FAIR LAWN, N.J. — On Oct. 7, 2023, Adi Vaxman was sitting in her Fair Lawn living room when a desperate message came in from a friend hiding in a safe room in Kfar Aza.

“They’re here. They’re inside my house.”

Three years later, that moment has become the unlikely starting point for a multimillion-dollar Israel aid operation.

A Wednesday profile by The Bergen Record tells the story of how Vaxman turned the helplessness she felt that day into Operation Israel, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that says it has raised more than $11.7 million and delivered more than 181,000 pieces of equipment to Israeli soldiers and first responders.

The effort began with Vaxman putting $162,000 on her personal credit cards to buy protective vests for Israeli soldiers and first responders.

“I had no idea how I was going to pay it off,” she told The Record.

Vaxman, who grew up in Israel and previously served as a paramedic there, had family and friends caught in the attack, including an 18-year-old stepdaughter serving as an Israeli soldier.

The organization has since grown far beyond that first emergency purchase, supplying protective equipment and other lifesaving support.

But the Oct. 7 trauma has followed Vaxman home.

The Record profile also details attacks she says she and her daughter experienced in New Jersey after protesters targeted them over their support for Israel.

“I don’t think you can ever get back to normal,” Vaxman said.

Head over to NorthJersey.com to read The Bergen Record’s full profile for the story of how one Fair Lawn woman turned the helplessness of Oct. 7 into an $11.7 million lifeline for Israelis.