Chen G. Schimmel is an Israeli photojournalist whose documentation of October 7th and the months that followed has become an important visual record. This series includes excerpts from her first book, October 7th | Bearing Witness, which creates a visual and written account of the first year after the attacks.
Proceeds go to the SUMMIT Institute for Trauma and Post-Trauma Recovery. For more information: https://www.chengschimmel.com/
Why I fight:
My country – the place that holds my whole past, the very essence of my life.
My land – its landscapes, the sea, the Negev, the Galilee, and Mount Hermon. Every piece of soil in my beautiful homeland, the most stunning place in the world.
My people – my brothers and sisters, those who live here and those abroad. My extended family, scattered around the world, who will stand by me in any time of need.
My friends – the people I love, who bring me joy and push me forward. They are my moral compass, guiding me with integrity.
My team – my younger brothers. The people I love most in the world. Those I would take a bullet for, but more importantly, those I live with and for. Together until the end, we go out together, and we all come back together.
My family – my mother, my father, my grandparents, and my brothers and sisters. The landscape of my childhood, those who raised me and grew up with me – they are my everything.
My grandfather – who made Aliyah for the sake of Zionism, and who built his home in a small, remote village, driven by a dream to settle the land. He raised a magnificent family, instilling in them the values of camaraderie, family, and unwavering Zionism. My grandfather fought and struggled to reach this land; I fight to ensure we remain here forever.
My nephew – a little boy, beautiful and wise. May he grow up to be a man of values and morals, and may he grow up in a better world.
My comrades – my fellow commanders, my sergeant. The people who live alongside me every day, who know me and understand what I endure. Those who will always stand by me, just as I will always stand by them – in peace and especially in war.