The war caught us all off guard. Five missiles fell on my town, damaging houses and cars, but luckily no one here was harmed. The sirens, the noises of planes and missiles falling (we call this the “booms”), and grief: this has accompanied us all every day since October 7th. We have felt helpless because Continue Reading »
When the war started, I was with my extended family in my grandmother’s house in Eilat. (Eilat is relatively isolated from the other cities in Israel and is thought to be safe.) The early days were very challenging; we lived together in a small house with many young children and most of the conversations in Continue Reading »
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 Continue Reading »
Since the start of the war, I have primarily tried to keep myself busy. I volunteer. Today in Israel, everywhere you look there’s a place to help out, and a line of people who want to lend a hand. I continue to study, because in the area where I live there aren’t, at the moment, Continue Reading »
My name is Shachar. I’m on a gap year at Mechinat Ein Prat. The war caught us at the mechina, and in a moment, the organization transformed into Lev Echad (one heart), a civilian assistance organization in times of emergency. We immediately opened a command center that operates all day and night, providing transportation support, Continue Reading »
Hi, I am Paz from 2013. Normally, I am a high school teacher of History and Biblical Studies. This year I am also serving as one of the manchim (facilitators) for the Israeli Amitim group, alongside the remarkable Nurit. Last Saturday morning, I awoke in my home in Jerusalem to the wailing sirens signaling a Continue Reading »
Hello everyone, my name is Ido, Amitim ’22. This year, I am studying at the Natur gap year in the Golan Heights. It’s a gap year program in which we study various interesting topics related to Judaism, gender, philosophy, and more. We started the program a month ago, and I’m really enjoying the connections with Continue Reading »
My name is Adi Dardikman. I am a clinical psychology student at Tel Aviv University. In normal times, I spend most of my time on my academic studies and at an internship at a mental health clinic in Jaffa, working as a research assistant. On the horrible day when the war began, I was in Continue Reading »