By Suzanne Grant and Sissy Aerenson
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“I remove the pin but I still feel the sting.” —First Lady Michal Herzog
That sentence would follow us throughout the week.
We were 100 women representing 22 Jewish Federations from across North America. When we began our mission, there was one remaining hostage in Gaza. On our first day, we learned that the body of Master Sergeant Ran Gvili was rescued. Who was he? An extraordinary hero who left home on the morning of October 7 to rescue partygoers from the Nova music festival and lost his life after joining the battle underway at Kibbutz Alumim.
The name of the operation to retrieve his remains was Lev Amitz—Courageous Heart!
The theme of our mission was Ometz Lev . . . also “Courageous Heart.” We may have spelled it differently, but the alignment felt anything but coincidental—his courageous heart we will never forget.
Throughout our time in Israel, one message echoed everywhere we went: “this is the first time in 12 years that there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza.” It is truly a tribute to the Israeli people that they could not really “exhale” until the last hostage was returned or, in this case, rescued. As we heard repeatedly, “we have finally reached October 8.” Now, the next phase of healing may begin.
With this article, we will try to capture what was truly a most meaningful and inspiring experience. It is critical to understand that everyone in the country has been deeply impacted by October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war. Everyone has suffered loss, fear, destruction and much sadness. We heard their stories. We held them in our arms. We cried with them.
And, somehow, we also found ourselves laughing, singing and dancing. How is that possible?
There is a unique Israeli spirit—a strength of character and an unwavering will to rebuild and heal. Indeed, Israel is a nation with a courageous heart.
On our first night, we experienced that spirit through the Greenglick family.
Shaul “Shauli” Greenglick was 26 when he auditioned for the Israeli television show The Next Star, the competition that selects Israel’s representative for Eurovision. It was December 2023. Shauli stood on stage in army fatigues and sang a popular ballad. The judges were unanimous—he advanced to the next round. One judge told Greenglick that he “was a natural talent with an amazing voice.”
Shortly after, as a reservist, he was called up to serve in Gaza. The IDF was prepared to postpone his service. His friend and commander said, “Go do the show. This is your dream. We can manage without you.”
At that moment, Shauli made his decision. “Now I am definitely dropping out of the show.” He posted on Facebook, “Now I’m living an old dream, of fighting for the country . . . A new, different dream will have to wait a bit.”
He put his uniform back on and returned to fight. On December 25, 2023, Captain Shaul Greenglick was killed in Northern Gaza.
He came from a family of musicians. On the finale of that season, his two brothers and two sisters performed with a video recording of Shauli singing before his death. The final ballad blended their live voices with his—grief and harmony woven together. The family continues to perform in his memory.
The last song the Greenglick family sang for us was the ballad performed alongside the video of Shaul interwoven with the voices of his siblings.
Then there is the Manzuri family. Sigal and Menashe lost their two beautiful daughters, Roya and Norelle, along with Norelle’s boyfriend at the Nova music festival on October 7.
Sigal has transformed unimaginable loss into purpose. Through NoRo’s Vision, she honors her daughters’ memories and their love of fashion by supporting girls in crisis through fashion, art, therapy, and care. Our group brought contributions of fashionable clothing items to support this extraordinary project.
Just another shining example of the resilience of the Israeli people. We witnessed it again and again—grief transformed into action, heartbreak reshaped into hope.
We heard from survivors of the Nova Festival. We were deeply impacted by seeing the bomb shelters on the sides of the road, which was where everyone ran f or cover during the attack, and learning that these shelters became death traps where Hamas threw grenades and fired at the groups of festival goers. Each survivor spoke about the horrors witnessed, the friends lost, and the lives that—beginning on October 8—were completely different. They are all trying to recover in different ways and know that their lives post October 7 are not the same the lives they knew. They choose to talk to groups like ours as a path towards healing. Many of them feel relief in telling their stories over and over, in hopes of the pain going away one day.
One of the more powerful moments was on the first official evening of our mission, Suzy interviewed Noa Rothman an Israeli lawyer, screenwriter, and political activist who also happens to be the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Noa was interesting, smart, and a wonderful advocate for us to hear. Her comments about living in New York City really shifted perspective for us as Americans about what it means to feel safe. She told the story of moving to New York City post October 7 for about a year with her young family. Her oldest daughter was 10 years old and FaceTiming with her friend back in Israel so that she could show her their new apartment. At the end of this virtual tour the friend asked Noa’s daughter, “Where is the safe room?” To which her daughter replied, “We don’t have one, we don’t need one here.” The friend was in awe and quickly stated, “You must love being about to walk around New York City on your own.” Interesting fact is that, in Israel, the age of nine is considered to be one of measured independence where kids can walk across the street alone and do small errands alone. Noa’s daughter responded “Oh no! I am not allowed
to go out on the streets alone, it is too dangerous!” So many ask when you return from Israel, “Did you feel safe?” And I think Noa’s daughter captures why as a visitor you feel safe and what that word actually means to each culture and country.
How does our Jewish Federation system connect to all of this: the pain and suffering, the aftermath and healing, and most importantly . . . the future?
Immediately after the devastation of October 7, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum was established—a civil, non-political organization composed of thousands of volunteers, family members, and senior professionals from security, law, communications, advertising, creative, and diplomacy. This group worked tirelessly to advocate for the hostages, support their families, and bring them all home. Jewish Federations were the first to provide funding to launch the organization. The Forum has now officially closed and transitioned into “255,” focused on the ongoing needs of families who have suffered loss and trauma.
The Jewish Federation of Delaware supports the Jewish Agency for Israel
(“JAFI”) as well as the American Joint Distribution Committee (“JDC”). They have identified those who are now labeled the “new vulnerable.”
The numbers are staggering:
23,000 soldiers have been injured.
35,000 suffering psychological trauma.
140,000 evacuated from their homes.
Behind each of these numbers is a family, a home, a future interrupted—the stories are filled with unimaginable loss and devastation. While many evacuees have returned, there remains a huge need for many forms of support.
Government assistance exists but the gaps are significant. JAFI and JDC will continue to provide critical services—filling those gaps.
Over six intense days—yes mission days start very early in the morning and run until late into the evenings—we heard from former hostages, family members of those who were lost on October 7, and heroes who are working to rebuild and renew. We visited the homes of our Israeli Lions of Judah. We have become incredibly close to these amazing women and will forever be united in friendship and solidarity. We reached out to them after October 7 and now they show their concern for us as we battle antisemitism throughout North America.
And yes, we enjoyed fabulous Israeli dinners, including one night with celebrity chefs Adeena Sussman and Erez Komarovsky.
The Israeli people know how we have been there and continue to provide support. They are most grateful and thanked us again and again. They are grateful not only for the financial support, but for showing up.
We ended the week carrying so many emotions. Grief. Responsibility. Love. Strength. Above all, we felt an immense sense of pride in our Federations system—in what we do, in how we respond, and in who we stand beside.
The Israeli people embody Ometz Lev—Courageous Heart.
Am Yisrael Chai!
