Hamas-Europe was declared in Israel as a terror organization in December 2013 by then-Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon. The declaration details operative names at Hamas-Europe headquarters and cites among prominent operatives Amin Abu Rashed and Muhammad Hanoun. Abu Rashed heads the "Isra'a Fund" organization in the Netherlands, declared a terror organization already in May 2007 by then-Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, and heads the "Al-Wafa" organization, part of Hamas-Europe headquarters. Muhammad Hanoun heads the ABSPP Italy organization, declared in Israel as a terror organization in 2006 as part of Hamas' charity coalition. The American administration also designated its organizations as terror entities in 2008. None of this stopped activists from the "IGATHA 48 Association" and the "Al-Aqsa" associations from establishing extensive connections with Abu Rashed, Muhammad Hanoun, and their organizations between 2015 and 2022.

One photo, published on Abu Rashed's Facebook and on the "Al-Wafa" website, reveals the tip of the iceberg of the link between Ra'am's subsidiary associations and Hamas-Europe headquarters. In the photo, against a blue sea backdrop, prominent activists from " IGATHA 48 Association," Mansour Abbas, then secretary general of the Ra'am party and subsequently party chairman, alongside Amin Abu Rashed. The meeting occurred on October 16, 2015, roughly two years after the specific declaration about Abu Rashed as a terror operative and approximately seven years after the declaration about his organization as a terror organization. The cover was, as usual, humanitarian – a meeting in Greece for Syrian refugees. Is there another way to assist Syrian refugees without a terrorist's help?

In the photo, one can also see Nael Issa, head of foreign relations for the "IGATHA 48 Association," son-in-law of Abdullah Nimr Darwish, founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel, and husband of Nasiba Issa, who serves as head of the women's headquarters in the Islamic Movement and in Ra'am and is considered a powerful woman in the party. We'll return to him momentarily.

In June 2025, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on operatives at Hamas-Europe headquarters. This happened because it became clear they raised tens of millions of dollars, ostensibly for charity and humanitarian activity purposes, but in reality, these were transferred to Hamas' military wing. Among the operatives were Abu Rashed and Muhammad Hanoun, who, according to the US Treasury Department, raised millions of dollars for Hamas. "Hamas and the Popular Front have a long history of misusing charity organizations and the non-governmental sector," the US Treasury Department website states. "Terrorists run some of these charity organizations, and their connections to Hamas and the Popular Front are deliberately concealed to evade sanctions... The Isra'a charity fund in the Netherlands is a member of the umbrella organization 'Charity Coalition,' which is directly connected to Hamas's military wing and comprises additional organizations that generate income for Hamas under the guise of legitimate charity work.

"Amin Razi Abu Rashed, representative of the Isra'a Fund, is a senior Hamas operative in Europe and is responsible for raising millions of American dollars for Hamas through the use of fake charity organizations as cover. Representative of the Isra'a Fund and Hamas operative Israa Abu Rashed led campaigns on behalf of the Isra'a Fund to raise and direct funds to Hamas. The Isra'a charity fund, based in the Netherlands, is part of the 'Charity Coalition' umbrella organization."

The US Treasury Department defined on November 12, 2008, that "'Charity Coalition' is an organization created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terror organization."

Abu Rashed is familiar to the Israeli public from the "Double Agent" series by Zvi Yehezkeli and the "Ad Kan" organization on Channel 13, where he is heard saying, "My work is to eliminate Israel." Abu Rashed and his daughter, Israa, who actually managed the fund, were arrested in June 2023 in the Netherlands. In their possession were found 750,000 euros in cash that were confiscated, on suspicion that they were designated for Hamas. His trial is being conducted in the Netherlands on charges of transferring 11 million euros to Hamas.

Cooperation on Temple Mount

The summit meeting in Greece was not a one-time event. Before it, cooperation occurred between Hamas-Europe headquarters operatives and Ra'am associations. For example, in July 2015, two food distributions occurred in Jerusalem and in the Temple Mount compound that were donated by "Isra'a" and "Al-Wafa" in cooperation with Ra'am's "Al-Aqsa" association. The joint activity was documented on "Al-Wafa's" Facebook and on Abu Rashed's.

After the meeting in Greece, the connection intensified. In February 2016, a delegation traveled to southern Turkey to support Syrian Palestinian refugees. In the various photos, one can see the two Hamas-Europe representatives, Abu Rashed and Hanoun, wearing vests with the European Union symbol and the "Al-Wafa" symbol, while beside them are activists from the "IGATHA 48 Association" in official vests of the organization.

In March 2016, Abu Rashed published on Facebook that "the European Loyalty Campaign launched its second campaign in southern Turkey in cooperation with the Islamic Association for Assistance to Orphans and the Needy in the Palestinian territories of 1948 and the Islamic Fund in the Netherlands (Isra'a). They distributed funds to Palestinian families in the city of Adana, and the families received sponsorship for six months according to family size." In the photos, one can see Nael Issa, head of foreign relations for the "IGATHA 48 Association."

In 2016, the ABSPP organization, Hamas-Europe headquarters branch in Italy, published a fundraising campaign for the bus project to the Temple Mount of the "Al-Aqsa" association. In the publication circulated on social networks, details of bank accounts in Italy were attached. The cost of sponsoring a bus was 350 euros.

In May 2019, an iftar meal was documented at Al-Aqsa Mosque under the sponsorship of Hamas-Europe and Ra'am's "Al-Aqsa" association.

In 2019, the ABSPP organization published a video to raise funds for its activities in the Temple Mount plaza. The star of the terror organization's video is none other than Hamad Abu Daabas, who was then head of Ra'am's Islamic Movement. Abu Daabas headed the body that determined Ra'am's Knesset list and also dictated its decisions in the coalition. Abu Daabas was replaced in 2022 by Safwat Freij, who today, alongside being head of the Islamic Movement, also serves as director of the "Al-Aqsa" association.

According to an investigation published by Elchanan Groner in HaKol HaYehudi, parallel to all this, Hamas-Europe and Ra'am's associations joined with the Hamas organization "Khayr Ummah" in Turkey. According to the investigation, over the years, Ra'am associations supported and allegedly transferred extensive aid to Hamas operatives, refugees from Syria who moved to Turkey. The connections continued also in January 2022, when operatives of these three organizations were documented together in Turkey, when Abu Rashed stood beside Nael Issa. According to a Justice Ministry report, the "IGATHA 48 Association" transferred 933,000 shekels ($263,046) to the terror organization "Khayr Ummah."

Overall, the three investigations we published – conducted with the help of the research department of the "Choose Life" forum – expose that Ra'am party's subsidiary associations, "IGATHA 48 Association" and "Al-Aqsa," maintained economic connections and prolonged cooperation with ten different terror organizations in the years 2014-2023:

1. Islamic Charity Society Hebron terror organization
2. Islamic Charity Association for Orphan Care Yatta terror organization
3. Charity Committee Ramallah terror organization
4. Charity Committee Tulkarem terror organization
5. Hamas headquarters in Europe terror organization – Al Wafaa
6. Aman Palestine terror organization
7. Human Appeal/charity deeds organization terror organization
8. Committee for Aid and Solidarity with Palestine (CBSP) terror organization
9. Association for Charity and Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP) terror organization
10. Isra'a Fund in the Netherlands terror organization

The abundance of the word charity in the names of these terror organizations could confuse the mind, like the sweet talk of Mansour Abbas, who continues to deny the link of the Islamic Movement and of his party's subsidiary associations to Hamas.

So here is a small example of what stands behind seemingly innocent humanitarian activity, which might help us be slightly less confused. In October 2025, Paratroopers Brigade fighters under Judea Brigade command raided the offices of the "Islamic Charity Association" in Hebron as part of an effort to thwart terror funding and confiscate incitement materials.

Meanwhile, as revealed in Israel Hayom, a criminal investigation into the matter opened and is being conducted these days. "For several months, an investigation has been underway at Lahav, with all relevant parties regarding Association 48," Brig. Gen. Lilit Nitzan Tayber, an officer at Lahav 433, said at a hearing last month at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "The events of October 7 elevated the materials and allowed us to establish an evidentiary infrastructure for advancement in the investigation. This is an in-depth investigation that justifies the connecting between money transfers from Israel and from abroad to Gaza."

The post Hamas-Abbas ties: The Israeli leader who met with terrorists appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Yoel Zilberman, New Guard CEO and founder with over 500 reserve duty days, spoke with Israel Hayom reporter Yifat Erlich while in full IDF uniform.

Q: We want to talk about the day after, even though the war keeps dragging on. When we look at the young people who fought and performed so well, we had serious doubts about this generation, the "screen generation", but we discovered they're absolutely extraordinary. Now I'm looking at the even younger kids, those who were in school and are about to enlist soon, kids who were in 12th grade or younger. How do we reach them? It seems like they're living with this feeling of "wait, where do we fit in?"

"The war demolished decades of research completely. I consumed studies explaining this generation's weakness – screen addiction, pornography, drugs, predicting they'd flee during crisis. The war demonstrated unequivocally that we have an exceptional generation. I formed a unit of four battalions, average age 48 – fathers whose sons died in battle," Zilberman stated.

"I spent an entire night in Syria with Noam, a mustachioed youth resembling a bar mitzvah boy, discussing battles at Kisufim and Nirim. He fought months in Gaza, then Lebanon, before joining me in Syria. I concluded that night, tearful, questioning how to prove worthy of such a person."

Q: Aren't we already seeing the morale crash after the initial high?

"Early indicators exist. If society demonstrates what merits dying for, it must show what deserves living for. Missing this opportunity is unacceptable," Zilberman responded.

"Youth matured magnificently, primarily through home influences. Now we must establish definitive national objectives. Every direction reveals reconstruction needs. We require a century-long perspective. The war confirmed Kishinev pogroms remain contemporary threats – they pulse within us."

Q: I'm looking at you and seeing the connection between the army and education. I want to ask a heretical question. This actually came from my daughter's teacher at the war's beginning. I asked her how much they talk in class about what's happening. She told me they don't. If the girls ask, they answer. But we believe we need to give children a routine. The girls encounter the war at home, on screens, and more. You're saying something else. You're saying we should integrate these challenges into education. You want to introduce national service missions starting at age 14, maybe even earlier. But doesn't this come at a cost? Shouldn't we let children just be children?

"Children possess inherent joy. Youth primarily requires personal examples. Educational environments need gentleness and supportive frameworks, but ultimately, youth demand inspiration. They need positive direction, understanding their future leadership roles," Zilberman clarified.

"Youth demonstrate greater awareness than we recognize. When educators avoid discussions, children engage privately. Educators can guide deeper conversations. Education's purpose isn't denying reality. We're in the Middle East – not everything is rosy. Jews face existential threats globally. This doesn't eliminate childhood. Enjoyment remains obligatory, but choosing goodness often requires sacrificing comfort. Youth grasp this through worldly engagement."

"We established requirements that every Guard trainee creates new settlements, practicing state-building. Through such practice, they'll contribute to governmental systems," he added.

"Growing up in Moshav Tzippori taught me lessons about herding. Traditionally, when leading herds, you block escape routes with sticks. My grandfather taught that wisdom involves following herds, gently guiding directions. Education follows similar principles – primarily avoiding interference."

The post 'We're in the Middle East – not everything is rosy' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Two weeks ago, the Jerusalem District Court received nine civil lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority from nine collaborators who endured torture and imprisonment under PA authority. These represent contemporary horrors occurring under Mahmoud Abbas' rule, rather than historical incidents from the Arafat era, with some cases dating back to recent years. Plaintiff A. displays visible torture evidence: burn scar rows along his leg at regular intervals, resulting from heated metal repeatedly applied during sadistic Palestinian Authority interrogation in 2020.

These nine lawsuits supplement dozens of previous legal actions, most resulting in Palestinian Authority liability and court-ordered victim compensation. Bahaa al-Shuwamra, 42, from Hebron, received 2 million shekels ($565,000) after winning his case. His Israeli cooperation began in 2000. "Initial contact occurred through another Palestinian operative, developing into direct Shin Bet communication by 2004. Our collaboration continued through 2008, involving extensive weapons seizures and terror attack prevention. They ambushed me in 2008 while conducting commercial transport work. They lured me near Dura for supposed cargo work. I responded without understanding the Palestinian Authority's arrest capabilities. Oslo signatories promised collaborator protection. I feared beatings but never anticipated detention. Armed personnel seized me, covering my head before vehicle transport."

"How does the Palestinian Authority protect murderers?"

