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.
If Only They Had Time to Get Older
One dayI’ve got –Them.Funny, clumsy, crying.Kids.Cubs. Dayspassed.My cubs played.They grew strong, beautiful, shining.Kind. And thenthatdaycame. When angry menpointed their gunsto shoot at us.They were not hungry, they justthoughtthatwithout ustheir worldwould get better. I jumpedUpI sprang into the fight.Don’t you everdaretouch my cubs! But the menhadguns. Have you seen Death?He dulls the pain,He cures sore heartsAnd […]
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 […]
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, also enlarged, that has been circulating the […]
The Scream of a Post-October 7th Jew
in bedcold beads of sweat catch me still in the snareof my nightmare back at the homeof my childhoodwalking past the front doorrealizing it wasn’t quite completely closed I went to close iton the other sidethey were pushing screaming, shovingwith such force strugglingI tried to push back but they were so many coming for the Jew spewing incoherent vitrioltheir rhythmic batteringsounded the beat […]
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 […]
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. It is part of us, we […]
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 […]
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 […]
Beepers
Like a thousand chimes at midnight[1] A reminder what Great is[2] Showing their color[3] Have they heard?[4] Have they been afraid?[5] To what end? Is this, the Marathon we heralded[6] The Jodl we claimed[7]? What of the 12 The Children of the Sun[8] In the kingdom of heaven?[9] This work Of man[10] This sound in […]
Breathe Freedom
Powerful emotions pulsatingthrough my veinsevery breath a challengeas I struggle in my chains In the bleakness of a tunnelfar below the light of daynever knowing never speakingslowly dying there I lay Will they save mefrom this nightmareneither living nor I deadneither eating nor I starvingfor a piece of rotten bread My captors tease and grieve […]
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;I saw the father’s head and the mother’s leg amongst the debris;But […]
I Can Never Wash What I Saw Out of My Eyes
You can deny deny deny deny and denyBut I can never washWhat I saw out of my eyes I am a teacher and mother of sixWe live in the town of Kfar AzaOn Oct. 7th there was a massacre here in IsraelI was asked to prepare the bodies found for burialThe majority of the men […]
The Silver Star
Before October 7, 2023I was an ordinary Chevy pickup truck,But after that day everything changed.No one or thing will ever be the same.This is my story: My owner is Moshe Sati.He’s a devoted husband and father.Treats me well too. Moshe built me a carportSo in the blistering heat I wouldn’t be too hot,And he washes […]
My Brother’s Keeper
November 18th, 2024 Am I my brother’s keeperIt must be soFor he is not mineMy dust stained bootsMy broken spiritMy blood shed so easilyWith his peace of mindI am my brother’s keeperFor this day at leastBut who will keep himWhen I am goneAnd no brothers are leftJust his peace of mindIn the still silent room
It’s Been a Year
October 24th, 2024 It’s been a year of pain and wordsThe year has endedThe words have goneBut the pain won’t let us goIt’s been a year of waiting and prayingThe year is overThe prayers fading, each day unansweredAnd the waiting never endsIt’s been a year of hell on earthThe year has pastThe earth is crumblingAnd […]
One Year
October 6th, 2024 Time goes onBut we stay the sameA year has gone byBut nothing has changedThe tears keep fallingJust like yesterdayThe pain keeps callingIt won’t go awayDown south the timeItself stands stillUp north the sirensLoud and shrillThe stain of terrorSpreads its spillThe well of tearsAgain refillsThe 7 that once was creationIs now no more, […]
October Always
October 1st, 2024 October nowOctober thenThe time betweenOctober rainsThe ground still dry hereNothing growsOctober daysWe never choseFall turned winterSummer from springOctober stillThrough everything
Better You’re Not Here
September 22, 2024 We wished they were thereAs we walked down the aisleHolding new babiesTheir hug and a smileWe mourned each their absenceAt every new milestoneKnowing if we calledThey wouldn’t answer the phonePerhaps the biggest disgraceIs that in the last yearWe went from wanting you with usTo I’m glad you’re not here
A Prayer for Seeing a Soldier
At the corner of Kaplan and Ibn Gvirol,you stand next to me waiting to cross,a tower of olive with dust on your boots,and I barely subdue a primal urgeto wrap my arms around you. Soldier,what can I say to you?For centuries, we had no defenders,just amulets and allies,and now your body is but one brickin […]
If Only We Were Worthy
November 27th, 2024 We should be worthyThey all sayOf your braveryOf your sacrificeOf the legacy you left behindBut really, we all knowWe’d rather be worthyOf your smileOf your lightOf the joy which you defined
Tefillin Story
Translated by Hila BarPhoto credit: Lior Itzkovitch Most of the soldiers in my company are not religious. As a commander, I have a squad of soldiers working close to me – a driver, someone in charge of communications, and a navigator. They are not religious, but they know that I’m strict about putting on tefillin […]
9 Months In
July 8th, 2024 For months on endMy heart bleeding proseLyrics and phrases pushing their wayThrough the cracks in my facadeNow that the wall has crumbledThe dam burstMy heart broken beyond repairThe 9 month markHas brought death to my wordsAnd rebirth to my fears