Loss of a Lion

By Mike Barenti

Dave Nielsen, one of Inland Empire for Israel’s founding members, passed away from a heart attack near his home in Newman Lake in early February.

In 2012, a local left-wing anti-Israel hate group was demonstrating against Israeli efforts to defend against Hamas terror attacks from Gaza and for whatever reason I decided somebody needed to counter their lies. Dave was one of the three or four people who turned out to help.

We really had no idea what we were getting into that night when we went to stand on that downtown street corner. Almost immediately one of the protesters came up to us, called us Zionist scum, and tried to grab the Israeli flags from our little group. (If any of you heard Dave and I call each other Zionist scum, that’s where it started.) I yelled “don’t hit him,” over and over as I tried to call 911 on my flip phone. Dave was ready to knock heads, which was enough to scare the Jew hater off.

That was Dave. He was always ready to fight for Israel and against antisemitism. He has done more for Israel and Jews than anyone else in the area. But he wanted to keep what he did out of the spotlight and I respect that. Just know that we couldn’t have responded to October 7 as effectively and Inland Empire for Israel wouldn’t exist without the work Dave put in over the years.

Dave’s son and daughter are making private arrangements for their father.