“We are here. We stand in solidarity with the people,” Marriët Schuurman, Dutch ambassador to Israel, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday at the site of the fatal missile impact in Beit Shemesh.
Schuurman was part of a delegation of 15 European ambassadors visiting the location where, on March 1, a 500 kg. Iranian warhead hit a synagogue, killing nine people, seven of whom were running to the bomb shelter.
The delegation included ambassadors from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia, Ireland, and the Czech Republic, as well as the ambassador and head of the European Union Delegation to Israel.
“It’s very impressive to see it and to meet the people from the community who survived and the community leaders who helped them to hear their stories,” Schuurman told the Post. “You can read it in the news, and I think, when that hit came it was a big shock to everybody, but it’s always different to see in real life and also see how many people got saved by being in the miklat (shelter).”
“It’s all very well to be in Brussels watching wars going on, but when you’re hearing sirens and running to your shelter, it’s totally different,” Michael Mann, the EU’s ambassador, told the Post.
“It’s only when you get here that you realize the depth of trauma that October 7 was. We all knew it was bad, but you realize that it’s had a major psychological effect on the whole country.”
Having moved to the country just six months ago, this is Mann’s first time experiencing a war in Israel.
He praised Israel’s air defenses and early warning systems, calling the country’s preparation “second to none.”
A lot of Mann’s work involves reporting back on the latest developments in Israel, Lebanon, and Iran to inform EU briefings. He also helps with the consulate and helps other people get out.
He said the EU agrees that “the Iranian regime is outrageous, disgusting. They murder their own people; they shouldn’t be allowed to have a nuclear bomb; they shouldn’t be allowed to be indiscriminately firing ballistic missiles. It’s a very evil regime, no doubt about it at all.”
However, he said the EU always had a preference for using diplomacy for the nuclear issue. “We were of the belief that the nuclear deal was working,” he told the Post, “but others took a different view, and it’s come to this, unfortunately.”
At the site itself, the Post was able to witness the scale of the destruction. Nothing remained of the synagogue that once stood there.
The ceiling of the underground shelter had caved in, and a large hole showed where the missile had penetrated the reinforced concrete.
The house directly in front of the synagogue was also flattened, leaving an uninterrupted view of the surrounding hill basin.
The ceiling of the underground shelter was caved in, and a large hole showed where the missile had penetrated the reinforced concrete.
The house directly in front of the synagogue was also flattened, leaving an uninterrupted view of the surrounding hill basin.
Two houses – renovated more recently – were left partly standing. They had no windows and were significantly damaged, but the difference between them and the older buildings was striking.
In fact, the residents of the unrenovated house without a bomb shelter had moved to their next-door neighbors’ house, which had a private bomb shelter; this decision ultimately kept them alive.
The owner of the renovated house, Avi Ohana, was at the site when the delegation arrived.
"Two years ago, I renovated my house," he said.
"In front of my eyes, it was completely ruined. I heard the siren. I went into the shelter. I sat actually right where the hole is, one meter inside and to the right. After a few minutes, we heard a very, very strong explosion. Basically, all of the ceiling started to crumble onto our heads. There was screaming inside. I went out of the steps, and when I was climbing up the steps, I saw bodies lying on the steps." Ohana also lost his brother-in-law in the incident.
Colonel (res.) Oded Revivi, commander of the Hartuv District in the Home Front Command, explained that the blast radius was 2 km, and the delegates and the Post were able to see smashed windows and damage as far as the other side of the basin. He said that 20 houses were destroyed; another 30 were partially destroyed. Another 50 were damaged to a lesser extent.
Some ambassadors asked, 'Why Bet Shemesh?'
In response, Revivi explained that Iran is “not stupid” and learned during the previous round in June that it is more successful when shooting missiles at more crowded and concentrated areas, as well as at older neighborhoods.
Revivi stressed to the ambassadors not only the level of impact and the amount of danger but also the “number of lives that have been saved because people actually followed the guidelines of the Home Front Command and went into the bomb shelter.”
“If there hadn’t been a building [synagogue] on top, and all the impact was on this roof, the over 30 people that were in the bomb shelter would have been buried alive,” he said.
Nevertheless, a whole neighborhood was effectively destroyed. Some of the Torah scrolls were recovered, but most were not. The residents have been evacuated to government-funded hotels.
Many of the ambassadors questioned how the residents would rebuild and who would assist them.
Revivi said that the director-general of the Finance Ministry came to the site a few hours after the attack and sat with Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg to write lists of all the families. These lists will estimate their losses and damages and how much money they will need to rebuild their lives.
He emphasized that “the city is getting a very big hug from the government to try and help these people as quickly as possible.”
The Jewish Agency for Israel also has a subsidiary called Amigour, a construction company. Two days after the event, Amigour was already working on-site, fixing roofs so that rainfall wouldn’t cause any more damage. After this, the Israel Tax Authority will step in and evaluate the damage for each house; they assign contractors, and the process of rebuilding begins immediately.
Revivi stressed that these efforts do not stop at physical rebuilding; mental health and social services are included, too. “It’s a 360-degree care for every single individual to make sure that they get out of this mess as quickly as possible,” he said.
Shemesh Foundation CEO Raanan Elias explained to the Post that, unfortunately, there are several places in the city where there are no shelters.
“We need 100 miguniot [portable above-ground shelters],” he told the Post. “That’s a huge quantity.”
“We spent two weeks bringing three here. It requires so much money and the mobilization of federation money.”
He also stressed the need to better equip rescue units, particularly because there is no hospital in the city. Thus, it’s essential that medical response teams are able to function to the best of their ability. “That’s around $100,000 that we still need to raise,” he said.
“This visit demonstrates the firm support of countries around the world for Israel,” said Greenberg. “Anyone who comes here and sees the destruction and damage understands the scale of the challenge and the strength of the community’s resilience. We are working around the clock to rebuild, strengthen, and ensure security and stability for residents, and the international presence here is a significant boost to this effort.”