AS TRAUMATIC as it is for them to relive their haunting experiences of October 7, 2023, Supernova music festival survivors are conscious of the fact that any information they provide for a wider public may help to secure the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas.
Some of them shared testimony with more than 150 Jewish students from 30 countries across six continents, whose gathering was facilitated by B’nai B’rith International.
A daunting ceremony
The special meeting in Prague was organized in close cooperation with the B’nai B’rith World Center Jerusalem during the centennial gathering of the World Union of Jewish Students at its annual congress in Prague.
Nani, a motivational online content creator from Tel Aviv and Chinitz, a child therapist from Ness Ziona, were among the 3,000 festival attendees on the morning of October 7, and among the first to realize that what had started out as a seemingly distant barrage of rockets was in fact a full-scale land and air attack by what we now know were thousands of armed terrorists.
Their accounts detailed over 10 hours of a life-threatening race: escaping first by car and then by foot, seeking improvised shelter, ducking from gunfire centimeters above their heads and encountering moments of luck and misfortune.
In the hour-long emotional session with the students, Nani and Chinitz recounted with moving humor and sensibility the small human details of the experience – among them a symbolic lucky bell pepper that Chinitz had picked up while hiding in a greenhouse – that the two whimsically deemed the bell pepper of victory.
Nani and Chinitz paid tribute to their friends – Dan and Itay, who were murdered in the attack, and the many other victims from the Supernova music festival, as well as those still held hostage by Hamas – including Noa Argamani, a friend of Chinitz’s. They spoke of the lingering trauma and long journey to healing on which they have currently embarked, the unbreakable bond that the experience created between them and their future plans as shaped by the attack.
And what happened to the bell pepper? It remains a symbol of resilience and victory.
And a victory it was, as the two friends survived to tell the story. The session was the first testimony that the two had offered outside of Israel, and the student group responded with questions, support, emotion, and a sense of responsibility to amplify their story: to their peers, policymakers, and media back home.
While more than 120 Israelis are still being held hostage in Gaza, and Israel is at war, following the most devastating attack on its soil since its creation, Nani, Chinitz, and the entire Nova community, through their motto and their spirit, remind us that “We Will Dance Again.”
The testimonial session was part of a broader set of activities facilitated by B’nai B’rith at WUJS Congress, including a delegation of IMPACT: Emerging Leaders fellows – a program developed in partnership with WUJS, and a lawfare offering to address antisemitism on campuses around the world, provided in partnership with WUJS and the Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL).
In memoriam
■ THE CITY of Netanya completed the Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein Elderly Community Center, named in memory of the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), one of Israel’s largest philanthropic organizations.
The Center, which will provide a variety of services for the city’s senior citizens, was developed with an investment of nearly $1.4 million from local government, aid organizations and the IFCJ. The project aligns with Rabbi Eckstein’s vision of providing purpose, meaning, and inspiration to people in need at all points in life. In addition to hosting social activities, the Center will serve as a resource facility to assist seniors in enjoying independent and productive lives. The building features a variety of spaces for lectures, entertainment and cultural events, exercise, and many other activities.
Netanya Mayor, Miriam Feirberg-Ikar, hailed the Center as the first of its kind and a critical addition to the city’s support network for seniors. “It fills me with great joy that we were able to achieve another dream for our city by establishing this center for the aged population. We know that as people age, they feel increasingly lonely and struggle with lack of purpose, while also facing financial insecurity. We take pride in doing everything we can to help this special population.”
IFCJ President and CEO Yael Eckstein, a daughter of the Foundation’s founder who is carrying on his work, sees the Center as a fulfillment of his vision: “It is with great emotion and excitement that we commemorate the opening of this important center. My father, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, was blessed to have lived in Netanya, and this facility will allow all of us to express the love and commitment to its people that I know he felt.
“His life was all about bringing hope, happiness, and dignity to others, so this center is very much a physical manifestation of that incredible vision which has come to mean so much to so many people all over this country.”
US students show solidarity
■ AMONG THE solidarity missions that have begun flooding into Israel is The Solidarity Mission of Jewish Studies Scholars to Israel Amid Crisis, which prompted a senior delegation of Jewish Studies scholars from various US universities to vote with their feet when expressing their support.
The initiative for the mission originated from Yeshiva University faculty, swiftly gaining impetus as colleagues from Hebrew Union College and the Jewish Theological Seminary joined up.
The project has garnered additional support from scholars at institutions such as the Catholic Theological Union, Rutgers, Washington University, Notre Dame, Cleveland State, Emory, Reed College, and more.
The collective goal is to foster a community of academics dedicated to Israel and Zionism, serving the interests of both global and local Jewish communities, but the participation by non-Jewish academics gives validity to the oft-quoted statement by US President Joe Biden: “You don’t have to be Jewish, to be a Zionist.”
The project, which is a grassroots response by academic Jewish Studies scholars of all communal allegiances, was provoked by Hamas. Some of the specialists in Jewish Studies are under fire on their university campuses.
They have come together with scholars who teach in national Jewish institutions. Professor Steven Fine, Director of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies said: “It is heartwarming that Conservative, Reform, and Orthodox congregations and communal organizations from around the country quickly joined in to help.
“This is Klal Yisrael forging new bonds at a moment of crisis, a wonder to watch”.
The Jewish Studies Scholars Solidarity Trip to Israel in Crisis had, as its first goal, visiting Israeli academic institutions, scholars, and students who are affected by this war, and using their expertise as Jewish scholars as part of the war effort.
The trip was the first step in a larger project to bring together scholars of Jewish studies as a community, to create a fellowship and to seed future projects.
Members of the delegation explored Kibbutz Kfar Aza and Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, engaged with scholars at Bar Ilan and Tel Aviv Universities, and visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
They also visited the new Israel Antiquities Authority campus, to learn about the work of archaeologists during the war.
Tiv Tam expands
■ DESPITE RISING prices and reduced spending power, some business enterprises are actually expanding. Last week, Hagai Shalom, one of the owners and CEO of the Tiv Tam chain of supermarkets, together with senior management, launched the chain’s new flagship store at Savyon Junction at a cost of NIS 12 million. Among those present at the well-attended event was Kiryat Ono mayor Israel Gal. In all probability, he would have been there under any circumstances, but municipal elections are on the immediate horizon.
The opening of new enterprises is usually accompanied by a ceremony of affixing the mezuza and the raising of a toast. These days it also includes an appeal for the return of the hostages from Gaza, a congratulatory message, and a blessing for the soldiers in the army – plus the assurance that “together we will win.” Presumably this will continue until a ceasefire or the defeat of Hamas.
Unlike most other supermarket chains, Tiv Tam is open on Saturdays and other Jewish holy days, which may possibly account for its success.
Shalom emphasized this in his address, and said that the new branch was the third in the area, and the site which is easily accessible, had been strategically selected in the heart of the residential sector, at the meeting points of Savyon, Or Yehuda, Kiryat Ono, and surrounds, would provide residents in all those communities with a wider choice of food products than they have to date.
Israel Gal praised Tiv Tam’s initiative saying that not only the residents, but people who work in the area will enjoy shopping in this impressive, ultra-modern supermarket which can compare favorably with any overseas supermarket.
greerfc@gmail.com