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Writing from home

War Diaries Day 220 – From Mourning to Morning: A Path of Resilience, Strength and Unity

One minute’s silence.

The whole country stops what they’re doing.

Wherever we are – at home, on the highway, walking in the street, sitting in a meeting – we all stop, stand up and become silent for a minute.

Yesterday was Memorial Day in Israel. A day to remember all lives lost. Our soldiers who fought in the wars to secure our Jewish State and civilians who lost their lives in acts of terror – more than 30,000 in total.

This year, the day was particularly heavy because we’re in the midst of war with many soldiers’ and civilians’ lives lost and 132 hostages still held in Gaza.

It’s been more than seven months since the 7th October. With every 7th of the month that passes, we struggle to believe the reality we’re living in, that another month has been added to the count, and the hostages are still there.

Daphna Horowitz May 14, 2024

Writing from home

Freeze

I’m not brave.
I have never offered to check if there’s a burglar or terrorist outside in our garden when the dog growls and barks at night.

I take a tranquillizer before I visit the dentist.
I don’t live in a town or a kibbutz five minutes from a border. When I worked in the community school on a deserted, badly-lit road, I recited the Shema as I drove home at night from staff meetings. I clutched the steering wheel, my body hunched forward, tailing the headlights of the driver in front of me.

Fran Levin April 15, 2024

Writing from home

Broken Hearts

Some people wear their heart on their sleeves
To show it off to all around
Mine lays heavy, tied round my neck
It’s weight, it’s worth I’ve avowed

Miriam Roskind March 12, 2024

Writing from home

Waiting for Friday

Some days you can try to close your eyes and ears to the world and the war and just focus on your immediate family and your life.

But in order to do that you can’t listen to the radio in the morning where they interview the families of hostages. Or the families of soldiers who have been killed. Or the families who have been displaced from northern Israel because of continued bombings from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Rachel Secunda February 27, 2024

Writing from home

The Forgotten

You don’t care when our soldiers are killed.
You don’t care when our elderly are murdered.
You don’t care when our women are raped.
You don’t care when our men are brutally slaughtered.
You don’t care when our children are tortured.
You don’t care when our babies are executed.

Ash Glenville February 23, 2024

Writing from home

100 Days

We pray harder and longer,
We feel sadder and more anxious.
We also love more fiercely
And our unity tightens

Ash Glenville February 23, 2024

Writing from home

Day 85

It could be me
Now
Next week
Next month
Many years from now

It could be my children
Now
Next week
Next month
Many years from now

Ash Glenville February 23, 2024

Writing from home

Be the Light in the Dark

Before that day we were whole
Rejoicing in life’s small pleasures
Oblivious to the shadows encroaching.
Killers came, prepared with the blackest of souls

Ash Glenville February 23, 2024

Words

Words matter.

The army here is called the Israel Defense Forces.

The “defense” is there for a reason.

While the IDF is out defending our country, we’ll be here defending against – antisemitism – misinformation – extermination.

Leorit Ben Shalom February 23, 2024

Truth

We wish it weren’t true that babies were murdered.

We wish it weren’t true that over 200 people were kidnapped.

We wish it weren’t true that fuel is being used to throw thousands upon thousands of rockets.

Leorit Ben Shalom February 22, 2024

Category: Writing from home