It was good to be home— my spiritual home. I love Jerusalem. My heart is there. I was proud of myself for knowing in the pitch dark that we were heading up Rechov Aza into the center of town. I remembered a lot of the little shops and cafes on the way from my year living there in the 90s and from previous visits. It sounds like a cliche but the very air of Jerusalem feels different. The light is different; the stones, the neighborhoods. V Jerusalem is empty of tourists now. There are no crowds on Ben Yehudah street and the cafes at the upscale Mamilla Mall are empty. But everywhere you look there are flags from balconies and signs of encouragement and victory.
After one of the best Israeli breakfasts I have ever had we loaded onto the bus to visit Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.
We were privileged to get an inside look at the rehabilitation unit which soon will be moved to a new state of the art building. One of our gracious hosts was Barbara Goldstein, or as she is known, “BG.” Barbara is a former deputy director of Hadassah in Israel and now an ambassador at-large. She is a Jersey girl and a force of nature. You can read more about her life story and dedication to Zionism here.
(With Barbara Goldstein)
We had the opportunity to meet with a commando from a classified unit who was in the rehab center healing from wounds sustained on October 7th. We can only refer to him by his first initial. “O” fought relentlessly for 8 hours with his elite Egoz Unit at the IDF Kesufim base which had been infiltrated by terrorists. Even with 15 terrorists who were armed to the teeth with grenades and RPGs, his unit was able to regain critical control of the base. Three soldiers from his unit were killed, including Elan Sasson.
and many were injured. Together they were able to save 32 female soldiers who were holed up in the situation room at the base, 14 wounded Golani soldiers, three women and a baby. The entire battle is detailed here.
(GMW Mission meeting with O at the Hadassah Mount Scopus rehab unit. His face is blurred out for security reasons)
During the firefight he took a bullet from his shoulder to his leg. Other soldiers continued to battle with bullets in their helmets, ceramic vests and even sights. He is expected to make a slow but full recovery.
We also had the chance to hear the story of Michal Elon, the wife of a rabbi who was by chance visiting Zikim army base with her husband and 8 of her 10 children. It is a base right on the Gaza border where new recruits are trained. Going to visit the base was something that they did to relieve the regular IDF rabbi. She said her children always enjoyed going and playing games with the soldiers, sleeping in bunk beds and having an adventure. Suddenly that morning there were bombs and red alerts going off as the terrorists infiltrated. The trainees, her children, and her husband ran to the emergency shelter, but soon Michal, who was trained as a nurse, went out into a different room to try and help a young female IDF soldier who had been shot in the eye. Still not understanding what was happening, she soon came face to face with a terrorist who had come into the hallway. He shot her point blank in her arm, stomach and chest. You can read her entire story here.
(Michal Elon at the Rehab Unit of Hadassah Mt. Scopus)
According to Michal it was a miracle that the safe room with the children, her husband and the trainees was not discovered and breached. Her faith is strong. “Israel is only going to get stronger,” she said.
After Hadassah we went to visit with Sderot survivors and evacuees who are now living at the Olive Tree Hotel in East Jerusalem. Two mothers, Hadar, a religious woman and Yerushalaim, who is nine months pregnant and due any day, related to us the terrors of living under constant bombardment in Sderot and the nightmare of escaping on October 7th. The psychological effects of the red alerts and rockets on their children are profound. Many young children in Sderot have regressed to using diapers again. Their speech has also regressed and some have stopped eating. Yerushalaim noted that her two year-old daughter became violent and started eating her hair and her shoes after witnessing a rocket blast a playground. It was heartbreaking to hear. The children also refuse to be parted from their parents for even a moment.
(Evacuees in the lobby of the Olive Tree Hotel)
In order to treat mass trauma quickly, a special stuffed animal dog has been given to Israeli children who have evacuated the Gaza Envelope and are living in hotels. This dog, which has Velcro paws that come together around the neck of the child, is called Hibuki. According to the website, Hibuki, which translates as “my hug” from Hebrew, is a stuffed therapeutic toy, created in Israel in 2006 to help children cope with trauma during Second Lebanon War. Developed by Dr. Shai Hen-Gal, a clinical psychologist, it has healing powers for children who have survived adversity.
This dog has also been used successfully for mass trauma in Ukraine and in Fukushima after the meltdown in Japan. It allows for treatment of large numbers of children at one time when therapists are in short supply.
We learned that in trauma there are broken areas of caregiving. With the transitional object of the stuffed dog “to take care of” these caregiving centers are reactivated for healing. The teachers and therapists can now ask the children, “How is Hibuki today?” Or “Did Hibuki sleep?” The dog has a deliberately sad face. The children comfort and hug the dog during red alerts in the shelters, “Don’t worry, Hibuki!” By caring for the dog, their brain chemistry is changed and healing can take place.
