After Oct 7, the world’s media immediately focused on the atrocities committed by Hamas against the Kibbutzim in the Gaza envelope and at the site of the Nova Festival and rightly so. It was beyond comprehension that such ferocious barbarity, could be meted out by human beings against other human beings. The visceral hatred was an offence to the minds of all decent people around the world.
Of course, the focus on the Kibbutzim was short-lived, and the world’s focus turned against Israel within a matter of days, long before Israel fired a single retaliatory bullet against the demonic Hamas enclave in Gaza, and it remains the case to this day. The nations of the world are fickle and quite frankly, deplorable for their deliberate and grotesque acceptance and justification of terrorism against Israel, while demonising and blaming the Jewish State for the war forced upon them.
What many are unaware of is that Hamas didn’t only attack the Kibbutzim communities in the Gaza envelope and the Nova Festival attendees, they also managed to make it to the community of Ofakim in the Negev desert region, some 29km from the Gaza border. No one expected the terrorists to ever make it so far inside Israel.
Fifteen Hamas terrorists entered the city of Ofakim early on Simchat Torah, a very holy day in the Jewish calendar, and proceeded to murder 25 innocent civilians, and 5 security personnel, not to mention, wounding many others. The idea that Hamas could reach so far inside Israel was so unexpected, that there was precious little readiness for the attack.
Trauma That Did Not End When the Shooting Stopped
The trauma on the community of Ofakim was savage and ongoing, particularly with the young people. As is the case with all Israelis, they’ve either lost immediate family or friends due to terrorism or war, or they know someone who has lost loved ones to terrorism or war. The Jewish community is small and very connected, and this is the case for Diaspora Jews also.
Christians for Israel Australia was approached by Karen Hayesod to invest in an Ofakim youth initiated called Youth Futures, (‘Empowering Youth At-Risk and their Families’), an organisation that works very closely with children, who have been suffering severe trauma, an initiative we were very enthusiastic to support.
Supporting the Next Generation
We assisted by providing an outdoor shade awning, valued at AUD $25,000, which now allows the children in the centre to spend time outdoors during the very hot summer months, where the temperature sits consistently at around 35ºC from June to early September. We were privileged to visit the centre last November after the conclusion of our ANZAC Solidarity Tour to see the facility, meet the children and also see the shade awning.
The staff, all qualified counsellors and teachers, shared with us the methods used in helping the children, how they interact with their families and the progress being made. The accounts of the children were heartbreaking, but also encouraging. Children of pre-teen and early-teenage years, having experienced what no child should. Coming to terms with unspeakable violence and hatred, simply for being Jewish, seeing their community butchered and dealing with the ongoing fear and trauma that the terrorists want nothing more than to return again to kill them next.
Christians for Israel Australia is very proud and privileged to have assisted these children in their recovery, knowing that we’re assisting, even in a small way, to help the next generation of young Israelis grow up to not only love their nation and their people, but to stand strong and defend it.
Returning to the Scene of the Attack
While we were in Ofakim, we were taken to the site where the worst of the fighting took place. The Hamas attack on Oct 7 began just after 6:30am when rockets rained down over the Kibbutzim, Nova and the city of Ofakim, just minutes later 15 terrorists in 2 pickup trucks crossed into Israel and drove straight to Ofakim. The first victim in Ofakim was murdered at 7:06am as they walked along the promenade west of the city. Shortly after that, the terrorists fired on homes in the suburb of Mishor Hagefen, and began going house to house on Bayit Vegan St killing everyone they could find. The IDF at the time were spread very thin, they were outnumbered and unprepared because again, no one expected Hamas to commit such an audacious attack, and certainly not so far from Gaza.
The Extraordinary Story of Rachel Edry
The terrorists continued their rampage, reaching Tamar St where they forced their way into the home of David and Rachel Edry, taking them hostage and holding them at gunpoint for almost 20 hours, and this is where I describe to you not only the bravery of the Jewish people, but their honour and grace.
While Ian and I, with our guide for the day, stood on the corner where the worst of the attack took place, looking at a massive mural and memorial to the fallen heroes on that fateful day, we learned we were standing right beside the home of David and Rachel Edry. Our guide told us how Rachel provided First Aid to one of the wounded terrorists, how she provided them breakfast, lunch and dinner, and even baked them chocolate chip cookies.
While providing them remarkable hospitality, IDF and police negotiators arrived to try and talk the terrorists down. The lead negotiator was a police officer, David and Rachel’s son. Unfortunately, the terrorists refused to surrender, and deadly force had to be used to rescue David and Rachel.
While we were standing on the corner talking, our guide looked up and said, “There’s Rachel Edry!” She was walking across the road toward her home. We were introduced, and she warmly embraced us both and thanked us for coming to Israel and supporting her nation.
Grace in the Face of Evil
She recounted her story again for us, saying that when the terrorists forced their way into her home, she’d said to her husband that Simchat Torah was a holy day, and we welcome guests into our home on such a day, and as such, she would serve these ‘guests’. And that’s exactly what she did.
We learned that her husband David died just a few months after the Oct 7 attack, the stress and trauma being too much. She opened her phone and showed us photos and the bloody carnage inside her house after she and David were rescued. In fact, they weren’t able to return to their home as it needed to be completely renovated, in fact, Rachel had only moved back a few months before we had the privilege of meeting her.
One of the residents of Ofakim, Oded Omesi, commented that “Inside (the Edry home), a miracle happened. But outside the house, it was a small Holocaust.”
Heroes of a New Generation
While visiting the children at Youth Futures Ofakim, we did an exercise with them, going around in a circle to share who our heroes are and why. Most of the children mentioned family members who fought and or died in the Oct 7 massacre, and I watched and listened as they shared their stories, overwhelmed by their bravery and strength. Then it was my turn.
Why the Jewish People Continue to Inspire
I told them, “I was going to say that Joseph the patriarch is my hero because he endured so much, but still blessed the world. (Betrayed by his family, sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned, but eventually became Prime Minister of Egypt and saved his family, and the known world at that time.) But it’s hard to have just one hero. So my heroes are the Jewish people because you endure so much, and yet you still bless the whole world.”
The quailty and resilience of the Jewish people never ceases to amaze me.
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