OPINION: Israel’s resilience shows there is hope for future peace and security

Last week, I travelled for a two-day United Synagogue solidarity mission to Israel. I was joined by colleagues of the Rabbinic and Rebbetzens’ Executives as well as members of the United Synagogue central leadership team. The purpose of this solidarity mission was to show our support and to deepen our understanding of the challenges now faced by Israel and our people.

­We started the trip meeting Rabbi Doron Perez, chief executive of World Mizrachi. Two of his sons were serving on 7 October. His son Yonatan was injured saving residents of the South and he  was due to get married just 10 days later. His brother, Daniel, remains missing and it is presumed he is being held hostage. Remarkably the wedding was able to go ahead on time. Whilst he was full of joy standing under the chuppah with his son Yonatan, he was also experiencing tremendous anguish not knowing the location or safety of his other son. As we heard him speak, he showed us his extraordinary faith for the future of Israel and our people.

At Shura army base, we learned of the terribly painful but holy work of those that were tasked with attempting to identify those that had been killed enabling their remains to be released to the families for burial. In a couple of instances the bodies were disfigured to such a degree that  they flew the bodies to America where the most advanced equipment enabled their identities to be confirmed for burial.

We had the opportunity to meet and hear the harrowing tales of residents from the kibbutzim who had witnessed the tremendous trauma of the terrorist attacks and had loved ones kidnapped. The close-knit communal bond was self-evident as was their resilience. At Har Herzl, we held a memorial service with the army and visited the graves of those that had fallen. Seeing the graves of some of the soldiers that we knew was particularly distressing and made the losses seem exceptionally personal and real.

During the evening of our stay, we hosted a barbeque for soldiers that had returned from active duty. I was introduced to Rabbi Shmuel Slotki, an older reserve soldier, and discovered that we had been contemporaries in Yeshiva. He shared with me that two of his sons, on hearing of the scale of the Hamas assault on Israel, decided to go to the frontline to defend the southern border towns under attack. Both were killed in the ensuing battle. Both left behind a wife and a baby and were laid to rest next to each other on Mount Herzl. Rabbi Slotki was called up at the start of the war to assist in the monumental effort to identify the bodies of those who were murdered by Hamas. He continued this work even during the five days when his two sons were unaccounted for, before their remains were discovered and their deaths confirmed. I asked him, with tears in my eyes, why he was serving just a few weeks after such a tremendous loss. His answer was humbling. He told me: “Israel needed everyone to serve as we are at war.”

We visited residents that were displaced both from the north and south of Israel who are now living in the hotels across the country. What was striking was despite the limited space and resources, they have managed to transform the hotels into mini towns complete with schools and activities for their communities.

We also visited a rehabilitation centre and met soldiers that had been injured defending the residents of the South. They were all struggling with their injuries yet showed tremendous determination to return to their families and life as soon as they were released. We met Yossi, who had been helicoptered into Be’eri and fought to rescue residents against the terrorists attacking. Despite suffering ongoing pain in his legs from his injuries, he was determined to start again his learning of Torah and, remarkably, had recommenced his Daf Yomi learning schedule on the day we visited.

We returned from our all too brief visit humbled by the faith of our nation and full of admiration for their dogged determination and resilience. The trip was unlike anything we had ever experienced. When we asked all those when we visited what should we tell people to do that could  help Israel, they said “just come” and “focus on bringing the hostages home”.

Whilst it is clear that Israel a nation is mourning its losses, the families and stories we heard demonstrated that there is hope for peace and security in the future. As Golda Meir said, “I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively”.

• Rabbi Piny Hackenbroch is the Senior Rabbi at Woodside Park Synagogue and Chair of the Rabbinic Council of the United Synagogue