If you were to look at the itinerary we are following on our mission, today is a day you would know would challenge you in ways you could never imagine and exhaust you physically and emotionally. And after our almost 16 hours of non-stop activity we are all ready for a refreshing sleep. I am writing this blog the morning of the next day rather than the night before for two main reasons. One is I am exhausted from the day and needed to try to get some rest to prepare for what is to come. Second, there was so much emotion, so much information shared with us that I wanted to process more in order to share accurately with you the experience I am having here in Israel.
HOUR 1
Our day began early as we made our way to the Orient hotel where we would have a series of meetings. The first meeting was with Jacqui and Yaron Vital. These are two cousins of a dear friend of mine and Guild of Temple Musicians member Lindi Rivers, who is with us on this mission. We were there to learn of their story of October 7, a story filled with total heartbreak and despair, a story that includes the murder of their daughter and the kidnapping of their two young grandchildren who were later released.
First, let me say that once again, I am in awe of the strength of these people to share their story with us, a group of strangers. I hope they could feel us holding them close as they shared their experiences.
Jacqui shared her part of the story first.
The first thing Jacqui did was to introduce us to Adi, her dear daughter. We watched a short video they have prepared about Adi and her family, her husband Anani and their two young children, the youngest being 6 months old on October 7. They lived in Kibbutz Holit, in the Gaza envelope.
Please take a moment and look at her closely. Look at her eyes, and the life they hold. Jacqui wanted us to get to know Adi a bit and see who she truly was. Her name means “jewel” and it is clear that she was the jewel of the family. Hers is not a unique story. Each victim of October 7 has a story and is, in and of itself, a tragedy. It was an honor to learn how this devoted wife and mother lived her life, a life dedicated to the land and her family.
Jacqui shared that on October 7, she was not in Israel. She was in Canada on a long-awaited trip to visit family (Jacqui was born in Canada before making aliyah). On October 7, at about 6:30 am, like so many others, the sirens sounded and Adi and her two babies had only seconds to get into their safe room. Turns out Anani was not there, he had woken up early to take a nature hike with other men from the kibbutz. Hearing the sirens is not something new for this family, but it was clear pretty quickly that this day was different. As she heard the shots coming from the outside, she decided to get the m-16 rifle that was locked in the family safe. She called Anani to get a quick refresher course on how to use the rifle. As the terrorists entered her home, shots came through the safe room door (remember, a safe room was not designed to stop terrorists from coming in, it was only designed to protect the family from a rocket attack). Sensing the danger coming, Anani began shooting through the door out of the safe room and killed the first terrorist that was coming for the family. As more terrorists came into the house, it was clear they knew who was supposed to be inside and they fired more sand more rounds through the door, with bullets hitting Adi and killing her in front of her children. The terrorists then took both babies as hostages.
The terrorists went with the children to the next home and found the neighbor, who when asked, identified the two children as belonging to Adi and Anani. They kidnapped her and put her in charge of taking care of the boys. Then they took them towards Gaza preparing to enter a tunnel under the ground into Rafah. I am going to pause their story here in order to bring in Yaron and his experience being on the kibbutz on October 7.
Yaron was on Kibbutz Holit the morning of October 7. He was actually visiting Adi and her family for Simchat Torah. He was in the guest house when the sirens went off, and he, like so many others, made his way to the safe room to wait out what they thought was a typical rocket attack from Gaza. When it was clear what was really happening, he called Adi and said he was going to come to her. She told him not to, actually she DEMANDED he not come and stay in the safe room in the guest house. He is convinced his daughter, in this last demand she would make of him, saved his life. He would spend the next 11 hours in this safe room wondering what was happening around him.
Turns out Hamas had detailed maps of the kibbutzim. They knew who lived where and where they would find people. The guest house was marked as a vacant space so no terrorist went into that room.
When the IDF came to rescue him, they were going home to home to make sure there were no terrorists left on the kibbutz and looking for survivors and victims. They took Yaron with them as they continued their work, entering Adi’s home. When they went in there was a body in the kitchen, turns out this was the terrorist Adi killed. Yaron saw the safe room and saw that it was riddled with bullets, but no sign of Adi and the boys. Later he had learned that 15 members of the kibbutz were killed around him.