Previous Authority persecution had targeted Bahaa. His residence was attacked two years earlier. "In 2006, ten masked men fired 200 bullets at my house and fled. It was a message they wanted to send me. After this incident, the officer I operated with called me. He said that because there are suspicions about me, they want to protect me. They offered me to stay in Israel, but I decided to return to the Palestinian Authority. I thought the Authority was weak."

Bahaa maintained cooperation for two additional years before seven years of Palestinian Authority imprisonment under Abbas' administration. "When they arrested me, I was in shock. Very quickly, they started with torture. I was naked in my underwear all the time. For a very long period, I was in isolation in a room of one meter by one and a half meters. The floor was full of water. You can't sleep. They pour water on you. You urinate in the water. In interrogations, they beat people all the time. They put me in a shower, with my hands tied and eyes covered, and inserted something like a knife, a stick into my back. They would bring people from outside for interrogations. It was like a party to beat detainees. They tie two-liter bottles to each hand, and the hands must be at a 90-degree angle. You're not allowed to lower them. If you lower them, you get beaten on the head.

"Hebron terrorists who murdered a female soldier and seized her weapon surrendered to the Authority for protection from Israeli arrest. These killers participated in our interrogations, delivering beatings. Blood-stained individuals attacked me during Palestinian Authority sessions. How do you explain this? How does the Palestinian Authority protect murderers?"

Seven years of wandering between facilities brought consistent torture experiences. "Once, one of the guards gave me a terrible slap in the face, and my whole head went back; I still suffer from it today. Another time, they brought the imam so we would say our last words because they wanted to kill us. He came with his Quran. I didn't believe they would give us a trial; I thought they would murder us and throw the bodies in the garbage. In the end, they gave me a trial and I received a seven-year sentence. Part of the time, I was in Jericho. They crammed 50 men in a room. There aren't beds for everyone, no place to sit. I suffered greatly."

The crime: attempts at preventing terror

In 2015, Bahaa was released and moved to Israel. Today, he lives in Beer Sheba with his wife and children and works in construction. In 2018, he began the process of filing a lawsuit against the Authority, a process that lasted a long time, and about a year ago, he finally received approximately 2 million shekels ($565,000) in compensation that was offset from tax money Israel transfers to the Authority. "I live with dignity today. I'm active in Likud, and after October 7, I came to support the South and reserve soldiers. A person who helped thwart terror is a person who loves life. He deserves honor, he deserves everything."

In the last decade, the Arbus-Kedem-Tzur law firm has represented about 100 collaborators in lawsuits against the Authority. "Until today, we received about 50 court rulings with a total sum of compensation in the scope of 120 million shekels ($34 million)," attorney Barak Kedem said. "Part of the compensation we already collected through enforcement, and the lion's share is still in collection and offset stages from Palestinian Authority tax money. Recently, we filed nine new lawsuits, and there are several more on the way.

"In the past, when we talked about torture, we would say this characterizes Arafat's Palestinian Authority. There was some thought that with Abu Mazen [Abbas] it's already different, that the Authority changed. But the new stories prove this is not so. All the cruel practices still exist. This is here and now, and these are the cruelest things in the world. One of the new plaintiffs showed me a hole in his lip, created from a heated skewer. These tortures are directed against political suspects, meaning land sellers to Jews or collaborators, against anyone who harms the Palestinian Authority's interests. The Palestinian Authority not only encourages terrorists and finances 'shahids,' it also harms collaborators who try to prevent terror."

"There's no difference between the Authority and Hamas. People think the horrors we saw on October 7 were Hamas, but the Palestinian Authority carries out the same horrors. It's a different party, but exactly the same people who would commit the same horrors, only ten times worse, because the Palestinian Authority is much larger and has more capabilities and resources. If they had the opportunity, they would do October 7 squared. These are people with the peak of cruelty in the world."

Q: Is there a fixed pattern of torture? Is this systematic, or are there certain interrogators who are particularly cruel?

"It's systematic. There are tortures that repeat constantly, for example, hanging with legs up and head down, and whipping the interrogated person while beating them. These are testimonies we heard from the hostages in Gaza. What Hamas does, the Authority also does. We heard about several cases where they forced detainees to sit naked on a glass bottle. Two thugs force the detainee to sit, until the bottle penetrates through the anus. Sometimes the bottle is broken, and then the person's intestines open up. This is something that cannot be rehabilitated afterward. It's a nightmare.

"There's a recurring pattern of damage to teeth. Many people had their teeth broken with clubs or teeth extracted with pliers. We also have a female collaborator, whose fingernails and toenails were extracted with pliers. There's a recurring pattern of detainees being taken out naked in winter cold and having cold water poured on them. This repeated itself tremendously. Also, a pattern of pulling on genitals and tying to a door. There are lots of cigarettes burning and heated metal rods. It's a free-for-all. And of course, endless beatings, also with metal rods. There's a recurring pattern of putting a person in a narrow coffin for several days, so that he cannot move."

Q: How many female detainees are there?

"Recently, we began treating a husband and wife who both suffered torture. The woman was in prison for two years. It was a men's prison, and she was there in a separate room, but all the guards were men. When I asked her if she experienced sexual assault in prison, at some point, she broke down and started crying hysterically. It was difficult for her to speak next to her husband. We had another case of a 19-year-old girl who was arrested on suspicion of collaboration. They tortured her and then shot her in the head and threw her body away. The family filed a lawsuit and received compensation of 4.5 million shekels ($1.27 million). But women are quite rare. Women are less active in the security arena. Most of the tortured are afraid to speak, men too, especially recently. Because of the war, Israel has reduced the number of people who have permits to stay in Israel. A person who knows he's here on borrowed time, and tomorrow they might throw him across the checkpoint, is much more afraid to be interviewed."

"Today I walk with my head held high"

Among the veterans, it's easier to find someone willing to speak, but he also asks to remain anonymous so as not to harm his family members who remained in the Palestinian Authority. H., 54, grew up in Samaria. He studied at the university in Nablus. "A friend connected me to the Shin Bet, and I started passing information that prevented attacks and saved lives. During this period, most attacks came from the universities. I don't regret what I did." In 1996, the friend who connected him to the Shin Bet was arrested by the Authority, and shortly after, he was also arrested. "They came to my house and kidnapped me. They put me in the trunk of a car and took me to Jericho for interrogation. For six years, I didn't see a judge, prosecutor, or lawyer. In 2002, during 'Defensive Shield,' the Israeli army freed me. The Threatened Persons Committee gave me a residence permit in the country."

Since then, he has lived in central Israel with a residence permit, but without any other rights. "I have no health insurance, no driver's license, no work permit. I can't go to a doctor. My mother and brother stayed there. I haven't seen them since, we only talk on the phone. I have no wife and children, and there was no possibility after prison. In 2017, I filed a lawsuit against the Authority. In the end, the judge ruled in our favor. The compensation is 3 million shekels ($847,000), but I still haven't received the money."

Q: How do the tortures you underwent affect you today?

"I still suffer from them to this day. I wake up at night every three hours, screaming, shouting, seeing them in dreams. I have marks that don't disappear on the body and soul. They brought me to a state where I cannot have sexual relations. They put a type of copper in the sex organ and would light it with fire. The interrogators would tell me, 'We'll make sure you have no future and won't remember the past, only this pain. You won't have continuation, children, and grandchildren.' They succeeded in this. Thank God, today I see the neighborhood children as my children."

Over the years, he worked odd jobs, mainly renovations. Everything under the table because he's not allowed to open a business. He's alone, has no friends and family, and yet he says again and again: "I don't regret it. I walk with my head held high and tell myself, maybe the people walking here next to me were saved from an attack thanks to me. This gives me the strength to continue, like fuel. For several years I've wanted to leave the country, to move to live in another country, but for that I need a travel document. They don't give me a travel document. I can't get a Palestinian passport, there's no chance in the world, and in Israel I can't apply for recognition as a refugee."

Q: Why didn't the Shin Bet recognize you?

"The Shin Bet only recognized two percent of the collaborators. In 'Defensive Shield', many people came out of prison together, so they only gave us residence permits and that's it."

Q: Does the compensation awarded to you provide some justice?

"It's less than what I thought I would receive. I spent more than 3 million in 25 years, so more is due, but at least it will be like a pension. Soon, I won't have the strength to continue working. I'm hopeful that something will change for the better. That they'll give me a travel document, that I can meet my family in another country, and that I can start a new life."

The post Israeli collaborators expose Palestinian Authority's systematic torture appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

G. is just one of dozens of IDF soldiers being targeted by pro-Palestinian antisemitic elements around the world. This week, Israel anxiously followed the escape of Yuval Vagdani from Brazil through Argentina to Miami, until his safe return to Israel. Thus, the Oct. 7 Nova massacre survivor, who fought Hamas terrorism in Gaza, was forced to flee from a popular destination for young Israelis during a post-service trip.

The legal pursuit of IDF soldiers escalated this week, but it is not new. It has existed for two decades. Lists of Israeli "war criminals" were published after Operation Cast Lead, and the State of Israel understood that it had to fight the phenomenon. A cabinet resolution from 2009 allocated a budget for the issue, and a unit in the Ministry of Justice and an inter-ministerial team were established to deal with this new-old antisemitic trouble.

During Operation Iron Swords, there was a change in this trend. The war was documented in real-time by Palestinian elements – and also by IDF soldiers themselves fighting on the ground – and both sides have been uploading photos to social networks in real-time. Apparently, there is no need for foreign spy agencies, nor for organizations like Breaking the Silence, which interview soldiers anonymously, take their testimony out of context, and pass it on to international bodies. Apparently, it's enough to sit in a Brussels cafe with a laptop and follow Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok channels where the videos are uploaded.

Thus, between sips of coffee and bites of croissant, one can identify the soldiers appearing in the videos, save them, and categorize them into folders. Taking things out of context can be done with almost any video. The demolition of buildings that contained tunnel shafts and combat equipment (as we know, almost every house in the Strip) becomes deliberate damage to civilian property. Firing at an ambulance that Hamas terrorists use to transport weapons becomes a war crime.

It's understood that on the fringes, regrettably, like in any war, there are unacceptable acts, which the military prosecution investigates and then files indictments against those who misbehaved. The wider fringes include acts documented by foolish soldiers, some of whom were joking around and didn't understand the gravity of their actions: a soldier who documented himself reading a book with a burning library in the background at a Gaza university; soldiers who photographed themselves holding women's underwear; a soldier who documented himself making a threatening gesture during the interrogation of a terrorist, and more.

Fondness for Nasrallah

Let's return to the Brussels cafe, where two of our protagonists are sitting. Not great heroes of Israel, but certainly small heroes of Hezbollah: Dyab Abou Jahjah and Karim Hassoun, both born in southern Lebanon and now live in Belgium. In September 2024, the two established the Hind Rajab Foundation, named after a Palestinian girl killed in Operation Iron Swords. The foundation is registered as a non-profit organization in Brussels, its funding sources are unknown, but its damages are already making waves. The foundation is a subsidiary of March 30 group, which has been operating for three decades in pursuing IDF soldiers.

Abou Jahjah, a muscular pro-Hezbollah activist, was previously documented with a Kalashnikov at a "summer camp." He published opinion pieces in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, wich is a mouthpiece of Hezbollah, and boasted about meeting Nasrallah. He holds Belgian citizenship and is mainly a local political activist and international provocateur. In 2017, he praised a terrorist attack in Jerusalem that killed three soldiers, and as a result, was fired from the Belgian newspaper De Standaard. He called the 9/11 attacks "sweet revenge." Due to his extreme activities, British authorities banned his entry into their territory in 2003 – but Tehran actually welcomed him in the past, at a conference after which he increased his political activity.

Karim Hassoun, the foundation's secretary, was elected in October 2024 as a representative of the Vilvoorde City Council. Hassoun is active among the local Muslim population and even headed the Arab-European League. During the years he headed the league, a Dutch court convicted the organization of spreading Holocaust-denying content. At a demonstration organized by the league, calls for the murder of Jews were heard. An article in Belgium published a picture of him wearing a Hezbollah hat and praising Samir Kuntar, the murderer of the Haran family in Nahariya in 1979.

During Operation Iron Swords, there was a change in this trend. The war was documented in real-time by Palestinian elements – and also by IDF soldiers themselves fighting on the ground – and both sides have been uploading photos to social networks in real-time. Apparently, there is no need for foreign spy agencies, nor for organizations like Breaking the Silence, which interview soldiers anonymously, take their testimony out of context, and pass it on to international bodies. Apparently, it's enough to sit in a Brussels cafe with a laptop and follow Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok channels where the videos are uploaded.

