Elijah W. Senior Project
Advisor: Mr. Nick Belotto
For much of the past two years, Israeli society was deeply divided over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, to the point where those who disagreed with each other began to vehemently and, in some cases, violently loathe each other. However, on October 7th, 2023, on what was supposed to be the happiest day in the Jewish calendar, Simchat Torah, Hamas terrorists conducted a brutal massacre in Israel resulting in the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. One would expect in the immediate aftermath for there to be many Israelis evacuating the country, as was the case in countries like Ukraine, yet when war struck, there was an unprecedented influx of Jews and non-Jews from around the world coming to Israel to help. This project aims to investigate the attitudes of both Israeli and American Jews towards their connections to Judaism and Israel before and after October 7th. Through conducting interviews, I plan to learn how the October 7th massacre changed the lives of Jews in the diaspora (specifically in the United States), including myself, and compare it with how it changed the lives of Israeli Jews. To explore this topic, I will be leading a discussion with high school seniors in a Holocaust and Genocide Studies class at Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, North Carolina. Then I will go to Israel for a month, where I will spend three weeks volunteering for non-combat duties on an Israeli military base, alongside people from around the world. During this time I will be able to speak to Israelis and interview them to hear about their experiences and perspectives. In our darkest hour, we watched the world turn its back on us and rush to justify the barbarous terrorism of October 7th. Personally, this was a wake up call that made me embrace my identity as a Jew against the crowd of those who call for people’s eradication, and I hope to find other Jews in the diaspora with similar experiences and bolster their voices.
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Project Blog
Weeks 1-2: Israel Project Weeks 1-2: 03/23 - 04/06
I think it's safe to say that since senior send-off day, things have been very eventful for me. First there was the senior trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and that was really fun, but it's irrelevant to my project.
On Saturday March 23, I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina for two reasons: to meet a really close friend of mine named Anastazie in person for the first time after being online friends for two years, and to lead a seminar at a Holocaust and Genocide Studies class at her high school. Unfortunately, the seminar went poorly to say the least, because I had banked on the assumption that I could spark a heated discussion amongst the class, but they refused to talk; even when I asked some very divisive (not political) questions, they somehow all sheepishly agreed to it. Regardless, getting to see one of my best friends in person for the first time was a moment I will never forget.
I returned to New York City on Tuesday March 26, only to leave to Israel on Thursday. I arrived in Israel on Friday, and stayed with my Uncle Steve (he's my first cousin once removed but I call him my uncle) until Sunday, when I began my first week of volunteering on IDF military bases with a program called Sar-El. However, before I began my volunteering, the CEO of Sar-El had offered me the unique opportunity to sing Hatikva (meaning The Hope), the National Anthem of the State of Israel, on stage in Jerusalem in a chorus of other volunteers with Israeli pop star and Eurovision 2023 bronze medalist Noa Kirel. So, on Sunday I went to Jerusalem, sang with Noa Kirel, and then immediately went with the rest of my volunteering group (now is a good time to mention that Jude Senker decided to volunteer with me for two weeks) to an IDF base at a location which I will not disclose for security purposes, arriving at midnight.
From Monday to Thursday April 1-4, we did non-combat duties, such as sorting through "good" and moldy mattresses, organizing warehouses, packing gear into backpacks, and sorting through live ammunition. I didn't interview anyone this week, but I had some interesting and emotional conversations about emotional trauma following October 7. At the time of writing this, I'm staying at a friend's house in Modi'in, and tomorrow morning, I leave again to a new IDF base at a location which has not yet been revealed to me.
Pic 1: Anastazie and I meet at last after a painfully long 2 years
Pic 2: I play guitar in uniform on the base (background blurred for security purposes)
Pic 3: You should never point live ammunition at your own head (background blurred for security purposes)
Week 3: Israel Project Week 3: 04/07 - 04/13
This week, I was assigned to a base called Mishmar HaNegev just outside the city of Be'er Sheva. Unfortunately, we weren't able to be as productive as last week for two reasons: first because we set the bar for productivity absurdly high last week at Elyakim, and second because we spent most of the time waiting for supply shipments that never arrived. It was also a much smaller group this week, with only 7 volunteers compared to last week's 11.