We then learned that as the kidnapped children were getting closer to the tunnel that would take them to Gaza, the older boy was really scared and complaining. At this point, for one reason or another, the terrorists released the two boys and the neighbor who was taking care of them. There is a video of them turning around and starting to walk back towards home that was shared by Hamas.
It was three days before they knew the fate of Adi. On the third day the soldiers entered the safe room through the window where they could see Adi’s body under blankets. Hamas placed grenades on the door of the safe room and on Adi’s body, in the hopes of killing more Israelis after the attack.
Jacqui shared that those three days of waiting (they knew the boys were ok) were the hardest of her life. Imagine not knowing the fate of your child? It is unthinkable. When she was found, the pain that had developed in her neck subsided and the family, especially Anani, Adi’s husband expressed relief that she was found. They did not have to look for her. They did not have to wonder what happened to her.
Relief that she was murdered.
Those words stung all of us listening. I cannot imagine a reality where this would be a relief. They were able to have a funeral and burial for Adi, and now they try to heal from the un-heal-able.
Jacqui ended her presentation by asking us to be outspoken in telling Adi’s story. That this was just one of more than 1200 that need to be told. It was not enough for us to hear it. We need to share Adi with all of you.
We ended this session by offering a Mi Sheberiach for healing for Jacqui and Yaron. When words fail, the power of music can provide some healing.
And this was the first hour of our morning.
HOUR 2
Our second meeting was with Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, an expert on international law, human rights, and feminist theories. She established and heads The Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children. She and her team work to document every piece of information regarding cases of abuse to present to the international community.
It is important to note that the commission is not a government commission. It holds no political party and has no political bias. It is simply an archive of crimes committed against victims that deserve justice.
On October 7, Cochav was with her dad, who was ill and in the hospital. As details began to come in she was shocked at what was happening in her homeland, just an hour from where she was. She shared that, as a people, Israelis lost a sense of basic security after this attack. She said they now live in existential fear. Where will she hide her young children?
She talked about her surprise at the international response, not demanding the immediate release of the many hostages taken on October 7. Hamas documented their own attacks with video, why was this being denied? She said many human rights organizations are not even reporting on October 7, and she felt like she needed to do something about it. She decided to create a detailed report of what happened. She sent her report to every UN agency she could. More than 180 law professors signed the report.
There was no response.
She sent it again and again. From different email addresses and organizations.
There was no response.
There was not even an acknowledgement of receiving the report. No “What can I do?”
Please let that sink in. Hamas infiltrated Israel and attacked civilians. They did unthinkable things to them. They filmed it. They posted it. They took civilian hostages, women, children, elderly, people who are ill. How can there be no response? Their silence is deafening. In their silence they dehumanized us. Her voice breaks while she is saying this…. They demonized Israelis. As someone who has devoted her life to human rights, How. Can. This. Happen.
The silence is antisemitism.
Eventually, she was invited to speak about these crimes against women and children to the most important committee for women’s rights. Before her speech the committee released a statement that never even mentioned October 7.
Devastating.
Isn’t the taking of civilian hostages a crime against humanity? Isn’t there international law to protect women? It was as if the international community does not see Jews as human beings.
Cochav and her commission set up an archive to collect all of the evidence of these crimes. Images and videos. She was able to go to the White House and they put out a statement condemning the attack and crimes of October 7. This opened the door for her to start meeting with many groups and creating moral allies, outside of the UN.
In the archive, she shared that the most devastating videos are when families are together (remember this is footage often from the terrorists) and the children are crying and screaming as they watch the death of their parents. Unthinkable.
This is the weaponization of families. This is a new type of crimes against humanity. Parents witnessing the murder of their children. Children witnessing the murder of their parents.
It is called Kinocide.
Why is the world not crying out?
At this moment, she looked at Jacqui who was still with us and apologized to her because she knows that her grandchildren witnessed the murder of their mother, her daughter Adi.
She asks us to be with her and her commission, to hold them in our thoughts and prayers.