His social media accounts consistently publish incitement and support for terrorism. Facebook has blocked his account several times.

"At the beginning of the war, Abou Jahjah tried to sue Israeli soldiers holding Belgian or Dutch citizenship. In the Netherlands, he tried to sue six soldiers, but the police and the court did not accept his claims," Freak Vergier, a researcher and lawyer at the Dutch CIDI organization that monitors and fights antisemitism in the Netherlands, says. "He lives in Belgium in a Dutch-speaking area and speaks the language, so he also focused efforts in the Netherlands. He built a network of contacts from the Netherlands with whom he worked."

Among the contacts in the Netherlands, one can find Haroon Raza, a controversial lawyer who was previously reprimanded by the local bar association after calling an IDF soldier "pigs." Raza took part in legal advice and filing complaints in the Netherlands. "Abou Jahjah has been acting against Israel for more than 20 years. After he exposed personal details and shared pictures of Israeli soldiers with citizenship and family in the Netherlands, the Dutch police asked the Belgian police to visit him at home, following complaints filed against him for shaming. In the past, he was convicted in a Dutch court for preparing an antisemitic poster. By the way, in the past, he was also convicted in a Belgian court for another criminal offense. He was supposed to sit in jail for a year, but the court waived it for him. There was a period of a few months when he disappeared, and now he's back. The Belgian and Dutch press extensively covered his activities. This week he received much more extensive exposure and attention than he received in the past. This time he was relatively successful because he's learning from past mistakes, and that's worrying. It's hard to discover who's helping him, but he claims to have volunteers from 100 different countries. He receives a lot of sympathy in the Netherlands, especially among Muslims. He's vocal and criticizes Israel, so he's popular among Israel haters," says Vergier.

"From an esoteric problem, Abou Jahjah has turned into a multi-armed octopus," says an Israeli source operating in Europe. "Something here doesn't make sense. In recent months, there has been a fundamental change in his behavior. Over the years, he has proved that he's not the sharpest pencil. He had scandalous statements that a sophisticated person doesn't say. Suddenly, he's operating around the clock and on different continents, with continuous monitoring and probably using advanced technologies. In my estimation, there's no chance this is done by just one or two people, without external funding and assistance from people working with him continuously. Probably an anti-Israel body has latched onto his platform and put him in the front."

Ambush in South America

This week, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint against a soldier in Thailand, and against the soldier Yuval Vagdani in Brazil. The complaints are turning from a minor nuisance to a legal danger and disruption of the systems in the State of Israel when the soldier subject to the complaint is present in the country where the complaint was filed. Therefore, when the soldier exposes his location on social networks, he becomes easy and preferred prey. Part of the foundation's agenda is to create media noise and panic in Israel, so in previous times, it published the soldier's name and photo even before a complaint was actually filed against him. Thanks to this, the authorities in Israel monitoring antisemitic activity on the networks could locate the soldier and warn him in advance. In Yuval's case, for the first time, a non-public complaint was filed with the federal court in Brazil.

At the same time, the foundation published the fact of filing the complaint accompanied by a blurred photo of him, without mentioning his name. All this, apparently, to make it difficult to extract him from Brazil. Nevertheless, within two hours, the entities in Israel managed to identify the soldier, contact him, and help him escape from Brazil. All this happened even before the federal judge issued a public order to open an investigation. Eventually, Yuval returned home safely, and the police in Brazil returned the complaint to the court, citing "difficulties in opening the investigation."

The one who filed the complaint in Brazil on behalf of the foundation is Brazilian lawyer Maira Pinheiro from Sao Paulo. We contacted her this week to try to understand who are the factors behind the foundation. She spoke with us for about half an hour but was careful in her words, and the conversation with her suddenly ended when our questions became more pointed.

"From an esoteric problem, Abou Jahjah has turned into a multi-armed octopus," says an Israeli source operating in Europe. "Something here doesn't make sense. In recent months, there has been a fundamental change in his behavior. Over the years, he has proved that he's not the sharpest pencil. He had scandalous statements that a sophisticated person doesn't say. Suddenly, he's operating around the clock and on different continents, with continuous monitoring and probably using advanced technologies. In my estimation, there's no chance this is done by just one or two people, without external funding and assistance from people working with him continuously. Probably an anti-Israel body has latched onto his platform and put him in the front."

"I contacted the foundation before the current case," Pinheiro said. "I volunteered to work on any legal case they had in Brazil because I was aware that there was a high probability that possible suspects of war crimes would come here in the summer for vacation"

Q: The complaint filed in Brazil was filed in your name, not in the name of the foundation.

"The foundation doesn't have headquarters in Brazil so easily. They can't be the authors of the request, but I was hired by them, to perform legal work, and after around three days that we started the case, we reached out to the [Palestinian Gaza] families, and one of the families gave me power of attorney in Brazil. In our criminal justice system, the victim of a crime has the right to have its own legal representation that works alongside the prosecutors. So when this victim signed the power of attorney, I became formally the victim's lawyer."

Q: How did you reach the victims, was it through the foundation?

"Yes, our investigation team found them and presented extensive evidence that they had the property of the house, and also evidence that allowed us to present more geolocation evidence, and they also signed a statement where they described the circumstances in which the people who were sheltering in the house were forcibly displaced by the arrival of these Israeli forces."

Q: Regardless of the results of the procedure, will you transfer the evidence to the International Court?

"Yes, of course, because it's very valuable evidence, and it had been, it has been the digital evidence. The geolocation investigation is very thorough. There's no reason why it shouldn't go to the International Criminal Court, especially because in this event specifically, these specific war crimes that we affirm that the soldier was involved in, are part of a broader genocide project."

Q: Do you or the foundation have collaborations with organizations or people in Israel?

"Not that I'm aware of.  follow the works of organizations like B'Tselem and Gisha and Physicians for Human Rights in Israel. I find some of their work very relevant, like that report by B'Tselem's under the title 'Welcome to Hell.' It's very thorough and had a great impact. So there's valuable work being done by Israelis in the pursuit of human rights violations. In my court brief I quoted [left-wing Israeli daily] Haaretz many times and also from Times of Israel. Sometimes, I follow Israeli media because there is valuable information there. Sometime,s the way you talk about each other and about your internal dynamics is more candid than how Western media portrays Israel. So there's very valuable information to be found in Israel media and from the works of Israeli organizations, but we don't have any kind of formal collaboration or partnership with these organizations."

Q: Are you working to bring Hamas terrorists to justice as well?

"Well? As a lawyer, I believe in the right of legal defense and due process, and that's how I think human disputes should be settled. So I think the best way to solve human conflict, even though the law has main flaws and limitations, is through due process of a crime and the person has to answer and has to have the right to be properly defended."

Q So theoretically, if Hamas terrorists were to arrive in Brazil, would you call for their arrest and investigation as well?

[Call sunddently ends]

What would explain the sudden end of the conversation, and Attorney Pinheiro's ignoring of our written approach later? Perhaps it is her additional career. In her spare time, Pinheiro is an enthusiastic participant in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, expresses in various videos her support for armed Palestinian resistance, and is documented drawing the Hamas triangle on graffiti praising the October 7 massacre.

All this doesn't stop her and other lawyers of the foundation from filing complaints that have the appearance of seriousness, as a legal source explains. "The complaints talk about specific offenses in local law. They show the video of the alleged offenses. Recently, we started seeing claims of dangerousness, obstruction of justice proceedings, and fear of escape in the complaints. All this is done to expedite the process against the soldier, so that not only an investigation will be opened, but also an arrest warrant will be issued. They don't just want media noise, or to harass the soldiers and troll the systems in the State of Israel – they want a victory image of an IDF soldier in handcuffs. The nightmare scenario from Israel's perspective is a soldier being investigated or arrested by a foreign authority.

"It should be emphasized that so far, there have been zero such events in Operation Iron Swords. All we've had is a few dozen complaints, only a few of which matured into investigations. For those that did mature, the investigation was opened when the person subject to the investigation was not in that country and, therefore, was not in danger. The systems in Israel, in the political, legal, and intelligence arena, take this issue seriously and work in full cooperation, and so far successfully."

The Octopus' arms

The activity of the Hind Rajab Foundation may have made headlines this week – but it's just the tip of the iceberg. Already at the beginning of the war, Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi began publishing videos from footage of Palestinians in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria, and from the social media accounts of Israeli soldiers. Tirawi has connections with armed organizations in Jenin, and sources within the "Lions' Den," as reported by Channel 14. News. His publications are particularly quoted by the South African team at the International Court of Justice, which accused Israel of genocide. Since the beginning of the war, Tirawi has exposed dozens of posts and videos showing soldiers in Gaza behaving inappropriately. His publications have gained resonance in Haaretz, Reuters, and the Washington Post.

In October 2024, Tirawi published an investigation in Drop Site News, focusing on the IDF's 749th Combat Engineering Battalion. Tirawi exposed the names and photos of its senior officers and the unit's operations, as well as enthusiastic statements by soldiers and officers describing their mission as "flattening Gaza."

Drop Site News is a site that has hundreds of thousands of subscribers. It was established in July 2024 as an independent news site focusing on politics and wars. Its main journalists are Younis Tirawi and Sami Vanderlip, who also reports for Al-Jazeera. Both also maintain buzzing accounts on social networks. The news site operates under a non-profit organization in the US, so those who want to support anti-Israel activity will have their donation recognized for tax purposes in the US.

And these are not the only ones. Among the myriad of anti-Israel accounts and organizations that harass IDF soldiers across the network and echo the various publications, one can find the following:

Israel Genocide Tracker: An organization that began operating in May 2024. Its number of followers – 164,000 on Twitter and 20,000 on Telegram. The organization scans social networks and collects information about Israeli soldiers from social networks, with the help of an information-gathering bot. The organization claims its activity is done from within Gaza. It's not known who funds it.

Quds News Network: An organization identified with Hamas. It employs about 300 freelance reporters and volunteers. It has 567,100 followers on Twitter. The organization was established in 2001, and it operates a Palestinian news agency. The agency has focused over the years on covering events in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria, around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Recently, the organization has focused on presenting soldiers as war criminals.

Khalissee: Another Twitter account that takes part in the personal and legal attack on IDF soldiers. It has been active since 2023 and has 326,000 followers. The account publishes critical content towards the State of Israel, and it has gained media attention, among other things, due to the publication of information about Israeli soldiers, including personal details and photos.

These are just the tips of the threads, raising suspicion of coordinated activity by a foreign entity supporting or directing at least some of the octopus arms of the activity.

Another organization is DAWN – "Democracy for the Arab World Now" – a political non profit, wealthy and with extensive influence in the US. The non profit leads legal warfare campaigns against Israel. According to a report by NGO Monitor, some of the employees and board members of the organization have connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, and they have expressed support for Hamas activities.

In December 2023, DAWN submitted to the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court a list of 40 senior Israeli commanders, demanding an investigation into "the planning, ordering and execution of Israel's indiscriminate bombings, reckless destruction and mass killing of civilians in Gaza." As part of its campaign, the organization published cards of "main suspects" with the name, rank, photo and role in the IDF. Among the foundation's employees, one can find Jewish Americans and Israelis.

But there's no need to sail to big America – similar activity can be found in little Israel too. Extreme Left organizations and Israeli media outlets, as described by Brazilian lawyer Pinheiro, constitute a database from which information leading to the persecution of IDF soldiers worldwide can be drawn.

For example – Haaretz, which recently published an anti-settler campaign of an investigative nature against Major General Yehuda Fuchs, based on testimony from Breaking the Silence and anonymous sources from within the IDF. It's likely that the publication from Haaretz will be converted in the future into lawsuits against Fuchs in international legal arenas. Knesset member Ofer Cassif wanted to expedite the process, apparently, and tweeted in English a picture of Fuchs under the title "Wanted."

G. the "wanted" is already in a safe place, thanks to the control center of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs – but this is just the beginning of a challenging confrontation.

The post Handcuffing IDF soldiers: How the Gaza war took a new turn abroad appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

International Women's Day is a universally celebrated date, but during the current "Swords of Iron" War it would appear that a new type of Israeli femininity has been created, which is worthy of its own conceptualization. The range of diversity among women has been stretched to its very limits. On the one hand – they occupy one end of the spectrum as victims characterized by helplessness, in view of the horrors of murder, rape, and women being taken captive. On the other hand – they are also taking pride of place at the other end of the spectrum as those pushing the frontiers, in which women, in their capacity as fighters, both by taking up arms and in their spirit, have reached the very peak of heroism and altruism, which has changed the face of the war.

