Report from Israel

 On Wednesday my family and I (all 6 of us!) participated in a JNF day long mission to the south of Israel. 

We started our day at Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak. The kibbutz was established on December 9, 1949 along with 10 other settlements. The State of Israel had been established a year and a half earlier and it was viewed as a priority to develop the south of the nascent state in order to help strengthen the Jewish hold on the land (some things never change). The kibbutz produces cucumbers, baby carrots, potatoes and citrus as well as dairy in the cowshed on site. When I get back, ask me about the amazing story of the cows of Nir Yitzchak.

On 7 October 2023, the Hamas Nuseirat Battalion attacked the kibbutz. Two civilian members of the kibbutz's security team including its leader, and one IDF soldier, were known to have been killed on the day of the attack. Four other team members who were originally noted as missing and presumed abducted, were subsequently also identified as being killed on that day. This includes two whose bodies were taken to Gaza.

Seven civilian residents were taken hostage. Two elderly hostages were released before crossing into Gaza. Three were released during the 2023 hostage release. The final two were freed by the IDF in a targeted mission during Rafah offensive.

Half of the residents of Nir Yitzchak have returned home. The other half, consisting of many if the families with young children, have not yet returned. It’s difficult to live in Nir Yitzchak today. The war is ongoing in Gaza. We heard a few tank  booms while we were there, and we were told that it’s much worse at night. 

I spoke with the recently elected leader of the Nir Yitzchak community council. She told me that her mission now is to create “a new energy” and to make the kibbutz a place where current residents feel supported and want to return. She is also focused on doing what is needed to prepare the kibbutz for an expansion of families in the future. I told the the council leader that bringing people back to Nir Yitzchak is important not just for the kibbutz, but for the State of Israel and for the Zionist vision of settling the entire Jewish homeland.

We then visited the Tekuma car graveyard where we saw over 400 burnt cars completely  destroyed by terrorists on October 7 plus hundreds of others that were badly damaged. What was previously a junkyard is now a national pilgrimage site of commemoration and reflection. 

Each car has a story- a story of tragedy or heroism or both. Our tour guide mentioned that this site has similarities to Holocaust related sites in Poland. Each car at Tekuma has a story just like each pair of shoes at Auschwitz has a story. At Nir Yitzchak a  kibbutz spokeswoman noted that the trauma of October 7 has similarities to the trauma of the Holocaust. However after the Holocaust almost no one went back to the scene of the trauma. The healing took place elsewhere - especially in the newly established State of Israel. The healing from October 7 will somehow have to take place at the scenes of the original trauma. Some residents won’t be able to return to their homes. But Am Yisrael as a whole has no choice. Unlike Poland, Israel is the final stop for Jewish history and for the Jewish People. We all  must do what we can, whether in Israel or in Hollywood, to heal from this trauma, to persevere, and to build a bright and strong Jewish future.