So many good boys… This week we attended the funeral of Sgt. First Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin. He was 28 years old. His family lives one road above mine. Everyone’s heart broke seeing Ben’s mother walking behind his coffin, moaning: “Ben, Ben. My son.” She described telling him: “You served so many days in this … More So many good boys…
The 2024 Eurovision contest took place less than half a year after the October 7th invasion of Israel. Reeling from the day Gaza brought the Holocaust to the Jewish State it was natural to submit a song that referenced the recent national trauma. The Eurovision committee declared the entry political, and rejected it. Because being … More Israel’s message on the Eurovision stage
The families came quietly, unsure of what to expect. Their eyes widened in astonishment, seeing how many people they had never met had come together, just to say: You are not alone. We were attending an unveiling ceremony for a memorial built to honor their children: Capt. Sahar Saudian, Sgt. Binyamin Gavriel Yonah, and Sgt. Nativ Kuzaro, … More Unveiling a Memorial, Discovering Hope
Healing from trauma is complicated. Any trauma. Bereavement, injury, sexual assault, survivor’s guilt, the shattering of long-held ideals that shaped our understanding of reality… Any of these alone is an extreme challenge to address, much less heal. The October 7th invasion and the subsequent war wove all of these traumas into complex layers, interwoven, widespread, … More How do we heal from the trauma of this war?
A new wall has appeared along the highway near Israel’s southern town of Sderot. Since the war began, the train has been forced to take a long detour to reach Sderot because this stretch of track is visible from Gaza—leaving it vulnerable to anti-tank missiles. Now, a wall stands to block the view, ensuring that … More Another Wall? Have You Lost Your Mind?!
In Kibbutz Gvulot we helped harvest red grapefruits. The fruit is designated for industrial use, meaning it will be used for juice, jam, and other products. Each generation has defining moments that give rise to the questions: “Where were you when…?” and “What was it like when…?” In America, for my mother’s generation, it was … More “Because here, I feel at home”
Many around the world began to grasp the depth of Gazan depravity when it was revealed that baby Kfir Bibas, just 10 months old, and his four-year-old brother Ariel were strangled to death and then mutilated by Gazans (not Hamas) while being held hostage in Gaza sometime in November 2023. The Bibas children were taken … More “I could never strangle a baby!”
I know a lot of nice people. Really nice people. Some of them have expressed anger that the barbarism and cruelty of Hamas has made them hate – and they do not want to hate. Most of us were taught to be kind. To love. Not to hate. In some of our families even expressing … More We need to talk about being angry
Sirens throughout the day, but not here. It was a beautiful Saturday (November 16th) and we were trying to enjoy the wonderful weather, lovely people, interesting things – although we knew that others were not. I was hearing the sirens and interceptions in the distance. Israelis closer to the border with Lebanon were hearing sirens … More Missile in Haifa – “just” property damage
On October 13th, I had a very interesting day. Too interesting. By the end of the day, I felt like I had been steam-rolled and it took me 24 hours to bring myself back to normal. Of course, our normal here in Israel, particularly in the north, isn’t normal at all. Our day began with … More Stress poisoning and bombs in northern Israel
Inspiration from Zion: This is a Love Story 