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More than any theoretical question, conclusions, or insights, I am particularly curious to ask Dr. Meytal Eran-Jona, a sociologist and gender researcher, which female figure who has gained publicity during the war has made the greatest impression on her. "I was particularly impressed by the women combat soldiers, who on October 7, wasted no time by jumping into their tanks and dashing from Nitsana on the Egyptian border to the Gaza border where they fought for 17 hours," replies Dr. Eran-Jona (52), married with three children, two of whom are female soldiers.

"Faced with absolute chaos, when the chain of command had broken down and there was nobody to lead the combat management effort, which was basically a complete mess with terrible losses, these women acted with resourcefulness, ingenuity, and tremendous courage. They simply fought to the best of their ability, without adequate preparation and without the appropriate CONOPS (Concept of Operations). The person who really caught my attention was the tank commander, who during an interview with her failed to understand why people were making a fuss about the fact that women were involved in the fighting."

This particular interview was broadcast on Channel 12 News, whose well-known anchor Danny Kushmaro, praised their bravery and with a considerable degree of pathos declared: "In fact, this is the first ever female tank battle in the IDF. What you did is really a type of historic battle." Staff sergeant Hilah, the tank commander, replied to this with disregard: "So what, what difference does it make? Did the terrorists know that the tanks were operated by girls? No. Why do you think that they saw Michal's hair waving outside of her commander's helmet? Boys, girls, what difference does it make?"

"That statement symbolizes the current generation of these brave young women, for whom being a combat soldier is nothing to get excited about, this is purely a matter of routine," says Eran-Jona.

Exemplary figures

With all due respect to the female combat soldiers, and they certainly deserve considerable respect, we cannot simply ignore women who are not fighters, but who succeeded by their mere words in changing the atmosphere of the war, on occasions at the most unexpected moment of all. For example, Iris Haim, who sent a message of support to those soldiers who had accidentally shot and killed her son Yotam, one of the three hostages who succeeded in escaping from their Hamas captors, and managed to lift our broken spirit; and Rachel Edri from Ofakim, who survived 19 hours as a hostage in her own home to Hamas terrorists to be eventually rescued with the smile of victory on her face.

The elderly women from the kibbutzim are also exemplary figures, as they came out of captivity insisting on doing so on their feet, thus conveying a tremendous sense of strength; as well as Tsuf Eshhar, who asked the public to pray for the successful second kidney transplant of Na'aran, her husband, following his death after being mortally wounded during reserve service. We can add to that a whole list of widows and bereaving mothers, who have spoken the language of immense courage, espousing unity with a degree of power that we have not previously witnessed.

Clearly, we have also seen much male bravery during this war, but it appears that it has been, above all, the women who have succeeded in surprising us with both their deeds and their words, and thus have played a key part in changing the overall atmosphere of the war.

Time and time again I have found myself gaping in awe at their strength

"I totally agree," she nods. "Rachel from Ofakim is to my mind a genuine role model. Using her feminine wisdom, she took her maternal skills, the art of looking after others, and applied it to "take care of" the terrorists who were holding her hostage. This manipulation enabled her to coax the terrorists over to her side, to play for time, and to stay alive. She used all her expertise as a mother and a woman to break the danger down and to gain time, and in doing so she saved her husband and herself. She had no weapon – all she had was her femininity, the food she brought, the friendly conversations she held with them and even tending to one of the terrorist's wounds. She created something from nothing.

"Iris Haim also used her soft, female capabilities not as a weapon but as a means of evoking compassion. From such a terrible tragedy that she had undergone, she succeeded in feeling compassion towards the soldiers and displaying profound empathy for their sorrow and pain. Not only did she succeed in being Yotam's mother, but also in seeing the children behind the soldiers, knowing that they too have mothers, and taking action to absolve them from any responsibility for that disaster. She, along with many other women too, succeeded in bringing an extremely moving female quality to the story of the war."

We are still in the middle of the war, and it might still be somewhat premature for conclusions, but yes – it is interesting to think of what type of femininity we might evolve with from this war.

"In order to answer that question, I will provide some theoretical background: liberal feminism believes that equality will arrive via the participation of women in all forms of social life, work, the army, and in decision-making. As somebody who adheres to a liberal feminist worldview, I believe that we need to take action via legislation, lobbying, and exerting influence to integrate women in all walks of life – in the military including in combat units," Eran-Jona explains.

She implements her worldview in practice via her membership in Forum Dvorah, whose objective is to promote equal representation for women in key decision-making hubs, in the political-security establishment, and in public discourse, based on the understanding that this will provide a significant contribution to Israel's national security.

"In contrast to the liberal feminism that my colleagues from the Forum and I believe in, there is also the approach of radical feminism, which believes that there is no point in fighting for equality in the army, as discrimination against women is a structural part and parcel of all militaristic entities, and the integration of women in the army serves as a mere fig leaf to cover this over and essentially means collaborating with those forces that perceive women as being inferior. Therefore, according to those who adopt this point of view, it is better to work to integrate women into spheres such as hi-tech.

"The campaign of liberal feminism to integrate women in the army began back in the 1990s with the petition of Alice Miller to the High Court of Justice (HCJ Miller v. Minister of Defense), which opened the door for women to apply for positions as pilots in the IAF. Since then, women have been integrated into more and more combat positions, but there is still a long way ahead until all the combat units are made available to women, so that every woman who both wants to and is deemed appropriate for that position, should be able to be integrated in that unit."

The stalled revolution

In an academic article that she wrote, Eran-Jona termed the service of women in IDF combat units the "Stalled Revolution". In other words, in recent years the trend of integrating women in combat positions has indeed stalled. She claims that the reason for this is that the processes of significant change that have occurred in the integration of women in the IDF have also been accompanied by strong voices and forces acting against their service in the combat units.

"A struggle has been waged between worldviews and interests of groups who believe in liberal feminism and rabbis from the religious population who oppose it. The opposition does not necessarily stem from the actual religious population itself. You can speak with religious soldiers and they will tell you that as far as they are concerned there is no problem with the integration of female combat soldiers. However, the leadership of that particular sector of the population is extremely concerned about the integration of women and tries to act in a number of different ways to wield influence on the IDF from within, with a view to ensuring that large swathes of the army remain out of bounds for women.

"The religious population definitely has many achievements to its credit, especially as those who are at the forefront of the fighting, but this in itself cannot come at the expense of women's rights. This is the reason why in recent years, despite a series of HCJ petitions and legal battles, women have still to be integrated into all IDF combat units.

"In a number of extremely heroic incidents, the war has proven just how women are able to fight and that they have the motivation to fight too. We have seen this in the various rapid response squads in the Gaza belt communities, in how women played a key part in the fighting on October 7, and the women who are currently playing an important role in the combat forces in the Gaza Strip, in both medical and combat positions. In addition, the arguments that used to be voiced, claiming that women should not be allowed to enter combat zones due to concerns of them being taken captive and ultimately being subjected to sexual violence, have become slightly less relevant after it was actually numerous non-combatant women who were among the first to be abducted.

"Civilian women and non-combat female soldiers were abducted, of course alongside the elderly, men, and children. Suddenly the distinction between who is permitted to be in captivity, as it were, in our perception, that this is a category limited to male soldiers alone, has been eroded to a large extent. Every debate on the topic of female combat soldiers would give rise to the famous question, 'And what will happen if women are taken captive, and what will happen if women are hurt during battle.' Women are perceived as those who bring life into the world, and we find it difficult to accept a reality in which they are wounded, killed, and raped. That argument, however unfortunate it may be, has actually now crumbled and disintegrated.
"After women displayed great initiative and saved civilians, demonstrating acts of unparalleled courage in combat, even the Chief of Staff spoke out and said that it is now a non-issue to ask whether or not women are able to function as combat soldiers. That question is, to a certain extent, now behind us. But do I think that on the day after the war women will genuinely be able to play a part in all the units? I am still not sure. As the power that the religious leadership wields in the army coupled with the intensity of its opposition to women's military service are extremely extensive."

During the current "Swords of Iron" War, some 40 thousand women have been called up for reserve duty – this is an unprecedented number. Having said that, 250 thousand men were called up for reserve service, leaving their wives at home once again to be plunged into the 'traditional' world where looking after the children and seeing to the housekeeping are tasks left entirely up to them. Eran-Jona thinks that we need to look at this issue through the prism of two distinct spheres: "There is the sphere of the IDF career soldiers, whose spouses are used to the regular routine in which the burden of running the household is placed on them, and in essence, they are mobilized to look after the home on behalf of the army. Now, during wartime, in addition to managing the household affairs, they have to contend with a much greater degree of worry and concern for their partner, who is facing mortal danger on a daily basis, and they have to deal with the almost total absence of their partner from the home sphere.

"The second sphere is that of the reservists' wives, whose contract with the state does not include military service on a daily basis, nor does it incorporate being placed in mortal danger, and all that this entails. The wives of the IDF reservists have found themselves in a new situation that requires a new approach. The state has begun to grasp the fact that while it is investing serious efforts to address the rights of the male IDF reservists – there is a whole group of women who have to take on an incredibly difficult and challenging workload behind the scenes, looking after the children and the home alone, and they are collapsing under the immense weight of this burden, paying not only personal and emotional prices, but also a heavy financial cost too: if they are self-employed then their business is clearly suffering if it is managing to function at all, and if they are salaried employees then it is not always certain that their employer will be sufficiently understanding and attentive to their needs after such a long period of time. There are plenty of women who have been fired in the middle of the war.

"In the history of war, this has generally been regarded as a transparent function that has not ever really been appreciated. I don't think that we have ever been in such a long war, which has placed such intensive, ongoing demands on the households in the home front, in tandem with such profound worry. I am aware that considerable efforts are currently underway to provide a response and to change the policy in relation to these women, as well as to grant recognition for their tremendous contribution, as without them their partners would simply not be able to serve."

Eran-Jona tells that she met the wives of the reservists and the career soldiers in a special session of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, convened by the committee head, MK Pnina Tamano-Shata. "I don't know Pnina, I didn't vote for her, and I don't even know her party affiliation, but I was very impressed by her work. She succeeded in effecting a change in both practice and policy in real time, in the middle of the war. When there is a determined woman with capabilities, she succeeds in gathering all the relevant players around her – the National Insurance Institute, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Defense – and grant the wives of those men serving in the IDF the recognition and support that they deserve. I don't think that his would have occurred had this position not been occupied by a woman.

"The allowances granted to IDF reservists include financial support for couples therapy or individual therapy for the wives of reservists, as well as for a family vacation. A special fund has also been established for the self-employed, to which the self-employed wives of serving reservists can submit claims."

Alongside the support from the military front, Eran-Jona adds that there are a good number of civil society organizations trying to provide support for the wives of those men who have been called up. She herself works as the Head of Diversity and Inclusion Office at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where a support fund was set up for the wives of serving reservists, both for providing care for children and for mental health needs too. "In addition to the fund which provides direct support, we also recognize the right of women students whose partners are on reserve duty to a large number of benefits, just like the reservists themselves. Many universities have done this, equating the conditions of the wives of IDF reservists with students on reserve service. This involves diverse forms of support and relief such as personal tutoring for lessons, replacing exams with written assignments, and so on."

During the war, we have heard the reports relating to the fact that warnings given by women in the army were not heard. I am also referring to the female lookouts serving on the Gaza border, who were ignored when they repeatedly provided warnings, as well as the female warrant officer in the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate who succeeded in putting together an accurate intelligence picture of Hamas' intentions, and again this was rejected by her superiors. Is there a connection between this lack of attention and the fact that those providing the alert were women?

"First of all – I must say with all due modesty that I am not familiar with the overall picture here, but I can say that this involves two separate stories. As far as the lookouts are concerned, this is an incident that needs to be investigated in depth. Without a doubt, there needs to be a significant change in the manner in which the knowhow emerging from the lower field ranks is integrated within the intelligence assessments. This lesson has exacted a heavy price and cost us many lives.

"According to all the indications, there was something that the women on the front line apparently managed to understand, but which those occupying positions far away from there simply failed to understand. The fact that what women have to say is treated less seriously is a phenomenon that I have observed throughout my military service, everywhere I went, in all the conference rooms where I sat. As a woman, your opinion is considered differently," she says, based on 20 years of service in the IDF as a sociologist in the IDF Behavioral Sciences Department and in the Research Division in the Military Intelligence Directorate.

