The solidarity mission to Israel, led by Rabbi Adina Lewittes, began this weekend. The group has already arrived in Israel and commenced their journey. We will be sharing their experiences throughout the trip with you.
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.
Hevre/Friends,
Entering the Gaza Envelope, our hearts began to beat faster as our bus traversed the landscape where the massacre of October 7 took place. Along Route 232 we passed kibbutzim that had been overrun, drove over scars in the road where burnt cars seared their tragic stories into the pavement, saw missile shelters where people tried to hide before being ambushed by terrorists, and even beheld audacious colourful flowers and wheat blooming with new life along the roadway, daring to defy the murderous atrocities that took place around them; life pushing through death.
Hevre/Friends,
On Day 1 in Tel Aviv we met Ronen Avisrul, a longtime resident of Netiv Ha’asarah, a moshav less than one kilometer from the Gaza border which is now being occupied by the army. He shared his harrowing story from October 7 and his ongoing trauma which has prevented him from returning to his home, literally. His body refuses to go, he explained. This morning we went, and we carried Ronen with us in our hearts. There we met with two soldiers who were first responders to the brutal attacks at Netiv Ha’asarah, one of whom lived there with his family; his wife is the head of the moshav. Their stories were unvarnished and shocking and revealed many new insights for us.
Hevre/Friends,
Our final day began with a breakfast briefing from Andi’s colleague, Andrea Arbel, the Executive Director of Sifriyat Pijama and Maktabat al-Fanoos (PJ Library in Hebrew and Arabic) of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation here in Israel. She gave us a riveting description of how they’ve been able to pivot after October 7 and throughout the war to provide literary and online resources to support Israeli Jewish families when they were sequestered at home and to those evacuated, as well as to Arab families with young children. They are creatively using the power of storytelling to build character, strengthen community, and promote the values of a just and peaceful society.