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The protest movement to save Israeli democracy is now mobilizing to save Israel.

For the last 40 weeks, I have worked with UnXeptable communities around the globe to alert the world to the dangers of the judicial overhaul that is tearing apart the social fabric in Israel, and to spur action to halt the slide.

The horrific events of Oct. 7, including the slaughter of more than 1,200 people — comparable to 33,000 Americans as a percentage of population — required an immediate swerve in our activities as we make it clear that we have always been, first and foremost, patriots while opposing the assault on democratic institutions.

We have switched our tactics from protest to practical action to help in ways that will make a difference to the nation and to the people there.

Military reservists immediately returned to service, before being called, to protect the country from the savage enemy that attacked from Gaza.

In partnership with organizations in Israel and Jewish communities, the protest movement is deploying every human, organizational and technical asset that it has to support the war effort.

Dozens of groups have formed on the fly — for efforts as diverse as staffing mental health hotlines; acquiring needed gear for reserve soldiers; transportation to and within Israel; fundraising; garnering international support; public relations; information systems; support for the families of the killed, wounded, missing and kidnapped; support for the families of lone soldiers here in the United States; and more.

For one of our members, action includes flying to Israel on Oct. 11 to bring urgently needed items for soldiers: watches, batteries, headlamps, etc. Why watches? Most people use phones as watches these days, but phones are not taken into the battle zone for security reasons.

We take action, but we also recognize that we are experiencing collective trauma and are working to support each other in the Israeli and Jewish communities through gatherings, vigils, demonstrations of support and checking in on one another.

As the names of the murdered are released, we will be supporting each other in the wave of grief that is building.

Our highest priority is the approximately more than 150 hostages who have been kidnapped and brutalized and are being held by Hamas in Gaza. To that end, UnXeptable is organizing a Bring Them Home Rally on Friday, Oct. 13 at 12 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco.

For updated information on all our actions — including a plea for people with upcoming flights to Israel who can tote an extra bag with needed items — please check out “UnXeptable San Francisco Bay Area” on Facebook, or visit unxeptable.org/crisis.

How does an organization that two days earlier was so focused on saving Israeli democracy turn on a dime? It’s a logical question.

There are two answers.

The simple one is that we, as Israelis, must save our country from an attack for which there is nothing comparable since the Holocaust. Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said that Israel must pursue peace as if there is no terror, and fight terror as if there is no peace process.

And now we must fight Hamas as if there is no threat to democracy and pursue democracy as if there is no Hamas.

With that said, the two are not unrelated.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has weakened Israel’s institutions and torn its social fabric, and the catastrophic, multi-system failure that we see in Israel now is a direct result.

The failure and paralysis are ongoing, and many of the efforts that I referred to are needed because the government has failed.

As a simple example, volunteers from the protest movement are providing rides to staging areas because the transportation system is not operating as normal.

In the hours after the first shots were fired, the government — in its silence, in its absence, in its failure to mobilize a national response of every function and at every level — proved what we already know: It is unworthy.

Right now, we are joining our brothers and sisters in Israel around the clock to win the war against the terrorist organization Hamas, to return the hostages, and to support the victims and families.

When the time comes, we will hold the government accountable for their arrogance, for ignoring the defense establishment’s warnings, and for turning segments of Israeli society against each other.

We are thankful to have President Joe Biden in the United States providing immediate, crucial support to Israel in every way possible. Ultimately, through the actions of good and competent people, we will be victorious.