She shared some hopeful information. Germany has given strong support for the building of the archive and there are others getting involved. She is speaking to many influencers who can impact their millions of followers. She has a Muslim leader who is a moral ally and will impact millions. They are telling the truth.
By the way, Hamas is circulating her photo and telling everyone that she is spreading lies about October 7.
We offered her a healing prayer as well.
And that was hour 2.
HOUR 3
Our next session was with Mohammed Darawshe, a leading political analyst and expert on Jewish-Arab relations inside Israel. He is the Director of Strategy for the Center for Shared Society at Givat Haviva. This was a fascinating look at the Arab and Jewish relationship historically and currently. Mohammad shared so much information with us, I had a hard time keeping up with my notes. I will do my best to represent at least some of what he said, because it was eye-opening in so many ways.
He shared that Arabs make up 17% of the population in Israel, and that East Jerusalem has another 4% but they do not consider themselves as citizens of Israel. That is an interesting statement. Is the decision theirs or Israels? His statement certainly makes me believe it is. I will have to research this some more.
Mohammad’s family has lived in Israel for 27 generations, for 800 years his family has built a life in Israel. He said that most Arabs who were here when the Declaration of Independence was created considered themselves as Palestinian Israelis. He said that they never quite transitioned from being Palestinians and becoming Israelis. The Declaration of Independence said the children of the Arab nation should stay and be part of the state of Israel, which is exactly what his family did. They stayed on their land that they have cultivated for 800 years.
He spoke about political and social equality for Arabs in Israel. He said that Arab citizens enjoyed equality politically until 2009 when Netanyahu came to power. Since that time, he was sad to say that the status of the Arab Israeli has diminished. For example the Nation State Law of 2018 says that Israel is a Jewish state and not a state for Israelis, in other words, not for Arabs. He shared that since 2009 there halve been 28 laws passed to diminish the status of Arabs.
Socially, there are more and more islands of integration between Jewish and Arab Israelis. For example, in hospitals 24% of the doctors are Arab Israelis, and 44% of the nurses are Arab Israelis, a win win for both Jews and Arabs. Jews need the services and Arabs need good jobs.
Mohammad explained that our goal should be to go beyond coexistence to get to discussing the real issues. The fact is Jews and Arabs live separately in Israel, and their views are vastly different from each other. 88% of Arabs believe that there needs to be a Palestinian state. The number of Jews who think this is much less.
Going beyond coexistence means having these difficult discussions about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. However, the problem with a debate such as this is that both sides have proof and truth. For example, we as Jews think that Abraham went up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac. He believes it was not Isaac, it was Ishmael. The best case is that we can agree to disagree. The worst case is this can turn into violence. And the risk is the end of the conversation is “I used to hate Arabs and now I know why” or “I used to hate Jews and now I know why.”
He gave an example of this on Israeli university campuses, where 20% of the students are Arabs (this is a huge number and a huge increase). Many of the Arab students think the war needs to end and many of the Jewish students are fighting in Gaza. This is a conflict of narrative, and not just historical.
We have seen positive examples of going beyond coexistence in Israeli schools. Most schools are still segregated (where Jewish students attend one school and Arab students attend another). Of the 5000 schools in Israel, only 8 are integrated. Mohammed started an initiative in 2005 where he would take Israeli students and have an Arab teacher teach them and have a Jewish teacher teach Arab children. It started with only 6 teachers and now, 2500 teachers are brought in to teach children who are different from them. This idea of being taught by the “other” is having dramatic effects on the children who are learning that the “other” is human.
There is another initiative that has students teaching other students. In other words, Arab children teach Jewish children Arabic and Jewish children teach Arab children Hebrew, and they learn history together from both perspectives.
He went on to discuss the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Mohammed said that the October 7 attack made Arab Israelis have to choose sides. 85% opposed the attack while only 3% supported it. Even more surprising and encouraging is that 75% said that the attack has increased their “Israelness.” They feel more Israeli.
36 Arabs died on October 7 while fighting for Israel. Mohammed shared that his cousin was a paramedic and was at the Nova party and was killed while treating victims with bandages still in his hands. 35 other Arabs died in similar ways and these stories have actually helped Arab Jewish relations. The Arab community has said in a clear voice “not in our name as Muslims.” People began to distance themselves from Hamas because this was the first time that we faced these atrocities together at the same time. Hamas has said to Arabs in Israel to pick up a knife and kill the first Jew you see and this is not happening.