"With regards to the female warrant officer who provided an intelligence warning, women are fully integrated in the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate in all positions, and they do outstanding work there. I was not surprised by the fact that if there was an analyst who succeeded in creating such a picture of the events, in presenting an alternative and challenging conventional thinking – that this was actually done by a woman. But I understand that there were also men who made this claim and who supported her claim, so I am not really sure that this particular case is one that should be examined via the prism of gender. What she said was not rejected because she is a woman but rather because there was a conception."

A male-dominated cabinet

"Women do excellent work and know how to challenge the system and to think out of the box, so that their absence around the decision-making table has a detrimental effect on national security. Actually, there are women in a vast variety of positions behind the scenes of the intelligence work in this war, including the most senior positions, and they occupy key positions in all the security organizations. On the other hand, women are absent from the decision making processes in the limited security cabinet, and also in the broader security cabinet, they are underrepresented. The current Knesset itself is one of the worst in terms of the underrepresentation of women. Unfortunately, neither are women represented as director generals of government ministries."

The few women who do sit on the cabinet are often met with derision and contempt – such as the Minister of Transport Miri Regev, who is depicted as having given out popcorn in the middle of a debate, or the Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Orit Struck, who has on many occasions dared to ask difficult questions. And there are more women in the coalition who undergo both physical and verbal attacks, such as MK May Golan and Minister of Environmental Protection, Idit SIlman.

"It is completely unjustified to scoff at women or attack them. It will always be easier to turn them into a figure of derision. On the other hand, some of them do help this by contributing to their own ridiculous image. But to jibe and attack the Chief of Staff during wartime? This is something that has never occurred in the past. I believe that if there were more women sitting at the decision-making table then the war would have been conducted in a much more skillful and expedient manner. It's not that women are better but that decision-making that takes place in a more diverse group of people is always better. This is something that is extremely lacking in the current government and only serves to add to my pessimism regarding the day after the war. Will women not be forced to struggle anymore for equality in the army? I believe that this struggle will continue and that unfortunately, it won't take that long for the achievements made now to be forgotten."

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Iris Haim touched the heart of the nation when she said she was not angry at the IDF "for even a minute" after soldiers accidentally killed her son, Yotam Haim, along with other two hostages they mistook for Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Yotam, a gifted drummer, was taken hostage on Oct. 7 and survived 70 days in captivity. 

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Iris even sent a message to the fighters to boost their morale, saying, "I know that everything that happened is absolutely not your fault, and nobody's fault except that of Hamas. Don't think that you killed a hostage deliberately. You have to look after yourselves because that's the only way you can look after us."

Video: Soldier of brigade that accidentally killed Yotam Haim arrives at his shiva / Credit: Racheli Freifeld

I meet Iris in Sho'eva, near Jerusalem, where she and her husband are staying temporarily after being evacuated from the Gaza periphery. She makes us tea and takes a seat in her armchair, cuddling a furry plump cat. 

"The cat came with the apartment, which used to be an art studio and became a residential apartment for us. Sho'eva residents rallied and collected furniture for us. Look how beautiful it is. We left eight cats in Sde Nitzan. Raviv, my husband, who works as a farmer, started going back there, and now he will take care of them."

Iris both radiates strength and calm and sets boundaries. She says she will not return to the Gaza periphery. 

"I can't live there under threat. The rocket sirens take me back to that day. I don't want to see Gaza either. As far as I'm concerned, may that cursed place be erased from the face of the earth. But I know that it won't happen and that the threat will remain. I believe that the scene will change a lot. Half of the people who lived there will not return, but new people will come, who, due to Zionism, will agree to live in a very dangerous place."

Before Oct. 7, the Haim family lived with a complete sense of security, and Yotam was not afraid either. They were not affected by the frequent missiles and did not run away during IDF operations either. But perhaps the difficulty for Iris to return now stems from a different reason. 

"I can't sit again on the same balcony where Yotam sat, with the rolling laughter, the cigarette in his mouth, and the cats around him. We laughed a lot together. The children would imitate me and we would burst out laughing. And Yotam was in the lead. 

Iris cannot imagine staying in Sho'eva either. Not between the four walls that saw her anxious to receive word of Yotam and her breakdown when the tragic news arrived. 

"Here, on this couch, I broke down and screamed. These were cries of terrible pain. That Friday, when we received the news, I was in terrible despair. I didn't know how I would manage to get out of this, how to live, how to raise my head.

"There was another breaking moment when we watched the local media do a piece on Yotam. Seeing his childhood photos again broke my heart. I want to turn a new page. We found an apartment in Even Sapir, and Raviv will divide our time between the Jerusalem mountains and the Gaza periphery. Yotam is everywhere and will always be in my heart."

"Nationwide couples therapy"

Since Oct. 7, Iris rarely watches TV or listens to the radio. In the morning before we met, she turned on the IDF radio for five minutes and said was horrified.  

"They had some council head from the north. He started shouting: 'What is this? What country do I have? I don't want to be a citizen of this country. I am ashamed.' While in fact, it's amazing what's happening in the country, the whole nation is mobilizing for the soldiers and for the hostages. Why isn't that talked about enough?"

Q: How does one exit this circle of sadness? It seems that as a nation we are moving back to Oct. 6, with the division and infighting. 

"We won't go back to Oct. 6, because we went through amazing things together. We proved to ourselves that we love each other, and we have to remember that all the time, even when we fight. It's like couples therapy, you have to learn how to fight without destroying each other. We need nationwide couples therapy to know how to fight and argue.

"I lost my son, but I gained my people. I learned who the people of Israel are, and I want to remain constantly in this consciousness that I have the best people. I have no other country. There are and will be fights, but we should not sink into it. We will overcome them and take care of our home, together. How do we do it? I don't know. But we shouldn't give up. Maybe everyone should inspect themselves as to what they bring to the front. There are beautiful articles out there, but the commentators cloud the atmosphere. The public has a choice about what to consume.

"I am interviewed by all the media and I stay with the non-political messages. When the judicial reform was discussed, I thought that my eldest son, Tuval, who is gay, would not be able to go out with his partner, and that they would be put in jail. I thought that I myself would have to wear a wig. I almost joined the protests dressed as a handmaid. It's amazing how much the incitement in the media has dumbed us down and destroyed us. Today I understand that people who feed on one-dimensional media allow someone else to control their mind and disrupt their independent thinking. I no longer watch television." 

When driving, instead of listening to the radio, Iris listens to podcasts and audiobooks. Recently, she has been listening to one in particular – "The Gift: 14 Lessons to Save Your Life" by Edith Eger, a Hungarian-born American psychologist, a Holocaust survivor, and a specialist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Iris first read a book by Eger, "The Choice: A True Story of Hope," a year and a half ago. 

"I really connected with Eger's concept. A person can choose at any given moment whether he or she is in the ditch or in the light. 'The Gift,' which I am listening to now, is a book with practical tools to deal with difficulties in life. It helps me and brings me to amazing places."

The secret of Iris' self-control begins precisely with the insight that we have no control over life. 

"At any given moment, a meteor can fall on us or a tsunami can occur. Then who will we blame? We will surely blame someone who did not foresee the tsunami in time. If I have a stroke or a heart attack, who will I blame? For those who live in a false sense of control, everything has been shaken on Oct. 7, but I realized even before that our only control is to choose how to think."

Q: How did you come to this realization? 

"I am a palliative nurse, I take care of people at the end of life – at the moment when it is most out of our control. My specialty is accompanying dementia patients, a disease without hope, which has no cure and no control over it. The person fades in front of your eyes, talks nonsense, and thinks that his daughter is his mother. There is a lot of frustration and helplessness in this disease, which also lasts a long time.

"I founded an organization called Refuat Haim that provides comprehensive support for caregivers of dementia patients. I teach them to be well in the midst of uncertainty. How? With the help of the insight that there is no control, that we have no ability to influence the disease itself, but we can influence the patient if we ourselves are at ease in the situation."

During the 70 days that Yotam was in captivity, Iris knew how to recognize that she was in the same loop of uncertainty that characterizes the families held "captive" by the delusions of the dementia patient's memory. "I knew that even if I shouted, screamed, prostrated myself, pulled out my hair in the square, and cursed Netanyahu, that would not bring me my child."

Iris explains that what allowed her to stay centered in the midst of uncertainty is the practice of conscious presence that aims to control thoughts that scatter and to be present in the "here and now." 

Iris immediately gives an example using her cat.

"I stroke the cat and focus on the touch. Every time my thoughts become scattered, I return to the present with the help of the stroking and the feeling of the fur. It is a basic practice that changes lives. There were times when I was very angry, I would get angry in the face of injustice. Anger is another emotion in the basket of emotions. We learn to use it already as children, and with its help activate our environment and receive attention. As adults, anger no longer serves us, but we automatically continue to use it. With the help of mindfulness, I got rid of anger. I can feel hurt, sad, and disappointed, but not angry because anger connects us to something difficult that someone else did to us, and leaves us in the consciousness of the victim. It is simply unnecessary."

Without background noise

During the uncertainty of the days of Yotam's captivity, Iris chose to create certainty for herself through the belief that Yotam was alright, with the understanding that thought creates reality. When Tuval, her eldest son, also a musician, said, "Poor Yotam," Iris asked him, "How do you know that he is poor?" Tuval admitted that he did not know. "So don't think that he is poor. Think that he is alright. You have the choice to think as you please." 

Iris exercised that right to the end. She imagined her son drumming on his body and also believed that he received the medication he needed. 

"Yotm was born with an intestinal malformation, and suffered from chronic inflammation of the spine. He received a very expensive biological drug. It was clear to me that he would not get the injection he needed in captivity, but I believed he did receive something that would ease his pain. That worked for me. I realized that I could only rule this little space of mine," Iris says, putting one hand on her heart and the other on her head. 

After 53 days, Iris received word of Yotam from a Thai hostage who was released, who told her that Yotam did indeed drum on the floor and that he even received painkillers to help with the pain. 

Besides choosing what to think, Iris also chose what not to do. 

"I used to be a person who consumed a lot of television, but the television was turned off at the request of Tuval, whose house we stayed at in the first few days. Tuval told me: 'Mom, I'm scared, I can't watch TV anymore.' 

"So we turned it off, and just put on soothing elevator music. I also chose not to listen to rumors, and rely only on reliable information. As soon as we were appointed a contact woman from the IDF, with whom we immediately connected, I was more relaxed. I knew there was only one phone number, and I know if it rings then there is new information. I didn't have to be alarmed by every ringing."

Iris decided that she trusts the IDF and the government, even though she did not choose it, as one whose worldview aligns more with the Center-Left. "This is the current government, and until the next elections, I trust it. I only have one country, and it cannot be that there are two countries here, the State of Israel and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. I didn't think it was right to shout that nothing is being done, while soldiers are fighting in Gaza and being killed to free hostages. I stuck to Byron Katie's method of fact and asked if what I was hearing were facts or interpretations.

"For example, when we went to the Cabinet, they talked about hostages who had been released, saying 'the shelling killed us.' So I asked myself, what do they mean? There they were, alive. So they were not killed. This is not the truth, this is interpretation. Perhaps my son's truth is different. Maybe the shelling actually made Yotam happy? I feel that this is how I was able to escape from the very, very difficult and frightening messages that the Hostage and Missing Families Forum sent to the families.

"I didn't connect to these messages and decided that I would create my own messages. I said I trust my son to survive. The more I talked about Yotam's strengths, the stronger I became, and I realized that I was conveying messages that strengthen other people."

Only Hamas is to blame 

About two months before being taken captive, Yotam, who struggled with physical and mental difficulties, asked his parents to appreciate him more and to look at his strong sides – as if subconsciously preparing his parents for what would soon occur.

"I want you to see me as strong, not to perceive me as disabled," he said, complaining that they valued Tuval and Noya, his younger sister, a multidisciplinary artist, more.

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"It was his inner feeling," Iris explained. "At first I wanted to say to him: 'What do you mean? We value you all the same,' and then I said: 'You know what? I agree with you. There is something in the fact that we see you as someone who needs us more, who needs us all the time.'  

"We agreed that he would start to show his strong sides and I decided that whenever Yotam showed a red flag I would not immediately jump in to help and take over."

Q: What do you mean by "red flag"? Did Yotam have suicidal thoughts? 

