I tell stories. That’s all I’ve been doing for a long time. That’s what I know to do. Every time telling this one gets to be too much, I remind myself that there’s no story that needs to be told more right now. This is history unfolding, and we are documenting it.
Today I was invited to a preview of Kissufim at the WME screening room. It’s a film starring Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or set in the 1970s, exploring the typical relationship between the kibbutzim of the South and Gaza. It was filmed two years ago, but cannot be shown now without the context of October 7, given Kissufim itself was one of the attacked towns on Black Saturday. Swell and the director Keren Nechmad were there for a Q&A following the screening. They are both Israeli women who have come to America and yet refuse to stop telling Zionist stories. One middle-aged American man who admitted never having visited Israel asked the two women how he should process his “complicated” feelings about reality in America as a Jew now. When Swell said “well first, you should really visit Israel” I had to stop myself from making a standing ovation.
My feelings aren’t complicated, as you can tell. We all know that people like to speak about things they don't know. The places that were attacked on Oct 7 were kibbutzim. A kibbutz is an agrarian community where collectives of men, women and children work land and farm. Kibbutzim are at the heart of every Zionist. They represent the realization of a dream to work the land that we are indigenous to, and to do so in a communal way, where all is shared by the country at large. They are a place where people eat together, live together, sing and dance.
Kibbutz life is defined by hard work, joy and innocence. Most of us Diasporic Jews have either worked on them ourselves or have family members who once did. Attacking kibbutzim is attacking the essence of the Zionist dream, and the ethos that modern Israel was built upon. Kibbutzim are full of liberal thinkers, who advocate for peace, and on October 7 the communities that were targeted were the ones who hired Gazans from across the border to work. They were betrayed.
Hamas wanted to steal Israel’s spirit. They will fail.
A few days ago I told you about Tomer who volunteered for ZAKA after October 7 in the kibbutzim. I have kindly been given a recording of his story that I witnessed, and I want to share it with you all. Tomer’s experience must be shared far and wide.
Tonight, when you’re bringing in Shabbat, please think about our girls, who are still stuck in Gaza, whose suffering we cannot even begin to comprehend. I cannot contain my rage about the world’s silence. Held in captivity by rapists and murderers for almost two months. It is very rich that there are women all over the world who are too scared to speak out in case speaking out on behalf of Israeli women will hurt their brand, or something. Guess what, you hypocrites, these women are currently more scared than you could ever imagine. Grow a pair.
I will never forgive the women who did not speak out against Hamas.
In 2015, I worked for a peace organization that brings together Palestinian, Israeli, and American teens to talk about the conflict. Last year, Naama Levy was a part of the program. Now she's one of the hostages. Unfortunately, now that the sh*t has hit the fan, this organization has crawled into the woodwork and barely said a peep. So much for standing for peace. I have been praying every day for all of the hostages to come home. Yesterday I emailed Biden and asked what he's doing to bring Naama and all the other female hostages gone. It's devastating to think about all of the sexual violence she and the others experienced. On a different sidenote, Juliana Margulies was absolutely correct in what she stated regarding the black and LGBTQ communities not standing by us. I wish she hadn't apologized for speaking truth. I felt absolutely betrayed by these communities when we've always stood by them. I know I'm not alone in feeling this.
Hi Eve, on Monday Dec 4, in Melbourne Australia, more than 700 women will stand in solidarity with the women raped, slaughtered and kidnapped on Oct 7 by Hamas terrorists.
We will protest the silence and excuses of women’s organisations who have failed to condemn the gender-based violence. We will be wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “No Excuse” and “We Believe Them”, taping our mouths shut in response to the silence of these groups and holding placards of the victims. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a political scientist specialising in Islam and the Middle East, held as a hostage in Iran for 804 days is a guest speaker. Happy to share photos and video after the event.