OPINION: Simcha, silence and solidarity: reflections from Israel’s heartland
The beautiful souls murdered on October 7 are not forgotten - they are being honoured and remembered by an entire nation.
When one plans for a simcha, having to speak in public is always the first challenge that springs to my mind. It was no different when I recently flew to Israel for four days to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday.
The part of addressing an audience I find most difficult is having the eyes of the audience focused entirely on me. While the celebration of my father was meaningful and special and I managed to deliver my speech with poise, I also had another unexpected audience I hadn’t planned for.
Those were the eyes of the young people whose photographs now dominate the Re’im memorial, the site of the Nova music festival massacre.
I arrived early, just after 9am. The sky was blue with not a cloud in sight.
The surrounding fields were filled with fresh green grass and bright red poppies – Britain’s iconic symbol of remembrance.
Carrying my tefillin, I approached the memorial field that, just months ago, had been a vibrant dance floor, filled with hundreds of men and women in their prime, celebrating peace with their whole lives ahead of them.
There was an eerie silence in the air with just birds tweeting and the occasional resonant noise from the firing of Israeli artillery. The feeling was like no other I have ever had, the scene like no other I had witnessed before.
It was just surreal, with countless poles adorned with the photos of the young people who had been murdered in cold blood or taken hostage back to Gaza.
Memorial stones were placed around the poles with yahrzeit candles, flowers and Israeli flags. As I began to put on my tefillin to pray, that feeling of an audience of eyes on me hit me once more.
Regardless of the direction you face, there were eyes facing me and with that feeling, I knew this act of prayer was going to be particularly meaningful and poignant which it truly was.
My time at the memorial came with mixed emotions but the longer I stayed, the more the silence became deafening. I imagined I could hear the screams of the young men and women running for their lives.
The screams of human beings being terrorised, raped and butchered – it was ever present and hard to avoid thinking about.
I didn’t want to leave and kept turning back as I made my way out of the site. But what I came to realise is that these beautiful souls are not forgotten – they are being honoured and remembered by an entire nation and by Jews around the world.
I just didn’t want to leave them alone – that’s how real it felt being there.
Israel is not just a beautiful country but also a ‘people’, together as one – an atmosphere that is hard to identify or to put into words, however the solidarity is there and it is strong.
When I reflect on my time in Israel it was filled with many significant moments – spiritual highs and emotional lows but I can confidently say it was the most meaningful four days I have ever spent in Israel.
My final day came with wonderful news that two hostages had been rescued in a precise and brave operation by the IDF – news that brought a glimmer of light to a country still traumatised by that tragic Shabbat morning.
Am Yisrael Chai. #Bringthemhome @bringthemhometags
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- Elliot Goodman. part of the UK distribution team of the ‘Bring Them Home’ dog-tags
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