"Never anything in action, but there was a lot of talk about it. And it's amazing how this young man, who talked about death, in the end, survived in captivity and did everything possible to live. He truly showed his strength in captivity. I'm afraid to see his last video published by Hamas. When I saw a picture from the video, I said he looked like a Holocaust survivor, so thin. I realized that's enough for me right now. But I know he sent us messages. I was told he said there: 'Mom, don't worry about me, I'm strong.' It's crazy.

"He did an amazing job there and discovered his strengths. He could have been slaughtered on Oct. 7, but his soul chose to remain in the world for another 70 days and allow him to die as a hero and as a free man, so that everyone will know him and so that we can, in his name and memory, help people and have a positive influence."

The post 'Only Hamas is to blame': Mother of hostage killed by friendly fire opens up appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Bar, a battalion doctor, spent sixty consecutive hours in a tank on the Gaza front, providing life-saving medical care to IDF soldiers. Ella, a paramedic who was drafted as a reservist the day after the brutal Hamas attack on southern Israel, saved the lives of two wounded battalion commanders and two fighters, in one such case while in a crowded tank. And Shaked, also a paramedic on reserve duty, entered the Gaza Strip on foot carrying a heavy bag with supplies and treated four soldiers while under fire. 

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The three courageous women are part of a group of 70 female medical professionals who fight alongside IDF forces in Gaza. In an interview with Israel Hayom, conducted shortly after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire expired and the fighting resumed, they speak of leaving their homes, families, and occupations behind to engage in the most meaningful activity – saving the lives of IDF soldiers until victory is achieved. But unfortunately, this week, Bar and Ella's battalions suffered painful losses. 

Lt. Bar, 27, is a career soldier and senior medical officer of the 53rd Armored Battalion. Her husband, Idan, is a Home Front Command reservist. 

She's been home in Ramat Gan only once since the start of the war, after 28 days on the front line. "In the past, I participated in operational activity in the Judea and Samaria Division, but in the current war I took care of the wounded under fire for the first time," she shares. 

Bar joined the military in 2015, first in the human resources department, but then decided to fulfill her childhood dream and studied medicine at Hebrew University as part of a top reservist program. "The IDF is in dire need of doctors, which is why they allowed me to study, and half a year ago I became a senior medical officer.

Bar entered Gaza on Oct. 31, leading a medical team. "I am here with another medical officer, a reservist doctor, three medics, and a team of Golani fighters – altogether 11 people. It's very crowded, especially for 60 hours at a time. 

On Nov. 2, Bar's battalion commander, Lt. Col. Salman Habaka was killed. 

"We could never imagine that something like this would happen so early in the fighting. Salman heard that the battalion next to us was ambushed, so he took his tank, and without thinking about the danger he drove there to help. He was later killed battling Hamas. 

"It was said that he was killed, but we decided to get to him regardless. When we arrived, we were under fire, and for several hours we were not allowed to leave the tank. Only after we managed to stop the fire, toward the morning, did we manage to determine that Salman had indeed been killed."

Q: Who determined it? 

"My fellow medical officer, B. Because I was very close with Salman, I preferred if B. did it. Not long before that, Salman celebrated his birthday, as did I, and we sent emotional greetings to each other. Before we entered Gaza, he called my husband, asked him how he was doing, and blessed us. Salman was such a special person. As a commander, he showed his greatness on Oct. 7, when within hours he arrived from the north to the invaded twins in the south and – immediately grasping the magnitude of the event – brought out tanks to fight, which is something that helped tip the scale in the IDF's favor. 

"This is why I decided I should not be the one to determine his death. I felt I had to make sure I could keep going and provide medical treatment. There was no time to break down or mourn. But Salman is with me at all times, accompanying me in the fight. I still remember the last thing he told me: "To battle and victory, to battle and victory." Such was his spirit."

Another difficult event in which Bar participated occurred at an unexpected moment when her team arrived at a protected area to take a short rest, refuel, and stock up on food, water, and medical supplies. 

For the first time since arriving in Gaza, Bar took off her ceramic vest on top of which was her medical equipment because the protected zone had its own medical team.

"I barely had time to open a can of tune, when suddenly someone shouted that a soldier was hit by a bullet. I grabbed the vest and immediately ran to the scene. In retrospect, I should not have taken it off.

"When I arrived, two doctors were treating a soldier who was wounded in the lower abdomen. They were working to stop the bleeding, and I and other medics focused on other areas. The soldier was conscious, I talked to him. He was in pain, so I gave him a sedative. He was also very stressed and told me he wasn't sure he would make it. I reassured him that he would be fine.

"He was treated by four doctors as well as a paramedic and medics, who had not worked together before, and yet worked in coordination. Everyone did their part, and we managed to stabilize the fighter. At the same time, we requested that he be urgently evacuated by a chopper. We realized that unless he was taken to a hospital soon, he might die. At the end of the day, one needs an operating room to stop such bleeding.

"The helicopter landed 200 meters [650 feet] away from us and we ran toward it with a stretcher. The brigade doctor updated me about the soldier's condition later and two days ago I called him myself. I had a very emotional conversation with him and his mother. He has already returned home. He was very fortunate that it happened in an area where there were so many doctors, so we all provided a quick response together."

Q: And now that you're off duty for two days, how does it feel like being back in the relative routine of daily life in Israel? 

"It was strange to get in my car and drive when only what feels like a second ago I was wearing a vest and a helmet and was under fire. But this is the mission, and in the end, when I come home, I also understand the "why": that the citizens, especially children, can walk around our country without fear because there are those who protect them and fight for them. When I am at home and there are no sirens, it's worth everything. The "why" is also to fight for the hostages to return home."

Q: And when in Gaza, were you always with the same team? 

"No. Throughout the 28 days, the team I was with changed three times. I was the only one that stayed consistently. When I saw that they were running out of energy, I made a change. But for me, as someone who reports to the battalion commander, it was important to stay and continue to make decisions while being present in the field."

Q: And as a woman in the military, how does it make you feel that there are female soldiers held captive by Hamas? 

"For me, it doesn't make a difference if it's a man or a woman, a civilian or a soldier. All of them need to return home."

Q: I'm sure that you are not immune to worries either. 

"Of course. I suppose such thoughts flash through the minds of men as well. Before entering Gaza, there was fear, but I decided not to focus on that. I understand the dangers and know what I am doing, but this is my mission, and I will do it as best as I can, to make sure as many soldiers as possible will get to go back home."

Q: And are there moments of humor as well? 

"Many. Once a soldier had to pee and could not leave the tank. So all that was left to do was laugh. But, of course, he has since been constantly reminded of that event, in good faith. 

"We are very open with each other. In the end, we spend 24/7 together. But there are good experiences as well. For instance, when we got to the Gaza shore. It was exciting because that was one of the goals - to reach the sea. And we stayed there for a few days. Some of the medics found a beach umbrella and some chairs. And waving the Israeli flag while on the beach of Gaza was a significant and moving experience as well. ANd of course we took a picture and sent it to our parents."

Q: Speaking of parents, how are yours managing with you being on the front line? 

"It's stressful. But they understand the meaning and the service, and they support me and worry for me, like every parent. My brother is also a soldier, in the Egoz unit, and luckily, the last time I was off duty, so was he and we managed to see each other."

Q: How about your spouse? 

"We've been together for ten years. He was a part of all the decisions along the way and knew where he was getting into, even though he may not have understood exactly where this would lead. He is very supportive and proud of me. Without him, I couldn't have done it. At one point, when I was in Gaza, we did not meet for 40 days, and it was tough. We managed to talk a little on the phone. When we met, we hugged for minutes. But I am going back soon, so it's not over yet."

Staff Sgt. Ella, 24, from Modi'in, was in the final stages of moving to Jerusalem to study biomedicine at Hebrew University. After Oct. 7, she was called up for reserve duty. During her regular military service, Ella treated those wounded in car accidents and other medical emergencies, but only in Gaza did she provide treatment to soldiers while under fire. 

She spent four weeks in the strip, with several breaks in between. Now she is back in Gaza again, in a tank. 

"It's like the trunk of a car, you can't stand up, you can't fully lie down, and most of the time there is another fighter with me. All in all, there are five of us in the tank, four amazing fighters, it is a true privilege to be with them, and me, the paramedic." 

Ella found herself in a complex situation when two combat engineers were seriously injured by a grenade. 

"Our tank arrived there at the same time as the evacuation unit, which included a doctor as well. He took care of one of the wounded and I took care of the other. Both were urgent cases. We had to evacuate because everything occurred in a dangerous zone, with the forces and tanks providing cover for us. Everyone joined in to help and evacuate the injured. We learned a lot about different teams working together from that."

According to Ella, the two injured fighters got to the hospital in the nick of time. 

"It's crazy to think that within 40 minutes they were already in the air. The commander of the evacuation unit handled it so well." 

While evacuating the wounded to Israeli territory, Ella took the opportunity to call her parents and boyfriend. 

"There were people there with cell phones, and I asked to make a call. Before I entered the Strip, I told my mother and my boyfriend that it was a matter of 48 hours, because that's what we were told. But the days passed, and I had no way of letting them know that I was okay. So they were really worried about me, and one phone call calmed them down."

Ella later treated two battalion commanders who were injured separately on the same day. 

"We were the first to reach our battalion commander, who was wounded and needed to be evacuated immediately. I provided first aid and the evacuation team arrived and continued treating him until the chopper arrived. The next day, the battalion commander who replaced him was, unfortunately, also injured. 

The next day, unfortunately, the Major General who replaced him was also injured. The SMP, who is in the tank with me, handled the incident masterfully, under fire. The deputy battalion commander, who was in the tank with me, handled the situation incredibly, all while under fire. He managed to bring our tank closer to the tank of the battalion commander, and when the two were connected, we moved him [the injured battalion commander] to the back of our tank.

"It's not easy to treat a wounded person inside a tank, there is not too much room. I had another soldier with me, who is not a medic, but earlier I had trained him to help me in such a situation. But when it came down to it, we did what we had to do, and turned out it was possible." 

Ella ended up saving the battalion commander's life.

"He received good treatment, and the fighter who was by my side went above and beyond to help. Thank God, both battalion commanders are fine. I was especially excited to see that the first battalion commander had returned to activity already. The second one is also getting there."

Q: In such situations, do you ever get shocked? 

"There is no time for shock or nerves. This is something we practice a lot during the long training. We are ready and know exactly how to start so that we don't get confused. There is definitely a lot of adrenaline. Before I entered Gaza, I had fears and uncertainties. It is not always easy, there are challenges on the way, but it's a sense of mission. I really understand the importance of what we do in Gaza, in particular, what the medical teams do.

"I'm also surrounded by amazing people, who are also funny. For the first three weeks, everyone was extremely stinky, so we made a lot of jokes about it." 

Nevertheless, the situation remained serious as some of the fighters in Ella's tank had never seen such serious wounds in real life. 

"After the soldiers saw me taking care of the wounded, it gave them a sense of security. They feel that if God forbid, something happens to them, there is someone here whose job it is to look after them. They suddenly trust me and know that they can consult me and come to me with any medical problem. In addition to treating the wounded, there are a lot of routine injuries – a broken finger or tense back, and I'm here to help with that too. The soldiers trust me and it gives me a lot of strength."

On the way to Gaza, Ella bore witness to the destruction Hamas inflicted on the towns bordering the enclave.

"We saw houses that had been burnt down and signs by the Zaka emergency services that take care of the bodies of the victims. It was a reminder of why we were doing what we were doing. It gave me a lot of motivation and strength to continue. School can wait. As long as the war continues, I'll be on reserve duty. The tremendous support from the Gaza periphery gives us all strength. They send us food and thank you notes all the time. We don't have room in the tank for everything! We get notes from children and in my pocket, I keep notes from my cousins. When we reentered Israeli territory to take a break, the residents begged us to use their homes for showers and anything we needed."

Capt. Shaked, 26, is a paramedic serving in the Jerusalem Brigade 6310. She is a second-year medical student studying in Beersheba, where she also works as a Magen David Adom paramedic. 

On Oct. 7, she received three emergency calls. 

"Soroka called to say they needed students because the operating rooms were overwhelmed. Magen David Adom called to ask for urgent 24-hour shifts. And I had already started packing when I was called up for reserve duty." 

Shaked's boyfriend of four years, Alon, a water engineering student, also left at the same time to join the reserves. 

"Alon is fighting in the north of Gaza, and I am in the center. We are not synchronized in our exits. He left Gaza for a short break while I remained, and now I am in Israel and he is there. We only spoke once, for a minute, in the past month. I hope the next time we go off duty at the same time."

