The Kfar Aza Foundation, a leading organization dedicated to the revival of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, will take the stage at the Jerusalem Post Miami Summit 2026 as it continues its mission to rebuild one of the communities most deeply affected by the October 7 Hamas attack.
Returning to Miami for the second consecutive year, the foundation will address the challenges of recovery, the path forward toward rebuilding, and the importance of engaging the Jewish community in supporting a kibbutz whose physical and emotional reconstruction is still underway.
“There are three impacted communities for whom, more than anyone else, October 7 is not over yet. Kfar Aza is one of them,” said Alon Futterman, CEO of the Kfar Aza Foundation. “October 7 is not behind us until everyone returns home.”
Futterman said this message will be central to the foundation’s participation at the Miami Summit, as it continues advancing concrete steps toward the community’s return.
According to the foundation, Kfar Aza is scheduled to begin reopening in the summer of 2026 - a milestone that represents renewed hope for displaced residents. “The important news is that there is a timeline,” Futterman said. “By the final quarter of 2026, our community will begin returning home.”
However, he emphasized that returning home comes with significant challenges. While the Israeli government is funding the reconstruction of private homes and core infrastructure, the foundation has taken on the mission of rebuilding the communal heart of the kibbutz.
“Our goal is to invite the world to take part in rebuilding and rehabilitating Kfar Aza,” Futterman said. “Kindergartens, a medical clinic, and the young adults’ neighborhood - these are not just buildings. They are the foundation of kibbutz life.”
He emphasized that rebuilding the young adults’ neighborhood is the foundation’s highest priority. “From Kfar Aza’s perspective, this is the biggest and most important thing,” Futterman added. “Rebuilding the young adults’ neighborhood is essential to the future of the community.”
The neighborhood carries particular symbolic weight. It was from this area that several residents were taken hostage on October 7, including former hostages Emily Damari and siblings Ziv Berman and Gali Berman. Rebuilding this part of the kibbutz, Futterman emphasized, is not only a physical reconstruction but a communal one - pivotal to restoring continuity and a future for Kfar Aza and its residents.
Joining Futterman on the Miami stage will be former hostage Keith Siegel, alongside two young adults from Kfar Aza. Together, they will speak not only about what they endured, but about where the community stands today and where it is headed, offering a deeply personal perspective on rebuilding after hardship as well as an insight into what is next for the kibbutz.
“These are the very places from which people were kidnapped,” Futterman said. He noted the symbolism of the foundation’s work - transforming sites of trauma into spaces of community once again. “Now we are looking forward, opening our doors, and asking the global community - starting with Miami - to help us rebuild.”
Written in collaboration with Kfar Aza