War writings
Read through all the content we've collected since the war. You can use the search bar below to find specific content or select from our most popular categories to read their posts.
Of Loss and Longing for Someone I’ve Never Met: A Message for Alon Ohel
Alon alone not able to standnor breathesuffocating by inchesin the fetid air in the before timeyou breathed musicjazz bloomedfrom your fingers here in the underworldnothing growsexcept despair tapping imaginary ivorieson your sunken chestwhat music can they makecramped in thesubterranean bowelsof a helllike no other in the squareon the other sidethe side where lifelimps alongthere is […]
A Distant Witness: Finding Purpose Through Connection
The morning of October 7th began like any other Saturday for me—coffee, news updates, planning my day. Then my phone lit up with notifications. Friends in Israel sending messages to our group chat: “We’re under attack.” “This is bad.” “We’re in the safe room.” I sat frozen, thousands of miles away, watching in horror as […]
A War, A Fire, An Airport
Where does it goThis Search forAn ending,How Long Does It Last? In White hot, burning coalsdraped in Sin?With Coils of mercuryBurn Baby, Burn In Lying in filthLeaving, abandoning hope? Our men of valourOf Harlech, Of HethIs your Ending Foretold? Chinese porcelainSo brittle in painan empty interior,Subterranean terror Astonishingly EmptyDirty and Shamed,Without egress Looking in fearTowards […]
Tomorrow
Tomorrow is October 7 2023 take 19, Better known as April 7 2025.Tomorrow morning the clock will strike 6:28 am just like every other morning.Tomorrow morning I will thankfully wake up again to an alarm clock.Tomorrow morning I will not remember that the alarm going off is an alarm clock. Tomorrow morning the alarms in […]
The Uneasy Supplicant
lacing my fingers togetherI wondershould I kneelstandmaybe salute althoughI well comprehendthe rulesof a regiment I’m at a lossto knowwhat regimented rulesapply here in thisnowhere space a temple of clouds unknowingmy corporeal selfstruggles to conveythe solemnityof my prayer my pleafor their release an uneasy supplicant I ask myselfis my bodya curriculum vitae will my pleahave more […]
Never Forgive – Never Forget
They say: "Israel are baby killers," but they murdered Kfir and Ariel in cold blood. They claim to support women's rights
Letter to Yarden Bibas
Dear Yarden, It’s 4:30 am. I wake up thinking about you. That must sound crazy, but I’m certain I’m not the only one. One of the things that I fell in love with since the aftermath of October 7 was loving and being loved. Something I don’t always know, is whether I received love in […]
What the Heart Holds
I’m not one to express feelings in public. And I’m not one to leap onto passing trends like water rushing down a shower drain, pulling everyone with it. Even when that water is the compiled tears of a nation that doesn’t really have a clue how to react to indecipherable strikes of evil on its […]
Twin Heads of Copper Hair
Twin heads of copper hair blindingly bright like sun-fires in the very eyes of God that bore a hole through the conscience of an indifferent world.
A Final Goodbye to Bibas
I waited for you for 15 months, I thought about you every day, I missed you everyday I had hope for your return for 15 months
A Song of Israel’s Strength
Whole world is watching us now, It’s a little intimidating But since there’s no way to back down, Let’s show ‘em what we’re made of. Let’s make them remember Am Yisrael Chai
Shilo
To be the mother of a little ginger boy means you whisper in their tiny ears that they got their blazing locks from David HaMelech, who everyone knows was gorgeous. To be the mother of a little ginger boy means you are not surprised when they can barely walk but you find them on top […]
Chava Alberstein, ‘You Will Walk in the Field’ (Leah Goldberg)
I don’t know how we’re going to feel after this war in Gaza. My only point of reference is how we felt after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. I remember the pain, the sorrow, the communal depression. The years-long struggle to return to “normal”. There are striking similarities and great differences between that war and […]
If Only They Had Time to Get Older
One day I’ve got - Them. Funny, clumsy, crying. Kids. Cubs. Days passed. My cubs played. They grew strong, beautiful, shining. Kind. And then that day came.
Rise
In the shadows where I used to hide, Thoughts like chains, they pulled me inside. Days felt heavy, nights dragged on, But deep inside, a spark was drawn. I’ll rise from the ashes, I’ll find my way, Leave the past behind, it’s a brand new day. The storm may linger, but I’ll learn to dance, With every heartbeat, I’ll take a chance.
The Drawer
Shiva in the Pessach home is unique. Visitors stream in and out, and a special warmth exudes throughout the house. Behind me, an enlarged happy family photo takes up a large section of a wall. Along the same wall stands a small table displaying the photo of Netanel
The Scream of a Post-October 7th Jew
in bed cold beads of sweat catch me still in the snare of my nightmare back at the home of my childhood walking past the front door realizing it wasn’t quite completely closed
Diary Entry: 20 October, 2023
(21 days after being called in to Gaza) To anyone who is even considering the option of ever making the move to Israel, to those who have never fathomed such a crazy proposal, to those who are seriously weighing the pros and have started packing their bags, and to those who know of someone who fits into any of these categories:
Diary Entry: May 14, 2024
Erev Yom Ha'atzmaut (Eve of Israel Independence Day) Usually we’d be celebrating after commemorating and remembering those who fell on Yom HaZikaron (Israel's Day of Remembrance for IDF soldiers) the day before. A new dimension of pain, grief, intimacy and even regret fills the atmosphere of Israel this year.
Entering Gaza for the first time…
October 2023 "Signing off for now, love you all so much and please God we will do Am Yisrael and the world proud, this is my time to give all I've got for our beloved country and people. We will strike them harder than ever, all off us are a part of history and the importance of this war is immense,
Diary Entry: November 11, 2023
(After five weeks in Gaza, on the way home for a short break) Tzahal is doing a fantastic job in the war so far. Many terrorist facilities have been neutralised, and we are edging ever closer, every day, every hour, to a proud and deserving victory – thanks in principal to the brave, resolute forces […]
Breathe Freedom
Powerful emotions pulsating through my veins every breath a challenge as I struggle in my chains In the bleakness of a tunnel far below the light of day never knowing never speaking slowly dying there I lay Will they save me from this nightmare
Where’s My Mama? Where’s My Daddy?
My name is Yoni, and I am an IDF soldier; I’m to greet the four-year-old old hostage just released; We’re told not to answer questions about parents; I’m glad to have direction about what can and cannot be said; It’s hard though I know both parents are dead