Shaked entered the enclave with a battalion that crossed the border on foot carrying a weapon, a helmet a ceramic vest, and a large bag with medical equipment. 

"It has everything needed for a small field hospital – medicine, equipment, respiratory equipment, weighing about 25 kilograms [55 pounds] in total.  

Shaked fought in Gaza for two and a half weeks and provided life-saving care in three separate incidents.

"The medical squad, which includes me and a medic, is in the center of the forces that are divided into teams. We heard on the phone that a grenade went off in one of the buildings with one of the teams. At the same time, heavy fire from Kalashnikovs began. I was 50 meters [yards] away from the troops, and within a minute we got to the building while under fire. We found two wounded, one with shrapnel above the eye and in the leg, and the other with severe back pain from the blast.

"Together with the medics, we stopped the bleeding, treated the pain, and within 12 minutes we evacuated both of them on stretchers, on foot, to the meeting place with the evacuation team. Both are fine now. One is still hospitalized, and the other has been discharged from the hospital."

It wasn't the first time Shaked treated those wounded in war. As a paramedic during her regular military service, she treated wounded from Syria and in Judea and Samaria provided medical care while under fire. 

"This time, of course, it's all on a much larger scale," she says.

"At the age of 6, I decided that I wanted to be a doctor, but I really wanted to be a fighter as well, so I decided to test my suitability and love for the field through the role of a combat paramedic. There is a different adrenaline in treating in a military uniform. Here, I take care of the people I know, who are like my second family now. When they are injured it is much more difficult. I feel that this is the greatest military challenge."

Another time, Shaked joined a small force that set out to thwart enemy operations, two kilometers [1.2 miles] away from the position of the main force. 

"There was a sniper there. One of the fighters was hit, but thankfully in the arm, not anywhere critical. We immediately retreated to a safer place, and attended to the wound to make sure he fully recovered."

Shaked explained that she opted for a dressing that does not stop the blood flow to the limb because, on Oct. 7, 130 limbs were amputated due to arteries being blocked. 

"Since the fighter was not evacuated by helicopter, I didn't know how soon he could get to a hospital, so we made an effort to save his limb. For me, the quality of life of the wounded is just as important as life itself." 

The third incident involved a bomb explosion, and according to Shaked, one of the fighters was injured in the eye. She pulled the shrapnel out while in the field, which allowed the soldier to return to fighting. 

"Two soldiers were cut by sharp metal, so we gave them stitches around the eye and nose in the field, and both of them stayed to fight. The morale of the soldiers is high. Even if someone leaves with a minor injury, within 24 hours he returns."

Q: As a woman, did you feel you need to prove yourself more? 

"When I completed my regular service, I became a reserve paramedic. They got to know me and trust me. Gender doesn't usually matter in this case. They trust me and treat me as one of their own. I fight just like them."

Q: Did you manage to get any sleep at night? 

"Not really. We wake up early, and we also do rounds every night. The sleep itself is not deep, because there is the noise of shelling and there is alertness. In the quiet moments, I also think a lot about Alon, I worry about him, because I'm sure he is in the same situation as I am." 

Q: What about your parents? 

"They have mixed feelings: they are both worried and proud of me. They are very connected to the task and know how much I love it. My mother is the queen of parcels, she sent me five of them in less than three weeks, with a special talent to get them anywhere. When I left [Gaza for a break in Israel] they came to pick me up, and of course, the first thing I ate was my mother's schnitzel."

Shaked's dream is to become a gynecologist. "The fighters laugh at me because there is not much chance of gaining experience in Gaza in this matter. I want to do something happy, bring life into the world. I really want to work in the delivery room. At the moment, medical studies are put aside until the war is over. As a future doctor, the war also gives me experience in the approach to patients and also in composure and dedication. It confirmed that this is what I really want to do." 

Q: It's a major gap, between the front line and the delivery room. 

"It was only when I went home that I realized how different the life of the soldiers in Gaza is. But our stay in Gaza is what makes life in Israel possible. Oct. 7 left a huge scar, and everyone understands very well that we must dismantle Hamas and return the hostages. I feel that we are a large orchestra of the people of Israel, soldiers as citizens, those outside, and those inside. I feel a sense of privilege and honor. I'm glad I went to Gaza. In the day and a half I've been at home I haven't stopped thinking about the fighters, and I already wanted to return."

The post 'No time for nerves': The stories of female medics fighting alongside IDF soldiers in Gaza appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Asras Damalash begins our interview cheerful and confident, but very soon her eyes fill with tears. "My biggest fear is that she won't get to see her granddaughters," she says, talking about her grandmother. 

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Asras' mother died when she was just one year old, and her grandmother raised her instead. In fact, Asras, 30, only learned that who she thought was her mother was actually her grandmother when she turned 18 and received official documents from the state. She also found out that back in Ethiopia, she had a father and two older sisters. 

Video: Asras at the Knesset / Credit: Office of the Knesset Spokesperson

"My grandmother, whom I call mother to this day, wanted to give me a sense of belonging to the family, to raise me as her own daughter. I was all she had left of her eldest daughter, who died of tuberculosis. The discovery was complex, and I am still putting the pieces of the puzzle of my life together, but I hold nothing against her. My grandmother wanted to protect me and showered me with warmth, love, and trust. I decided that the mission of my life is to repay her the favor, and fulfill her life's wish – to meet my sisters, her [other] two granddaughters."

In 2015, Asras flew to Ethiopia and met her father and sisters in a remote village. Her sisters later traveled to the transit camp in Gondar with plans and hopes to immigrate to Israel. 

"They sold their property in the village and rented an apartment near the [Gondar] synagogue. The children were supposed to take part in the Jewish Agency's summer camp. We speak with them daily, but last week the connection was completely cut off because of damage to the infrastructure. The last time we spoke they said there were shots outside, people dying in the street, and everyone hiding inside."

Over the years, Asras and her family invested tremendous effort and financial resources to support the sister and get them to Israel.

"Years went by and nothing happened. So earlier this year I decided to take my mother to Ethiopia. She is 70 years old, and no longer in good health. She has glaucoma, and one of her eyes no longer functions. If we wait any longer - she may go blind and never see her grandchildren. We arranged a passport and were already looking at plane tickets when the war arrived in Gondar, bringing everything to a halt." 

An estimated 9,000 people are waiting at the transit camp in Gondar to immigrate to Israel, as well as another 3,000 in the capital Addis Ababa. They are the descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity – some were and some did so willingly – in the second half of the 19th century, and as such, are not eligible to make aliyah under the Law of Return. 

In the most recent aliyah campaign in Ethiopia, called Operation Tzur Yisrael, about 5,000 people were brought to Israel – those who met the criteria set forth by the Israeli government, such as having arrived at a transit camp before 2010. 

At a Knesset committee hearing last June, a representative of the Population Registry said that 1,200 more people in Ethiopia fit the criteria and are eligible to immigrate to Israel, with only budgetary ambiguity holding them back from aliyah. Many more remain in limbo because they don't fit the criteria, such as Asras' sisters, who arrived in the transit camp after 2010.

Last Sunday, thousands of members of Israel's Ethiopian community demonstrated in Jerusalem, holding pictures of their family members trapped in the war-torn country. 

"Gondar is no different than Ukraine," they chanted, accusing the government of welcoming Ukrainian refugees with open hands, while shunning Jews, or those of Jewish descent, in Ethiopia. 

Asras too attended the protests while holding the photos of her sisters. A day later she also joined a meeting with Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer to discuss the matter – all the while trying to complete a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev leadership program.

Thirty-five excelling students take part in the annual program, with Asras having joined after completing her civil engineering degree – accomplishments she achieved, like everything else in life, with determination, humility, and perseverance. 

Asras has always helped her community and Israel in general, having spent a year after high school working as a mentor for young girls and later enlisting in the IDF and serving in a combat unit for five years. 

And even as life gets busy with studies and work, she continues to serve in reserve duty, and although she doesn't like to talk about it, Asras was the first female Ethiopian combat officer in the IDF. 

Compassion for strangers, but not brethren 

Asras became even more concerned in recent weeks after clashes in Gondar between regional forces and the military intensified, which is why she felt she could no longer keep quiet. 

"All previous government decisions said there needed to be proof of Jewish lineage. My sisters have that. Their grandmother immigrated [to Israel], as did their great-grandmother. But because they are orphans and their mother died back in Ethiopia, they don't meet the criteria. It's all bureaucracy. They talk about numbers and lists, and it infuriates me. We are not sheep, we are human beings. They should examine each case individually. This is not about people who have no connection to Judaism. There is no question that my sisters are my sisters – we have the same father and mother. Why are they not allowed to immigrate like the rest of our family? Why tear families apart? 

"I can't stand this inhumane treatment of the Ethiopian community, especially now, when it is trapped in the epicenter of the fighting. Israel is the first to send rescue forces to disaster areas and provide aid, even to non-Jews – be it the earthquake in Turkey or anywhere else – and it's great! I'm proud of it. But Ethiopia is a disaster-stricken area too! And we are not talking about foreigners, these are people who have family in Israel, brothers, uncles, grandmothers. If they immigrated, they would become a part of this nation. Why are they being turned away? And I say this after meeting with the aliyah and integration minister who looked us in the eye and said he had no intention of taking quick measures to save the community. I could not believe it.  

"Israel is so proud to have received 30,000 immigrants from Ukraine in 2022. On top of that, another 15,000 refugees who are not eligible for aliyah entered Israel. So why not do the same for the Ethiopian Jewish community? How can you show compassion to foreigners, but not your brethren? We begged that the state would at least help move them from Gondar to a safer place inside Ethiopia, but the minister said that the state of Israel cannot accept responsibility for this. 

"The state accepted responsibility and rescued only 204 people this week, most of them Israelis and several dozen of people eligible to make aliyah. But what about the rest?"

Asras is referring to the recent secret mission during which over 200 Israelis and Ethiopian Jews were rescued from war-torn northern Ethiopia – in a rescue mission by Magnus International Search and Rescue and PassportCard in coordination with local officials, Israeli diplomats in Addis Ababa, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

She continued, "I'm an Israeli through and through. I am a part of this nation and I help build it. I work at an infrastructure company that builds the country and renovates old infrastructure. And I've always felt like doing more, but this week it suddenly changed. I listened to my friends share their dreams, people who want to do good, and I said to myself that I too want to have such dreams, but I can't yet because I have something to take care of, it's like a cloud hovering above me.

"How can I go on with my life as if nothing happened, when I have sisters whose lives are in danger? On a daily basis, I don't feel discriminated against, but why do my friends not have this problem and I do? I understand that this is my life's purpose. My personal story certainly has a solution, but the whole community also needs to find a solution, and unfortunately, the state has been dragging its feet for years."

A diminished sense of belonging

"I constantly think of where my sisters are versus where I am," Asras continued. "One of them is 32 and the other is 35. Had they been allowed to immigrate ten years ago, they would have integrated and helped build this country. But now it would be much more difficult. In the end, all the Jews who immigrated from Ethiopia are Zionists, serve in the military, and integrate into the workforce. They don't come to take advantage of the country. They see this country as their home, for which they will fight."

According to Asras, she has to find not only external adversaries but those at home as well. 

"I didn't know my mother, and my sisters didn't know her either. We were little when she passed away. We don't even know what she looked like, because there's no picture left of her. I never got to meet my mother and now I won't get to see my sisters either. Everyone is looking at me, asking me to do something. I try to meet with whoever I can, I went to a discussion in the Knesset, but nobody listens. They simply don't see you. I am not giving up, but I am afraid of one day receiving a dreaded phone call. 

"It really affects your sense of belonging. This feeling that you are not Jewish enough, that you are in it for the money. Israel has given me a lot and I want and am giving back. But right now I feel like there's no one to turn to, no one to talk to. I love Israel and I love my sisters but I'm having a hard time reconciling the two."

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Israel Hayom reached out to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry for comment, to which it replied, "All those eligible [to make aliyah] under the Law of Return and Israeli citizens who were in Gondar were successfully rescued in a complex operation, and any further claims with regard to eligibility under the Law of Return will be examined and treated seriously, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency and the Population and Immigration Authority."

The office added that during the meeting with representatives of the Ethiopian community, Ofir stressed that the matter was being examined thoroughly and would be dealt with in an orderly manner. 

It also appointed Brig. Gen. (res.) Harel Kanfo to reexamine Israel's policies regarding further immigration from Ethiopia and present his conclusions to the aliyah and integration minister. 

