Not long ago, Kerem Shalom, the southernmost kibbutz in the Gaza Strip, was a little paradise. The Hamas terror of October 7th spared this village as well. What became of this once peaceful kibbutz? What is life like here after the horrific massacre? CSI employee Delly Hezel reports from her friends Ofer and Rony.
The large wall, the landmark of Kerem Shalom, was originally intended to protect its residents from an attack by terrorists from Gaza. A little over thirty families lived in Kerem Shalom, secular and religious Jews side by side. Their harmonious coexistence was exemplary, characterized by mutual respect and consideration.
The horrific massacre of October 7th did not spare Kerem Shalom. On October 6th, at the beginning of Shabbat and the festival of Simchat Torah, the people were still together in the synagogue. The atmosphere was filled with joy and merriment. There was celebrating, singing, and dancing. No one could have imagined that the very next morning the world would be completely different.
Shortly after the massacre, when I spoke to Ofer on the phone and asked how they were doing, he could barely speak, he was so shaken. He told me that they, as a kibbutz, had experienced a great miracle; even before Hanukkah, they had witnessed a true Hanukkah miracle. The day after the massacre, they found the bodies of 100 terrorists in and around Kerem Shalom. How easily these attackers could have completely wiped out the small community. They didn't succeed.
And yet Kerem Shalom has paid a price. Two residents, Yedidia Raziel and Amichai Israel, lost their lives fighting for the kibbutz. Two others, Yair Weisner and Amichai Schindler, were seriously injured. All four are fathers of families with three to six children.
Difficult return to everyday life
The entire kibbutz was evacuated to Eilat. For three months, all the residents were housed in a hotel. It was a nice hotel and certainly a great place to stay for a holiday. However, it feels quite different when you're sharing a room as a family with several children and everyday life takes over in this exceptional situation. Not to mention everything that needs to be processed.
Everyone is traumatized in their own way. Yes, they survived, but so many of their relatives and friends, teammates, school friends, and teachers did not. Some friends are being held hostage in Gaza, others haven't even been identified yet.
The first few days were marked by all the terrible news, which was unbearable yet seemed endless. The entire kibbutz was together, experiencing these difficult moments as a group. While the suffering they had endured wasn't lessened, their sense of community was immensely strengthened. In Eilat, they tried to gradually return to a semblance of normalcy, even though it wasn't easy.
The kibbutz community has since been evacuated again, this time to Ashalim, a moshav near Be'er Sheva. Life has been reduced to the bare essentials. The families now live in small units, more closely resembling life in a kibbutz. Living together is not easy; nerves are frayed, and only slowly is the full extent of this massacre sinking in. How can things continue? Is there a future for Kerem Shalom? When will it begin, and what will it look like? Many questions remain unanswered.
Hope is given by a promise made by the kibbutz community shortly after this horrific massacre. The magnet Rony once gave me hangs on my refrigerator: "Kerem Shalom, we will return and make you grow and flourish again!"
In early 2022, Ofer was in Germany for recuperation as part of the CSI's aid program for victims of terrorism. Here you can read an interview we conducted with him at that time.
This article first appeared in our newspaper "Israelaktuell," issue 136. You can order the newspaper here . We would also be happy to send you several copies for distribution.
