I first encountered Sammy Yahood through an Instagram reel. He walked, or more accurately, defiantly swaggered through Camden Town, London, holding the British and Israeli flags high above his head with pride, yelling out: “We are not afraid of Islamist terrorists! We are not afraid of Hamas and Hezbollah! We are not afraid of ISIS! We (Israel) will live forever! Stand up for freedom!”

Eventually, he provoked a few “cowards” (his words) and got into a scuffle, using self-defense tactics. He seemingly had the courage of an army of thousands, but in reality, he was one lone soldier, outnumbered by Jew-haters.

Continuing to scroll, every reel put me on edge – he confronted radical Islamists at Speakers’ Corner, woke up a pro-Palestinian encampment in the middle of the night with Israeli music, and challenged ignorant protestors with questions.

I was genuinely scared for his life: “Who is this, and how can I get what he has?” I wondered, always on the search for personal examples of courage. From then...

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