The post 'I love Israel and I love my sisters in Ethiopia but it's hard to reconcile the two' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Elisha Yered, who was arrested over the weekend following the deadly clash in the Palestinian town of Burqa, was interviewed about a month and a half ago by Israel Hayom and explained his extremist views. 

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The 22-year-old, who did not serve in the IDF,  has been arrested several times on suspicion of carrying out violent acts. He has long lamented that the security forces are not doing enough to protect the residents of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. 

Video: Mourners bid farewell to Palestinian killed by Jewish settlers in West Bank / Credit: Reuters

When confronted with the claim by some military officials that he has been staging provocations that only make things worse, he told Israel Hayom, "This is just a depraved statement," adding, "I have heard it over and over again; it is very easy to blame the victim and accuse us of inflaming tensions. Even if we do inflame, then yes, this is how we do it; the IDF just have to put up with it, it should go on the offensive against the Palestinian village." 

Q: What do you think about the attack on Turmus Ayya [a town near Ramallah where settlers set homes and cars ablaze recently]?

"You have to look at it as part of the overall reality. Under the command of the current GOC Central Command, there are pushovers and leftists, and there is also a government that is too reluctant and doesn't do much.  Yes, that also needs to be said. There is a security reality here where people feel that they have been forsaken, and this leads people to commit acts. The only culprit for what is happening here in the field is the defense establishment. If this is the body that is supposed to provide security, then Israel has gone haywire.  An increasing number of people have been passively and actively supporting actions like those of Turmus Ayya. If you ask me - this is really not the ideal." 

Q:  Do you support the violence in Turmus Ayya? 

"Whoever does such things does it because they feel that they have been left to their own devices. On the one hand, he may risk being condemned and violating the law, but on the other hand, his life and that of his children are at stake. It is preferable to have those family members protected alive than to have them praised following their death." 

Q: But do these attacks on Turmus Ayya have to do with the recent attack, whose perpetrator came from Nablus [referring to an attack carried out just before the interview was carried out over a month ago]? 

"This village is a village defined by murder, where an accessory to a terrorist was elected as mayor. Secondly, in war, you don't fight against individuals – you fight against an enemy, and against an enemy, there is also collective punishment." 

Q: If everyone does collective punishment, this will turn Israel into Lebanon. 

"True, it's bad. The military is tasked with defense, but it doesn't do the defense, so yes – Jews have to defend themselves on their own. Sometimes people decide to attack and sometimes they decide to deter with less pleasant and less nice methods." 

The full interview with Yered will be published this weekend. 

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The images of the devastation caused by the Turkey earthquake shown by the media did not prepare the Israeli search and rescue team for the shocking reality on the ground. Entire apartment buildings turned into ruins, layers upon layers of concrete, with the personal belongings of the deceased strewn about.

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We are in a chaos zone of what used to be a residential building, but was now a wreck of suffocating dust. The rescuers are surrounded by people – the elderly, women, and children – everywhere. Some are trying to warm up next to make-shift fire pits, while others wander around with a glassy, disbelieving look in their eyes. Every once in a while, we hear a cry of despair. Man's powerlessness against the power of nature is evident.

I arrived in Turkey on Wednesday – two days after the earthquake decimated entire neighborhoods, killing over 20,000 people – to join the IDF Home Front Command's search and rescue team, led by Col. Golan Vach. I was the first Israeli journalist on the scene who was able to reach the area and observe the rescuers' life-saving efforts. The team – consisting of 500 people – has been working non-stop since Tuesday, racing against time and in the conditions of the winter cold. No one stopped to eat or sleep, despite the fact that they had been at it for over 48 hours.

By early Wednesday morning, they had already managed to rescue several people, including a 2-year-old child and a 23-year-old woman, and were working on rescuing a husband and wife in their forties. In other parts of the scene, members of the Israeli delegation managed to locate signs of life, a knock or a cry for help. Miraculously, survivors are still being pulled from the rubble, after over 50 hours of being trapped, and Israel, in particular, was one of the first countries to send help, with rescuers having dropped everything and hopped on a plane as soon as news of the catastrophe broke.

Every once in a while, all equipment is turned off and all work is ceased to create an absolute silence to hear more possible survivors. The moment an alive person is located is one of euphoria, but also despair. It is one thing to find someone trapped who is alive, and another to succeed in extracting him or her from the crushing layers intact.

According to one rescuer, Gil – a 37-year-old reservist and father of two – the hardest part is coming across a situation that reminds one of home.

For example, "It's very hard to work on rescuing a child. There was one trapped here and the locals who worked on the rescue were at first afraid to go in. They asked for help, and I went in together with an officer, who then saw the trapped baby. It's very hard to see something like that."

"At first, I only saw the baby's legs and thought he was dead. I gently touched his leg and he moved. He cried and I cried with him, and then I tried to calm him down. It's one thing to see trapped adults, but a whole other thing to see trapped babies. It was too much. I stepped outside. As an engineer, I understood that it was impossible to pull him out from the inside and that we would need to remove the layers, one by one. I put together a few people and we began."

After seven hours, the child – Omar – was rescued safe and sound.

"Another member of the delegation pulled him out and handed him to me," Gil continued. "And I took him to the doctors, and from there to the ambulance. It was a very emotional moment." Another rescuer described the feeling as "just like giving birth."

What about the parents, I ask Gil hesitantly, to which he replies without holding back, "I smelled them. At some point of the night, we could hear their voices, but then they died down and there was a strong corpse smell inside."

Tom Shay, a 39-year-old reserve population officer, and educator, also assisted in Omar's rescue. As a mother, she too found rescuing children the hardest part.

"The work was mostly conducted by the Turkish military, and from time to time, they asked us for assistance. I worked with Naama, another rescuer who is also a mother, and at first, we were hesitant to go, it was just too difficult to bear. But we kept checking in again and again, and every time they heard signs of life from Omar, I breathed in relief. Toward the end of his rescue, they asked us to join, and so we did. Omar is a hero, it's a miracle that a two-year-old survived for three days like that."

I speak with Tom about an hour after Omar's rescue. She has been awake for 52 hours straight but radiates impressive peace and calm.
As a population officer, her job is to "collect information from the area and form a picture of the population that was on site, in order to direct the forces to quick and precise action, and at the same time, monitor the population in an emergency situation to formulate recommendations to commanders on how to act as an emergency force."

Like many other members of the Israeli delegation, Tom too had participated in many rescue missions before, such as the one following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. At the time, however, her children – 3-year-old Yarden and one-year-old Omri – were not yet born. 

"It is completely different. Back then, I wasn't a mother myself, and rescuing a child did not immediately make me think of my own children at home. Today, every mother and child I see remind me of my own. 

"The truth is that you cannot do this without knowing that you have support. What allows me to make this choice every time is the knowledge that I have the support of my husband Ofir at home and that both of our families have our backs. I go out knowing that there are people back home who love me and are proud of me."

Q: Was there any hesitation before setting out on the current mission? 

"Yes. It's a choice every time. As a mother, I don't have to do this kind of work. There's always a moment like that – when you look around the home and say, 'Wait, how can I leave all this?' But straight away, it becomes very clear: you understand that a part of a group of amazing people from the IDF in this mission is an incredible privilege. This is the moment when, with all the difficulty, I choose to dedicate myself to the unit that I am a member of, knowing that when there is a need, we will come. To be a part of a delegation that saves lives. It's very emotional. The fact that there is meaning to our arrival."

Q: Did you cry at any point in the rescue?

"Yes. A little bit, when Omar was saved. It felt like we came full circle."

Nearby, another team of Israeli rescuers managed to rescue a young woman in a record five minutes. 

"We were working at another scene, and there were too many rescuers, so we decided to step aside and take a short break. Immediately we were asked by locals to help somewhere else. The first thing I saw was a trapped body. We couldn't remove it, so we covered it with a sheet," Gil said, pointing to the ruins. 

"That's when we heard a noise nearby, a young woman, 23 years old. Her face was close to that of her mother, who had died. We managed to pull her out. It was amazing to get someone out a mere five minutes after we began. I have done rescue missions in Honduras in a flood and in Brazil in a mudslide, and never experienced anything like this."

Then came a much more complex case: a husband and wife in their forties, who were sleeping peacefully at home when the earthquake brought down their home. 

The husband was trapped in a way that made it impossible to remove him without amputating his leg.

"We discussed this with the injured husband himself," Gil said. "He was conscious and agreed to the amputation."

According to the law, a foreign medical team can only perform an amputation in Turkey with permission from the local government. As soon as such approval arrived, the leader of the delegation, Vach, joined to personally supervise the complex procedure. The surgery itself was performed calmly and in a dedicated manner by Dr. Eldad Katz, with a Turkish ambulance next to him.

"It was very difficult to reach him," Katz described. "I was lying on my stomach next to him at a very uncomfortable angle. We had to move him into a different space and that took 16 minutes. Most of the time, I had to figure out how to attach the equipment to him and provide medical treatment. We realized that the situation was serious and that we needed to get him out as soon as possible.

"During the procedure, I saw that he couldn't feel anything in his leg, and we understood that an amputation was necessary. He stayed alive, breathed, and responded throughout the entire operation, and also moved his other leg. In the end, we could finally pull him out. That also took a lot of time, with the local team helping a lot."

There are stretchers and ambulances on the scene, ready to provide assistance the moment someone is pulled out alive from the rubble. Local police and the military work to keep the onlookers away, with people creating a human chain, holding up blankets to protect the dignity of those injured.

After seven hours, the man was rescued, with Vach emerging with blood-stained clothes. But unfortunately, on the way to the hospital, his condition quickly deteriorated.

Katz explained, "We took him to the ambulance, the paramedics hooked him up to the monitor, I began to bandage his leg and very quickly he collapsed. We started CPR and gave him adrenaline, but, sadly, after 20 minutes, he died. It was very sad, after all that effort we put in and hoped that he would survive."

Meanwhile, the rescuers continued to try to save his wife, whose leg too was trapped by the collapsed concrete. The military delegation is joined by civilian volunteers of United Hatzalah and the IDF's Search And Rescue Brigade consisting of 41 people, from secular to ultra-Orthodox, and everything in between.

They had arrived in Turkey on a special chartered flight carrying tens of tons of life-saving equipment. It was with this team, led by Yossi Cohen, that I arrived in the disaster-stricken region.

Everyone is working together, and with the help of machinery, succeed in freeing the woman. United Hatzalah Dr. Itay Lebel went in to assess her condition: her leg is crushed, but she is alive and fully conscious.

Local medical workers asked Dr. Lebel and another rescuer to accompany the woman to the hospital, so they got in the ambulance.

"We arrived at the nearest hospital. It was not damaged by the earthquake but was not extremely busy. Every corridor and hall was filled with the wounded. We were happy to lend a hand, to save a life. That's what we're here for," Lebel said.

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A few hours after the dramatic rescue, we return to Katz, the surgeon, who in the meantime, managed to take a short nap, fill up on coffee and return to work.

Thirty-nine years old, he specializes in orthopedics and lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and two children.

"Every time I leave on a mission, my wife takes care of the home and the children. This is the first time I've joined the IDF Home Front Command on such a mission abroad. Everyone here hopes to save lives and it is a great privilege, and we came to help as much as possible. The work of the delegation here is amazing, and we all hope that we will still be able to find survivors in the coming days. The difficulty is mainly the conditions. The winter cold, the lack of sleep – we haven't slept for two days – and the density at the destruction sites makes it impossible sometimes to reach the survivors from an angle we need."

We move to another part, where another Israeli team is working on finding survivors. Unfortunately, there were none. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrivs at the scene. Hundreds of police officers form a path for him and his entourage to pass, with locals watching on.

They anxiously wait around, looking to hear about their loved ones. The president leaves, and the residents are left to wait alone.
Every moment something happens. Three women run out of one of a nearby building, screaming. For us, it is a painful news item, for them, it is a life cut short. The worst was when the crowd fell silent as the bodies were being removed from the scene.

And yet, in the midst of such pain, there were also moments of humanity and joy. As of Wednesday morning, the Israeli delegation had managed to rescue eight people. By Saturday, they hoped to save at least just as many.

The conditions in their make-shift camps are not easy, and rescuers have no access to running water or electricity, and sleeping on the floor in the bitter cold is not easy either. But Israel has sent more volunteers to Turkey than any other country, and the spirit warns the heart as they are engaged in the most important act – saving a life.

The post 'The hardest part of rescue work is the things that remind you of home' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.