Six Atlanta Jewish couples are helping to raise millions of dollars needed to relocate 55 families who survived the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on their Israeli kibbutz near the border of Gaza.
Chen Itzik, the founder of the Israeli nonprofit organization Rebuilding Together, visited the home of Atlanta couple Steve and Gita Berman in June. Born and raised on Nir Oz, Itzik and his wife, Michal, had been raising their three children on the kibbutz until Oct. 7. Itzik is the CEO of a marketing and export company for Israel’s root vegetables, which produces about one-third of Israel’s potatoes and about 40% of its carrots.
Itzik is returning to the U.S. with the aid of the Bermans and their friends to report on the millions of dollars raised – and the millions still in need – to move 170 former residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz to Kibbutz Beit Nir.
Nir Oz sustained the most damage when the community’s 400 residents were attacked by Hamas militants. Seventy percent of the agricultural kibbutz was burned to the ground. The community has lost more than a quarter of its population: 40 residents were killed (including entire families), more than a dozen Thai workers were killed, and more than 70 people were taken hostage, a number of whom are still in captivity.
Months later, the Israel Defense Forces released a report acknowledging that security forces – including police – didn’t arrive at the nearly 70-year-old kibbutz until after the terrorists fled. So, it’s not surprising that 55 families who survived that disastrous day do not want to return to their homes.
On his U.S. tour, Itzik is speaking at Congregation Or Hadash on Nov. 17 with Koren Hazoutte, Sigal Yehoud, and Eyal Piekarski, a strategic partner of Rebuilding Together.
Hazoutte survived Oct. 7 with her husband and four children. Six members of her family were murdered that day including her mother, brother, sister-in-law, and three nieces and nephews. A nurse and teacher at Ben Gurion University for nursing students, Hazoutte lived her entire life on Nir Oz.
Yehoud’s husband, Dolev, was a medic who left their home that day to provide medical assistance to those injured in the attack. He was killed, leaving Yehoud with three young children and one born just days after the attack.
Rebuilding Together will be meeting with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and the Zalik Foundation, in addition to the Jewish Federations of North America, family foundations, and Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, N.J., which already raised more than $1 million to help the survivors rebuild.
Among the Atlanta couples who have been helping the Israelis are David Sarnat, a long-time Atlanta Jewish community professional, and his wife Joslin.
“I’ve been in the business a long time and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Sarnat. “People are so touched.”
Steve Berman agreed: “Everybody that hears [the Nir Oz story] wants to help.”
Seth Merrin, founder and CEO of New York-based Liquidnet Holdings, committed, along with his siblings, to contributing $250,000 toward the relocation of the Nir Oz families, an effort that is expected to cost more than $25 million.
“There’s an urgency to get these people relocated. They’re homeless. There are kids involved,” said Merrin.
The group has raised about $10 million so far. In early November, Itzik said he received a commitment of $5 million from the Cleveland, OH-based Mandel Foundation.
Another step in the progress to assist the survivors of Nir Oz is the growing list of organizers here in Atlanta. The Bermans, the Sarnats, and Brian and Anat Granath helped organize the parlor meeting at the Bermans’ house in June. Now, Mark and Tova Cohen, Joel and Charlotte Marks and Steve and Melinda Wertheim have joined the effort.
Steve Wertheim is the current president of Congregation Or Hadash. In late September, the Wertheims toured the devastated Kibbutz Nir Oz and committed to helping the survivors.
“Anyone who walks through there, understands,” said Gita Berman, noting the devastation and burned-out homes. “It’s up to us to help them rebuild.”
Itzik is optimistic about ongoing negotiations with the Israeli government in which the Nir Oz families are requesting a government subsidy to help cover costs for the land in Beit Nir. In April, the government approved the establishment of the Tekuma Administration to be responsible for rebuilding the damaged areas in the Gaza envelope. But Tekuma, which means rebirth, was formed to rebuild the existing communities. So far, it is offering financial assistance to kibbutz members who want to return to their former homes, but not to those who want to relocate.
The Israeli government has helped Nir Oz evacuees with their temporary housing since Oct. 7. At first, they were lodged in a hotel, but now 90 percent of them, according to Itzik, are living temporarily in apartment buildings in Kiryat Gat.
The Israeli private sector is getting on board to help the Nir Oz survivors who don’t feel that they can return to their former kibbutz, including a major accounting firm, a construction company, and a bank.
“It’s a work in progress,” said Berman.
