OUR COMMUNITY

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ON THE COVER

16 | JANUARY 25 • 2024 J
N

500 Hamas terrorists invaded
this peaceful community, killing
120 individuals and kidnapping
24 others.
Our guide, Lotan Pinyan,
described his personal experi-
ence as a member of the kib-
butz, recalling the murder of his
wife’s parents on that terrible
morning. He shared a powerful
message with us, saying: “We
have lost everything. But we are
Jews, and we will rebuild our
lives better than before. We have
to, for the sake of our children.
”
His children expressed to him
an incredible message, as the
kibbutz remains in shambles
with hundreds of buildings
destroyed and deserted that

“home is wherever the family
lives.
”
These messages capture the
extraordinary spirit of the Israeli
people, including the children,
who for the past three months
have drawn from a deep well of
resilience and determination.
We were all moved by the
sincere appreciation from
everyone we met, from the
families of the hostages to the
cab drivers and hotel staff. Their
graciousness, together with
their strength and courage, was
nothing short of extraordinary.
Israel has faced the greatest
atrocity in its history and is now
embattled with a ruthless and
amoral enemy — a fact that

“I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE

OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE BEEN

A PART OF THIS SOLIDARITY

MISSION AND TO HAVE WITNESSED

FIRSTHAND THE STRENGTH AND

DETERMINATION OF THE ISRAELI

PEOPLE. IT IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT

HAS CHANGED ME FOREVER, AND

I CARRY WITH ME THE STORIES

OF THOSE I MET AS A SOURCE OF

INSPIRATION AND HOPE.”

— MATT RAN, SOLIDARITY MISSION PARTICIPANT

Oren Stern (center), chair of the Lester
Ambassador Program, with Mission
participants Rich Broder
and Ron Solish

An installation at
Hostage Square in
Tel Aviv

The father of
Omri Ram,
a victim of
Oct. 7, with
his son’s
surfboard.