Israel Day 2

By Becky Schubert

Day 2 of our trip began with a light volunteer opportunity, but quickly escalated as the day went on. Pantry Packers was our first stop; here we split into groups to pack up food for families in need. We had fun working together to pack as quickly as possible and even made it into a competition between the groups (my group won of course). After we packed the bags they showed us a video which explained how their organization works and how our work impacted so many families in need in Israel. They then showed us another video which was more specific towards life after October 7th, in which we learned about a kibbutz that was terribly affected by October 7th and how Pantry Packers have been able to help them since. Pantry Packers was fun, educational, and set the stage for the serious nature of the day. 

We headed to Sderot, where we supported a local business and enjoyed Falafel or Shawarma in pitas. On our drive towards our tour, our bus driver pointed out how every 10 or so feet there was another bomb shelter. Sderot is right on the edge of the border to Gaza and because of its proximity, the citizens need to always be prepared to get to those bomb shelters quickly. This information helped us understand further how life is lived in Sderot. Rabbi Ari Katz, a former Shaliach in Memphis, led us on a tour of Sderot. We began our tour across from where a police station had once stood, before it was completely destroyed. Rabbi Katz told us horrifying stories from October 7th that all occurred surrounding the police station. We looked at a mural on an apartment building across from the police station that included many different stories that happened on October 7th in Sderot. One particular story that stuck out to me was of one of the police in the station. The terrorists stormed Sderot by foot and by huge tanks that tore up the streets, which Rabbi Katz pointed out to us. While terrorists had overtaken the police station, there was a sniper 3 stories high killing anyone who was outside nearby. One of the police from the station was able to go across the street to the apartment building and take down the sniper through someone's window. This hero was illustrated as an angel with an arrow in the mural. Rabbi Katz told us many stories that gave us insight as to what happened on October 7th, stories that were hard to hear but also stories of heroes and miracles. Just a five minute walk from the police station was a yeshiva with over 300 young men. The terrorists were close enough to destroy the yeshiva, but by a miracle they passed right by. Rabbi Katz brought us to see the yeshiva and then up to the rooftop to see the beautiful city of Sderot. While we were up there we could see smoke from distant explosions in Gaza, but Rabbi Katz reassured us saying, “Those are good explosions, they are from our side.” We left our tour with Rabbi Katz with heavy hearts, but inspired by the stories of heroes and by Rabbi Katz himself, who loves his city so much that Hamas could never dim his passion. 

We ended the day with our final stop at the Nova Festival Memorial. After getting off the bus, Mrs. Selter set the tone by reminding us that where we stood was the same ground where over 350 of our brothers and sisters were brutally murdered and over 40 taken hostage on October 7th. As I walked around the memorial my legs felt heavy knowing what happened on the ground I was walking on. Mrs. Selter told us to walk around the memorial full of images of people killed, find a face that stuck out to us, and look at them for a minute or two. There were two faces that I sat with and even revisited. One was a man who was killed, and written in Hebrew on the sign of his face said, “I love you and miss you, love Mom.” It broke my heart to think of the families that were ripped apart by the sons, daughters, siblings, and friends that were killed. The second face that stuck out to me was a horrifying image of Guy Gilboa-Dalal in captivity. You could see the pain and fear in his eyes, seemingly representing all of the pain and fear that Israel has gone through since October 7th. After taking some time to really sit with the faces of the captives and those killed, the group met back together to say Tehillim and Acheinu. While we were praying as a group, explosions from Gaza went off, making each and every person jump. In America, we kept up with the news but were still far away; in Sderot we could see the explosions and hear the stories, and in Nova we stood on the ground where horrible things happened and could hear the explosions. This experience connected me to the people in Israel and October 7th in a way I never could have from America. Being at the Nova Festival site changed me in ways I never thought it would, and I am so thankful to Rabbi Lichter and the Selters who brought me on the trip, and Mr. and Mrs. Groveman who’s generosity gave me this once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.