Hevre/Friends,
We landed tired but exhilarated. We were back in Israel, an Israel we knew we’d have to get to know all over again. After heartfelt introductions between members of our group who arrived from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and New York, and after meeting our guide, Yishai, we enjoyed a nice dinner and talked and sang ourselves into a community.
On Monday, our first day together began with Ronen Avisrul, an October 7 survivor from Moshav Nativ Ha’asarah. With his humble grace, Ronen recounted his harrowing story of being separated from his wife and children while hiding in another part of the moshav throughout 12 hours of the terrorist invasion. Twenty-one of his neighbors and friends were murdered that day. He shared how the Saturday massacre has stolen any sense of Shabbat peace as each Saturday has become a reminder of that dark day. He spoke of the different ways he’s trying to cope with lingering fear and pain – physical and psychological. He spoke of how as a parent he’s trying to support his traumatized children. A photographer, he showed us terrifying pictures he was able to take of the terrorists paragliding into the moshav. A broken but hopeful man, Ronen touched us with his unvarnished, yet thoughtful reflections on how his life has been completely transformed, and how he has no choice but to figure out how to begin again.
We left Ronen and joined forces with the Jaffa Institute to deliver food to at-risk families in some of Tel Aviv’s depressed neighborhoods. Since 1982, the Institute has been providing social, educational and nutritional support to help break the cycle of poverty here. Few realize that almost 20% of Israelis live in poverty. In the wake of October 7 they have expanded their services, their client list has grown, and they’ve needed greater volunteer assistance as many have been called to serve in the war.
Following our own lunch in Sarona, we spent an inspiring hour with two leaders of an organization called Soldiers Save Lives, founded by a group of young soldiers in their mid-20s to memorialize their best friend who was murdered at the Nova Music Festival on October 7. Unable to just accept the death of their friend, they felt they had to “do something”. Starting on October 8, by word of mouth, they started collecting much-needed gear for soldiers in the IDF donated by supporters in North America. Five months later, they’ve raised and delivered tens of millions of dollars of equipment to the army, and are using their growing international platform to help restore and strengthen Jewish pride and confidence among youth throughout the world. Apart from their amazing ability to “not just do something but to get it done”, their vision is no less inspiring. As COO Ike Bodner shared, “This [war] is not between Jews and Arabs. This is between people who are committed to living lives of goodness and purpose, and those who are committed to hatred and violence. Anyone who is devoted to building a world of peace and fellowship is on our team, no matter their nationality, their religion, or their color.”
We ended our day at Kikar Hachatufim, Hostage Square, where the families and friends of those in captivity have set up tents and booths to maintain focus on the plight of their loved ones held in Gaza. We visited with them, spoke about their ongoing nightmare of trying to bring the hostages home, and tried to offer love and support. Before leaving to return to our hotel, we gathered to recite the prayer for the release of the captives and to sing Hatikvah.
Our day was filled with the tragic alchemy of agonizing brokenness, immense pride, hope and optimism borne of loss, and also an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and despair. Singing Hatikvah together, we ended it on a note of hope, as we always do. We have no other choice.
Back in our hotel in Old Yafo while preparing for dinner we heard the distinctive muezzin’s call to sunset prayer from the mosque a few streets away, a reminder of how intertwined and complex life is here. And now, as I drift off to sleep in anticipation of our day down south that awaits, a day of working in the fields and hosting dinner for soldiers and their families, I dream a fitful dream of peace, and its heartbreaking path that endlessly beckons.
Dini