Guest blog by Josh Sussman
Last month one of our kids made the pilgrimage to Holocaust sites in Poland, a trip that hundreds of thousands of Israelis have made over the past few decades. This trip allows high school students to learn more about the tragedy that befell the Jewish people only 80-85 years ago. To see, feel and smell the killing fields and factories of Central Europe; to learn about the rich Jewish culture that was all but wiped out; to learn about their heritage and why having a sovereign State of Israel is so important to the Jewish people.
Today, Romi and I had the honor of making a similar pilgrimage. Only this trip was much closer to home…in the South of Israel, revisiting the area devastated by the October 7 massacres. The day was powerful and personal, led by one of our soldier sons. It was Oct. 7 through his eyes, his experiences and those of his heroic friends who battled that day and beyond, some having given their lives for the people of Israel.
One of Romi’s colleagues said to me yesterday ‘Romi tells me you guys are going south tomorrow. Have a meaningful trip. It is crazy that we now have a version of the ‘Poland trip’ in Israel’.
Indeed, it is truly crazy that now there are ‘two Poland trips’ that are all but required for most Israeli young people.
Our son had secured clearances for some of the stops and had arranged for escorts for others. We started very early and visited a small base where Shilo Rauchberger and others heroically held off terrorists for hours. Their fierce, unwavering fight enabled Shilo and his fellow fighters to save dozens on their base, while sacrificing their lives doing so. At the Kissufim base, we saw the small, make-shift pill box where Tomer Nagar held off the marauding terrorists down to the last of his 600+ bullets, the casings still scattered about the immediate area.
Nearby, we saw where our son had raced in his Nemer (Armored Personnel Carrier) on Oct. 7 to secure the border. Then to Kfar Aza to witness the utter devastation of the ‘young peoples’ neighborhood where so many were murdered and dozens taken hostage. In the row of houses there, we were able to visit the home of Sivan Elkabets, whose family has asked that it remain available for people to visit and pay their respects. We met Sivan’s mom, who was there overseeing some minor additions to the basically-untouched space.
We stopped at the small, reinforced bomb shelter on the side of the road made (in)famous because of the heroism of Aner Shapira and the passion of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and his family.
We visited the site of the Nova Dance Festival, now a permanent and moving memorial site.
We saw the destruction at Be’eri…
We also saw beautiful, moving memorials, some very official and others the modest work of loved ones. These are scattered throughout the south…on roadsides and in communities. At small army bases and larger ones. The memories are now an ingrained part of the fabric of the country.
Like countless tragedies that have befallen our people over the centuries from Crusades and pogroms to Holocausts and wars in Israel, October 7 will now be part of our people’s collective memory.
But we were also reminded about another amazing part of the Jewish psyche….hope. As we travelled the South today, we were surrounded by tragedy and memorials, but we also saw even bigger memorials. Not to individuals, but to the spirit of the people of Israel. In Be’eri and Sderot, and in basically every neighborhood and town around the South, we saw the unbelievable sight of new building. There are currently whole new neighborhoods rising from the ashes of destruction to fulfill our Zionist dreams of building the Land.
We will always remember those lost on that terrible day and the 2+ years since. But we, the people of Israel, will also remember the strength of our people shown in the days, weeks, months and years since that darkest of days.
Am Yisrael Chai…may we, as a people, always be worthy of those we have lost.
Thank you for sharing and taking me with you with your words. Despite how indescribably sad it is to continually remember the events of October 7, we are obligated to remember, and act accordingly. We must continue to be strong, and keep building, as you said.