times Preacher of the Year Award, of which he is also the world record-holder. He lives in New Jersey with his Australian wife, Debbie, and together they have nine children.Mendy Boteach is the chief English speechwriter to the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset. A student of history at Hebrew University and NYU, he received his Rabbinical ordination in Pretoria, South Africa. As a soldier in an elite combat unit of the IDF reserves, he fought in Gaza and Lebanon. He serves as a political and media advisor to many of Israel’s leaders and worked as a lead researcher for American Senate campaigns. At NYU, he spearheaded massive student campaigns for Israel that serve as a model for pro-Israel campaigns on campuses all over the United States. He lives in Jerusalem and is Rabbi Shmuley’s eldest son.

“The father-son team captures Israel's dramatic turnaround in a way that is both insightful and consistently thrilling.”—Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana“History is filled with comeback stories, mine included, but few are as powerful or as necessary as the one unfolding before our eyes in Israel. In Comeback Nation, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Mendy Boteach capture the courage, faith, and unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people with urgency and passion. This book is a thought-provoking story about survival, faith, and the power of never giving up. As both a filmmaker and a proud Jew, I found it deeply moving and profoundly important.”—Brett Ratner, director and producer of Melania“In the aftermath of October 7, Israel faced the greatest threat in its modern history, a coordinated assault across multiple fronts designed to destroy the Jewish state. Comeback Nation tells the story of how Israel regrouped, mobilized its people, and fought back against enemies on every border. It is a gripping account of resilience, courage, and a nation that refused to fall.”—Doron Spielman, International Spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces and author of When the Stones Speak“In the early hours of October 7th, 2023, my beautiful daughter Shani, who lived vibrantly through dance and song, because the symbol of Hamas savagery and Islamist butchery when the image of her murder became an instant global icon. Today, Shani's love of life is a symbol of Israel's collective and eternal fight to survive and is beautifully captured in the words ‘we will dance again.’ My brothers Rabbi Shmuley and Mendy Boteach, who have become family to me, have now written this thrilling book of how Israel roared like a liion after the Nova Festival massacre through its brave IDF soldiers and fighters, among which are my own courageous children. This book will be an instant classic as it chronicles a tiny nation's battle for survival against impossible odds and its miraculous victory against the savagery of Iran and its proxies. Just as artists like Shani are a symbol of Israel's passion to always ‘choose life,’ the IDF are the avatars of the ancient promise, articulated by the warrior-King, David, ‘I shall not die for I shall live.’ There is nothing harder for a parent to bury a child. Ricarda and I find comfort and solace in knowing that our child is now the living embodiment of the eternal promise and proclamation, ‘Am Yisrael Chai.’”—Nissim Louk, the father of Shani Louk, who was murdered and abducted from the Nova Festival