While there is still a long way to go, it was nice to see there was some real progress and hope.
And that was our third hour.
Hour 4 - 6
We had a much needed break and then made our way to the Sam Siegel Film School, the premiere film school in Israel.
The school has been around for 35 years and our presenter said that Israeli cultural and artistic activities are more important now than ever. The music and films represent how Israelis are feeling, and that creating and writing creates hope. Graduates of this film school tend to make up the majority of the Israeli film industry. We then got to screen a short film by Noa, who is a graduate of the school and now works in the film industry.
We learned from Noa after watching her films that is it difficult for Israeli filmmakers to get films into international film festivals because of the nuisance it causes. Many require security and other special things, and if a festival has a choice between an Israeli film and another on, they tend to stay away from the Israeli film.
We learned that all of the student films from the Sam Spiegel Film School are distributed worldwide.
HOUR 7
We got to spend some free time having lunch in the Shuk. This was my first chance to get my favorite Israeli falafel.
HOUR 9 -11
As if this day wasn’t full enough already, next we had the honor of going to the Knesset for a private meeting with MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who was the former CEO of the IMPJ, the reform movement in Israel and who has brought our values to the Labor Party in the Israeli government.
If I thought Mohammed had a lot to share with us, Rabbi Kariv was with us for more than 90 minutes briefing us on all elements of the situation in Israel, namely the conflict with Gaza and beyond and the issues the Israeli government faces. I did my best to take accurate notes to share with you.
The first thing he did was to thank us for being there and for our sustained support. We were proud to be one of the largest groups of Jewish leaders he has met with over the last nine months. He says that during this difficult time, many Israelis have felt the global Jewish support, and that means a lot to them. He also said that he feels the support of the Reform Movement in all elements of Israeli politics. He believes that the average Israeli in the last nine months has been shown the support of diaspora Judaism. He wants us to double our efforts to strengthen our relationship between Israeli and North American Jewry. He asked us specifically to bring back this message to our congregations:
Many, many Israelis see us.
They are aware of the challenges we are facing in America surrounding what is happening in Israel.
We then went in and discussed October 7 in detail. He began by saying that at the beginning many people were comparing this war to the failures of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He does not think this is a good comparison, Rather, he sees this current war more linked to the 1948 war for Israel’s Independence. He explained that this is because the end goals of the conflicts are the same - in 1948 and in 2023-24 our adversaries are seeking the total destruction of Israel. This is not the first time we have heard that Israel is facing an existential threat, and it will not be the last time either.
He also sees the conflict coming at a time when normalized relations with the moderate Arab state of Saudi Arabia was almost realized. This has nothing to do with a two-state solution. He also began to explain the larger picture in Israel, saying the war is being fought on 6 fronts. He mentioned Gaza, of course, and then spent some time on the northern front and the conflict with Hezbollah. They are trying very hard to keep this from blowing up into a full scale war. Lebanon is a sovereign state, and with their attacks on Israel that began on October 7, there are 100,000 Israeli refugees who have had to flee their homes seeking safety. He mentioned Yemen firing ballistic missiles at Israel. He says the border of Iraq and Syria are launching daily attacks, and there have been attacks by Syria. He reiterated that Israel faces an existential moment. The war is being used by Iran and its allies to accelerate their plan to erase Israel. Then he asked us a difficult question?
What happens when Iran gets a nuclear weapon?
He also spoke of the quiet alliance between Russia, China and Iran. He is concerned that our communities in North America do not know this, or do not truly understand the threat Israel faces.
He shared that at the same time, as a sovereign nation you have the ability to impact your reality. Zionism is Jews taking responsibility over our own reality. We need to build a strong alliance with more moderate forces in the region, to make a distinction between more moderate Palestinian players and those who want our destruction. We need to build a strong international coalition to face this real existential threat coming from the pro Iranian alliance. We need moderate Arab help and he believes that we need to reopen the political process with the Palestinian Authority. This will be another theme we hear again.
