Allies From the Christian Communities Abroad

Since October 7, I have had the privilege and honour of participating in two delegations to speak with legislators in the US and in Berlin. Recently, I traveled again coming on the heels of previous connections I had had with the members of the organization “The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews“. I had hosted a few of their reps for a visit and tour of Nirim a few years ago, and then some time after Swords of Iron began, a was interviewed by Yael Eckstein, herself, the daughter of the founder of this inspiring initiative also known simply as IFCJ, for one of their podcasts. A few weeks after that podcast, I was invited to participate in a large Christian media conference that takes place in the United States every year.

Although recently retired, I have taken on two new “jobs”. One is that of telling the story of October 7th to the world, as one who lived through and survived it. A no less important task is that regarding my community of Kibbutz Nirim: raising money to rebuild our community. Today, for the most part, we are still functioning in “survival mode”, away from home, trying to get our footing in yet another temporary abode, dealing with traumatized children, supporting the families of the hostages and the slaughtered, while attempting to preserve our sense of community not an easy task when spread out over 4 neighborhoods in Beersheva. On October 7th we faced an existential threat to our lives. Today, we face an existential threat to our community and our region. When the time comes and we can finally begin to heal, when we can return home, we as a community are striving to be bigger, better, stronger, safer and more resilient than ever before. That is the only way that families with children will want to return, and new families will want to join us.