In late January, days 118-125 after October 7, a diverse group of 22 Jewish professionals from the Atlanta metro area traveled to Israel with the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta to bear witness to the devastation of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the resulting war. We met with dozens of people representing a broad swath of Israeli society. We found that what connects us is greater than what separates us. Both among the trip participants – including rabbis from the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist denominations of Judaism – and among Israelis, we felt a sense of a shared peoplehood, a shared history, and a shared destiny.
Editor’s Note: One participant, Eric Robbins, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, also wrote about the trip in this piece on Rough Draft.
A tapestry of encounters
Each one of us was inspired and amazed by the resiliency of the Israeli people. We met the grandparents of Bar Kupershtein, a young man taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Bar’s grandfather survived the Holocaust. He calls October 7 the “second Holocaust.” Bar’s fate is still unknown. We met Maoz Inon, an owner and operator of Abraham Hostels. Hamas burned his parents alive in their home on October 7. Yet, Maoz wants and believes it is possible to achieve peace in four to six years. Immediately after meeting Maoz, we heard the sirens warning of a missile attack in Tel Aviv, exited our bus, and ran for shelter in a nearby auto showroom. While running, we saw the Iron Dome missiles fired to intercept enemy rockets. Though we all emerged safe from the encounter, it brought home the daily reality of Israeli life so close to Hamas rockets.
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We met men and women in the northern cities of Yokne’am and Megiddo, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s partnership communities with a large population of Israelis of Ethiopian descent. Many of their sons and daughters are on the front lines in both Gaza and along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. They are also hosting some of the more than 200,000 fellow Israelis who have been displaced from their homes by terrorist and rocket attacks in both the south and the north of the country.
We met the extraordinary Mohammad Darawshe at the Givat Haviva Center for Shared Society. An Arab-Israeli citizen, Mr. Darawshe’s family has lived on their land for 29 generations. He is an expert in conflict resolution and his programs for Palestinian and Jewish youth and educators are proving that peaceful, shared coexistence is possible. Another impactful meeting was with representatives from Roots, a grassroots coexistence and peace initiative led by Palestinians and Jews living in the West Bank, two groups of people who, until getting to know each other, had not seen each other as fully human. From both meetings, we learned of the challenges faced by Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians.
We visited Kfar Aza, one of the kibbutzim Hamas attacked on October 7. Hamas murdered more than 60 residents and abducted 18. Only one couple has moved back so far. The devastation remains for the world to bear witness. As one trip participant said, “I know we were supposed to go to Poland when this trip was planned before October 7. Unfortunately, we saw Poland here in Israel.” The destruction was eerily reminiscent of the countless Jewish towns and villages in Europe attacked by antisemites over the centuries, known as Pogroms. While at Kfar Aza, we heard Israeli artillery fire towards Gaza. We jumped. It was so loud we felt it. A little while later, we saw a large plume of smoke arise in Gaza, a reminder of the toll the war Hamas started is taking on the civilians who live there.
We met with Ayelet Shmuel, the head of the resiliency center in the southern city of Sderot. She showed us footage of the brutal Hamas attack on her city. We saw terrorists shoot entire families in the head driving in their cars. We saw them launch an RPG at the local police station. Ayelet described life in Sderot – how this city has tolerated rocket fire from Gaza for nearly 20 years. How the Iron Dome defense system lulled this community – and the entire country – into a false sense of security. She asked rhetorically, “what other country on earth would tolerate incoming rocket fire?” She also stated, “don’t start a war, war is ugly.” She reminded us of the strength, fortitude, and resilience of the Jewish people. She also expressed her anger unapologetically.
We also met with several people who warned of the high likelihood of a war with Hezbollah in the north. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group, is a much stronger enemy than Hamas with exponentially greater missile capabilities.
