Marking 700 Days

Dear Friends, Today marks the unthinkable 700th day since October 7, 2023; 700 unimaginable days of captivity for the remaining hostages being held by Hamas. I marked this terrible, painful milestone today at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, just steps from the homes of Netta Epstein, Nitzan Libstein, Sivan Elkabetz (z”l) and too many other young adults murdered by Hamas. Just a few feet away was the home of Ziv and Gali Berman – twin brothers kidnapped on October 7th and still somewhere in the tunnels of Gaza.

Through our Gesher program, I am here this week with the leaders of San Diego’s largest Jewish agencies, strengthening our connections to Israel and one another, and expanding our already deep ties to Sha’ar HaNegev. I am, as always, amazed by my talented colleagues from San Diego, and grateful for their leadership, their compassion, and their kindness as we take this walk together during this intensely challenging moment in Israel’s history.

Our guide today in Kfar Aza was Rona Epstein, the daughter of the current Sha’ar HaNegev mayor Ori Epstein and the niece of the previous mayor, Ofir Libstein (z”l). She is 20 years old, and a lifelong resident of the kibbutz. She led us on a tour of the worst day of her life, with stops at the spots where two of her uncles, her grandmother, her cousin, and her brother died that day. She leads these tours frequently, as a form of processing. She feels compelled; she wants people to understand what happened and what was lost. It is shattering to hear her story. We lit candles to remember those who fell on October 7th and in the days that followed, and to pray for the safe return of the hostages.

It is noisy here on the Gaza border. The sounds of war continue throughout the day and wake us up at night. Israelis are exhausted from two years of fighting, and want desperately to get the hostages back, and for an end to war.

They want the chance to envision what their “new normal” will be, because it will not be what it was before. However, until all of the remaining hostages – including Ziv and Gali from Kfar Aza and Omri Miran from Nachal Oz – are home, Sha’ar HaNegev and all of Israel will not be whole.

The image of Rona standing in front of those candles – at the home of her brother Netta who died jumping on a grenade to save his fiancé – will stay with me forever. But so will the image of Rona the night before at the beautiful pub in Yachini, built with support from San Diego’s Jewish community. She is one of many young people who gather regularly at the pub for open mic night. During our visit, she played guitar, her friend played violin, others sang and played for hours, enjoying a beautiful late summer evening the way young people should. But of course, underlying it all, is 700 days that none of them should have had to experience.   

700 days in captivity, 700 days of horror and pain, 700 days of grief and worry are 700 days too many. 

Along with every Israeli we have met on this trip, we pray today and every day for every last hostage to come home, and for an end to this terrible war. I am both honored and saddened to be here at this moment, and I pray that there will be no more terrible milestones to mark.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Heidi Gantwerk, President & CEO Jewish Federation of San Diego