While in the basement of the Olive Tree Hotel we saw tables being set up with piles of donated toys for the children. It was a somewhat chaotic scene, but four American girls who looked like Bais Yaakov (girls Yeshiva) girls were working hard to set up the donations. All the toys were colorful and brand new. I took a photo of them and asked them who organized them to come work with the evacuees. “No one. We live across the street and heard that they needed help so we just came over. We help out with whatever is needed that day.” This is a small example of what is happening all over Israel. Grassroots spontaneous volunteering and helping. Religious and Secular. Left and Right. City dwellers and Kibbutzniks. None of it matters anymore. The divisions, the marches, the chants in the streets are all suspended. Right now the feeling is unity, purpose and energy to do what needs to be done for one another.
(American yeshiva girls organizing donations)
Our next stop was the Jewish Agency for Israel campus for a truly delicious lunch, of course instant coffee, presentations and interactions with their machonim as well as Ethiopian olim evacuee children. The Jewish Agency is honestly a little confusing to me as it is both a social services institution and a semi-governmental agency with deep links to programs as diverse as shlichim that go abroad, peoplehood programs, identity and conversion programs and absorption agencies in Israel. It seems to do everything and be everywhere.
The Agency is doing heroic work to help those affected by October 7th. To give you an example: in the last 21 years they gave out $10,000 in grants to Israelis in need. Now in the last three weeks they have given $9,000 with $4,000 going to direct grants alone for emergency support. Evacuees left their homes with the clothes on their backs. They need personal supplies and clothing. The Agency is giving them grant money with no forms and no questions asked. They have a command center set up that now works 24/7 to help those in need. And despite all of this, despite looking into the abyss of October 7th, again I heard the repeated refrain that they are worried about American Jewry.
We had a chance to meet with some of the Agency’s Mechinah volunteers who were doing community service for six months before being drafted into the IDF. Many overseas students had left the program to return home, but some had stayed and there were also Israelis in the program. The young men and women were thoughtful, intelligent and energetic. Together we had the chance to participate in a drumming circle activity with Ethiopian children who were recent Olim. The smiles and energy of the children were a welcome respite from the heaviness of the trip.
(Rabbi Ari Isenberg and Rabbi Dan Cohen in the drumming circle)
Finally we had the honor and privilege of hearing from Maayan Sherman and Dan Sherman, the mother and younger brother of soldier Ron Sherman (19) who was kidnapped from his IDF communications base in his pajamas on October 7th. Ron has asthma and needs an inhaler which is why he wasn’t in a combat unit. She recounted the devastating series of fearful texts that were exchanged with his family as the terrorists drew closer. “I hope I am not kidnapped,” he wrote. And the last they heard from him were the chilling words, “That’s it, Mom, they’re here, it’s over, I love you.” They next saw him in a video being taken into the Gaza Strip in shorts and a t-shirt. A Wall Street Journal video is here.
Despite having no further proof of life they are not giving up hope. They are begging the Red Cross to go in and at least provide proof of life. They are asking all of us to continue to post about Ron and write to the Red Cross. “I can still save him somehow,” she said. He holds dual Argentinian citizenship and diplomatic efforts are happening with the Argentinian government at high levels. They even reached out to soccer superstar Lionel Messi to see if he can help them, but have heard nothing on that front.
Despite the dangers of Israeli bombs also collapsing the tunnels that hold the hostages, she didn’t feel that there should be a ceasefire, though other hostage families disagree. “A cease fire will only make Hamas stronger,” she said. She also disagreed with those saying exchange “all for all” — all Hamas prisoners for all the hostages. “They’ll just kill half or more of the hostages and come out with ten people.” Her anger towards the IDF was very raw. “We were betrayed. You give them your most important thing.” Your child. And he wasn’t protected. Anger towards the IDF was a recurrent theme during our mission.
Maayan was asked if she will allow her younger children to serve in the IDF. “Of course our kids will serve in the IDF,” she answered. Dan also answered emphatically that he and his sister Eden will serve. In his words, “We don’t have the right not to serve the country.”
“I don’t feel sad.” Maayan concluded. “There is a stone in my heart. I sleep and wake up and go all day. I don’t cry. I have hope.”
POSTSCRIPT: Ron Sherman’s body was recovered by the IDF during an attack on a tunnel on December 13, 2023. After months of investigation, the IDF ruled that his death, as well as the deaths of hostages Nik Beizer and Elia Toledano, were caused by a “byproduct” of a nearby bombing, likely carbon dioxide in the tunnels.
(Photo from a poster for Ron which they are distributing widely)
The GMW mission participants with Maayan Sherman (center) and Dan Sherman (red shirt).