From devastation to hope
And, we went to the site of the Nova Music Festival, where Hamas murdered 364 mostly young people and kidnapped 40 more. Set against the backdrop of a beautiful field of red poppies, signs with the faces of those murdered and abducted were arranged in a group – hundreds of them – with hundreds of visitors walking around paying their respects. These young people were shot in the back, raped, mutilated, and massacred. The ground is still fresh with their blood. We said prayers and cried.
Some of us felt tremendous sorrow for the Palestinians in Gaza and for the tens of thousands who have been killed in this war. Compassion is also difficult for many of us. We are all united in grieving the most horrific attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas is still holding 134 Israeli hostages in Gaza – our brothers and sisters.
Another deeply impactful moment was our visit to Mt. Herzl, Israel’s national military cemetery. There was a funeral taking place for a fallen soldier with thousands of people in attendance. Among the stops to honor fallen soldiers we made that afternoon, we visited the grave of an Atlanta community member, Rose Lubin, who made Aliyah and was serving in the IDF. She was murdered in Jerusalem while on duty in November 2023. Rabbi Binyomin Friedman, who presided over her funeral in November, told us about his experience supporting the Lubin family while the world was watching.
Forging unity in adversity
Among the most powerful meetings we had were with the volunteer leaders who mobilized themselves and others to care for their fellow Israelis. Brothers and Sisters for Israel, which emerged from the protest movement against Judicial Reform, venture capital companies, and relief centers for soldiers are all volunteer efforts that have held the country together at this time when many Israelis feel their government has failed them. The level of volunteerism in the country is unprecedented – roughly 50% of the population has participated. Among these volunteers and the more than 300,000 army reservists – sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers – many people believe the next generation of Israeli leaders is being forged. This volunteer spirit has arisen out of love and care – with the singular purpose, regardless of political viewpoint, to keep the State of Israel and its people alive and well.
These are just some of the experiences we had. We each learned a great deal from each person we met, even if we did not agree with them. Each meeting was moving. Each encounter pulled us closer. To each other. To our brothers and sisters in Israel. As Israelis and Americans, we felt connected as one people – the Jewish People. Our skin is not the same color. Our religious beliefs and political opinions vary. But we are one people – and proud of it – and Israel is our ancestral homeland. The State of Israel is the only Jewish State in the world. We will always call it our homeland with pride and love. Because it is part of us, and we are part of it.
With this feeling of connection, we all experienced anew the strength of the Jewish People. We also learned so much from each other and appreciated each individual’s different opinions. And we chose to be together despite our differing opinions. We are bearers of a 3,500-year-old legacy. We have not only survived every attempt to exterminate us, but we have thrived. The Jewish People today, while small in number – just 2.4 % of the US population and .2 % of the world population – are strong. We are even stronger when we are united. While this war is triggering traumas from our past on a daily basis – pogroms from Europe, the Arab world, and the Middle East, expulsions from countless countries, and the Holocaust – we are much more than our trauma. We are diverse, beautiful, moral, and unique in this world.
We have each other. We share a love of Israel, and we are committed to its existence as a sacred home for the Jewish People.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Signed,
Leslie Anderson, Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta
Rabbi Peter Berg, The Temple
Eytan Davidson, Anti-Defamation League
Rabbi Daniel Dorsch, Congregation Etz Chaim
Rabbi Ilan Friedman, Congregation Beth Jacob
Rabbi Binyomin Friedman, Congregation Ariel
Leslie Gordon, The Breman Museum
Rabbi Joshua Hearshen, Congregation Or Ve’Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Heller, Congregation B’nai Torah
Rabbi Lauren Henderson, Congregation Or Hadash
Rabbi Jason Holtz, Temple Kehillat Chaim
Rabbi Brad Levenberg, Temple Sinai
Renee Kutner, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
Rabbi Yossi New, Congregation Beth Tefillah
Eric Robbins, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal, Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Rabbi Michael Rothbaum, Congregation Bet Haverim
Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, Hillels of Georgia
Rabbi Adam Starr, Congregation Ohr HaTorah
Rich Walter, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
Dov Wilker, American Jewish Committee
Rabbi Mark Zimmerman, Congregation Beth Shalom