He spoke briefly about the “Judiciary coup” and the fact that after October 7, there was an honest feeling that each camp in the political debate would put aside their differences and focus on the war. He says that now we are in a different situation, and we need to face the political issues head on. Here, he reiterated how important North American Liberal Jewry plays in Israeli politics. They need our support now as they try to defend the liberal core values of a western democracy. He is feeling more optimistic because he sees what is happening in the streets of Israel, where tens of thousands of people have gone back to protesting in the streets to make their voices heard. I was proud to participate in one of these protests during this mission - demanding the release of the hostages.
He mentioned more than once his feelings about Netanyahu and his concern for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He said we need to end the war today for a few reasons. First and foremost, to bring the hostages home. Second because there is no real plan he sees to maintain the attack and third, he sees the terrible suffering in Gaza.
He did give some sparks of light. One was the night, April 13, when Iran launched an unprecedented attack directly on Israel by firing missiles at Israel. He spoke about how grateful they were for the support of Jordan who shot down some of the incoming missiles.
He also spoke of how grateful he and Israel is for the support of the Biden administration. Without President Biden Israel’s strategic position would be much more difficult.
Towards the end of the session, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, came in to greet us and join in the final minutes of our meeting. Rabbi Kariv was outspoken in his gratitude to Rabbi Jacobs who has been a strong ally for him not just throughout this conflict, but at all times. It was a powerful moment when a leader in Israeli government recognized the importance of Reform Judaism.
Following his detailed presentation he took questions from our group before having to go into a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We offered him a prayer for peace and sang Shalom Rav.
As we were leaving the Knesset, we stopped to look into a window into the main government room where Israel conducts her business.
I know it is hard to see, but if you look closely, the politicians are directly face to face with the hostages, a permanent reminder that they have work to do.
As we left the government grounds I was able to get this photo of me with the famous menorah in front of the Knesset.
HOUR 12-15
Our final stop on this day was an amazing place called Feel Beit, which is an Israeli and Palestinian collective space that creates art of all genres. Here they invite participants to try to create art that promotes peace. We met Karen and Riman.
Karen is Jewish and Riman is Palestinian from East Jerusalem (although she joked that she looks Jewish). After years of working together the organization is now half Palestinian and so is the audience. This does not exist in other places. Here, they discuss diversity and it is very honest. In other words, people have license to be offensive to others and it is ok. They can hear something that they don’t like and deal with it. Total freedom of expression is in the fabric of this place (and in the core of the artists who participate). Through their work together, they have built a home and a trust with the other, and they create terrific art. Real work with real relationships.
Riman spoke about October 7 and the experience of the Palestinians in the organization. They had never witnessed anything like this before. Riman shared that she lost people on both sides of the border, an issue I had never considered before. She said that she and Karen exchanged WhatsApp messages where they heard the pain of each other. They shared that they cannot unlearn what they have already learned from each other and they got through this and the trust they built was not broken. Though they saw things differently, their newsfeeds showed them different news, they stood and continue to stand with each other. What an inspiring and beautiful relationship.
They held weekly lunches where they invited Israelis and Palestinians to join together, giving these people space to process their emotions.
Karen shared how important it was to her that Riman would check on her.
In December they decided to invite audiences back to the space with “No Words.” Every Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian artists are invited to share some art. Little by little audiences started coming back. They are trying to preserve the bridge for the day after, a sacred mission.
We had a meaningful Tefilah session that was extra special because we were praying in such an inspiring space.
During the service the rabbi handed out slips of paper with the names of the hostages on it. He asked for us to recite the names as a part of the prayer for the hostages that they have been doing in Israel since the war started. Here is the paper I had with two names on it. I do hope they can feel our prayers for them and our hopes for their safe return home.
Following the service we had a delicious dinner and then were treated to a sample of the art created for their No Words program.
While this day was incredibly long, the programming was terrific and important for us to experience. I am finding this mission so meaningful and I cannot wait to share more with you. Tomorrow, we head south to the otef, the Gaza envelope. I am anxious about the visit, but recognize that these steps are important for me to walk.
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