Michael Regev ’23

Posted on November 3, 2023

When the war began, I was in the middle of a safari trip in Kenya. Because of the bad cellphone service in Kenya, I wasn’t truly aware of the situation in Israel. I knew that something bad was happening, because my family and friends were in Israel and texted me, but I didn’t understand the magnitude of the tragedy; I was pretty cut off from the weird reality in Israel. Due to the situation, my flight back to Israel was cancelled and I was stuck in Ethiopia until a flight was organized for Israelis. In the end, I succeeded in returning home. Since I landed, I’ve been volunteering for an organization called “Brothers in Arms,” which is an organization of armed force reservists that was established about ten months ago in order to protest the judicial reforms, but changed direction when the war broke out. The organization coordinates the majority of voluntary and civilian aid assignments in the south: evacuation of people and animals from dangerous areas to safe areas; sending food and equipment to soldiers at the front; and even agricultural labor, which needs to be done because many of the farmers in the Gaza Envelope were asked to evacuate—some of them foreign workers who returned to their countries of origin and some simply farmers with families that were evacuated to safer places—and more working hands are required(someone has to milk the cows and pick the tomatoes).

I live not far from Gaza. During the day, with good visibility, one can see Gaza City from the roof of my house. Last week, a siren went off while I was showering. Missile shrapnel hit my community and caused a small fire. Last Friday night, I drove alone through the heart of Tel Aviv, on my way to hang out with friends. My car windows were closed and I was listening to music. To my surprise, I didn’t see anyone on the street. It was odd, because I was driving in an area that’s normally crowded with people, so I opened the car window and I heard a siren. I quickly parked and leapt out of my car;, I lay down on the sidewalk and I covered my head with my hands. I heard crazy explosions overhead and then I saw a group of people running towards the entrance of a nearby building. I joined them and we waited until the sirens stopped. It was a stressful experience and I did the rest of the drive without music and with quivering hands.

Despite the complicated situation, I think it’s important and healthy to stick to a simple routine. There’s no school right now where I live, and even though I volunteer every day, I also make sure to meet up with friends often.