12 | FEBRUARY 8 • 2024 J
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One stop was for a gathering to
meet with the residents of Kibbutz
Shlomit who had been evacuated to
a hotel. Shlomit is on the border of
Egypt and very close to Gaza.
Among them was Dana Cohen
(pronounced “Donna”), the widow of
Aviad Cohen, one of Shlomit’s civil
defense team who, along with three
of his comrades, made the ultimate
sacrifice in fighting off terrorists at a
neighboring kibbutz.
Rabbi Tolwin shared the details of
the heroism that ultimately saved two
kibbutzim.
“Standard protocol was for
Shlomit’s civil defense team to not
leave their post. However, their
village was not under attack while
desperate calls for help were coming
from Kibbutz Pri Gan. The result of
an emergency meeting resulted in the
team leaving their posts to fend off
the terrorists there.
“Four team members were killed
and several injured in the mission. No
Kibbutz Pri Gan residents were killed
as a result of their heroism and Shlomit
was spared from being attacked.”
Mission members also met with a
mother of nine, a nurse who survived
several gunshots while trying to save
a soldier’s life. And a shivah call was
paid to the family of Sgt. Rose Ida
Lubin, who was stabbed to death out-
side of Jerusalem’s Old City while on
duty as a border police officer. Rose
was a Lone Soldier who had recently
immigrated from Atlanta.
The itinerary included assisting
the “Pantry Packers.” As described on
their website they are “the food dis-
tribution arm of Tzedakah Central/
Colel Chabad, the oldest continuously
operating network of social services
in Israel. They deliver crates contain-
ing all the necessary foods and house-
hold maintenance supplies to Israel’s
poorest families and senior citizens.”
OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER
continued from page 11
Rabbi Simcha Tolwin,
executive director of Aish
HaTorah Detroit in Israel with
Ethan Gross, member of the
JWV Department of Michigan
JEREMY SPARIG PHOTOGRAPHY