The highlight of this week was visiting the site of the Nova Festival Massacre of October 7-
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Now I would add more about this week but exactly at the time of writing this (23:00 local time), I have been alerted that the Islamic Republic of Iran has launched dozens of drones aimed at Israel, and that they will likely reach Israeli airspace by 05:30 local time. I'm not worried that I will get hurt. I am in the Jewish State, surrounded by millions of my brothers and sisters, and an army that I trust with my life to protect me. We've survived worse odds.
I've already been feeling a little sick today, so I'm going to go and get a few hours of sleep before the sirens wake me up and I have to go to the safe room.
עם ישראל חי
Week 3: Israel Project Week 3: 04/06 - 04/13 (continued)
The Iranian attack last night was underwhelming at most. I stayed with my cousin Steve in Ra'anana last night, and we didn't even hear any sirens. Even Jude, who is in Tel Aviv at the moment, says he didn't hear any sirens. Last night must have been super embarrassing for Iran, because they launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, and a joint coalition of American, British, French, Jordanian, Israeli, and Saudi forces intercepted 99% of them, resulting in only 3 hits in Israel, with only one small Bedouin child injured. If that was supposed to be the dreaded Iranian earthquake of an attack, it was pathetic. עם ישראל חי - The Nation of Israel Lives.
But it is important to me that I am in Israel in its times of trouble. I feel an overwhelming sense of pride to be a part of the resilient Nation of Israel. When my Grandfather was alive, he would always catch the first flight to Israel whenever it was under attack. He would stay in the bomb shelters with his brothers and sisters. This is a topic I plan to return to in a later blog post.
Now, back to talking about the week. On Tuesday, after we finished our work on the base, our Madrichot (group commanders) took us on a bus to see the site of the Nova Music Festival Massacre on October 7th. For those who somehow are unaware, on October 7th, 2023 at 06:29 local time, Hamas terrorists paraglided into the Nova Music Festival near Kibbutz Re'im, just 5km away from Gaza, and committed atrocities that supersede the word 'atrocity' itself, including the mass rape, slaughter, torture, and kidnapping of hundreds of innocent Israeli (and other national) partygoers. At the time of writing, 133 hostages taken from Nova and other areas pillaged by Hamas on October 7th are still captive to Hamas and Gazan civilians in Gaza. They have spent over 6 months there sitting in agony in dark tunnels as they are tortured, abused, beaten, and raped. We don't know for sure how many are still alive, but those who are still alive are still living through Hell on Earth.
When I got off the bus, a pain that I cannot even begin to describe enveloped me. I recognized the landscapes that I saw on my phone when I woke up on that Black Saturday, and it was as if through the silence of the area, I could hear the echoes of the muffled anguished cries of the hostages. As I walked around, I could imagine the massacre happening right in front of me, like I could travel 6 months back in time and see it for myself as an invisible spectator. Then I would occasionally snap back to reality and think of all the calls in the West, especially by those who I once trusted and called my friends, for Israel to cease fire and forget about the hostages; if this were to happen, all hope would be lost for them, and their shattered souls would be condemned to hell for the rest of their lives. Yet, through all these emotions, I could not cry, no matter how much I wanted to.
But I felt that same sense of hope I felt when I landed in Israel a few weeks ago, and when I attended the rally in DC in November for Israel along with hundreds of thousands of other people. I watched as fractured nations united in the face of tragedy to stand stronger than ever.
The rest of the week was about the same as described in my previous post. In some good news, at the base I befriended a stray black cat named חתול (Khatul - literally just means cat). Every time I went to the dining hall, he would be waiting outside, meowing at me for attention. Picture attached below.
Weeks 4-5: Israel Project Weeks 4-5: 04/14 - 04/20
For my third and final week of volunteering with Sar-El, I was sent to a base in Eilat called Uvda. Eilat is the southernmost city in Israel, and in my case, it required a 5 hour bus ride through the Negev desert. Given that Iran had just attacked Israel that night, the world was holding its breath in anticipation of an Israeli retaliation and further escalation of the conflict. My mom was advising me not to go to Eilat out of fear that the roads leading there would be bombed because there is important military infrastructure there. Despite my mom's concern for my safety, I went to Eilat anyways. Our Madrichot gave us the tour of the base and introduced us to some of the IDF officers on base, notably the head chef, Ramiro. Ramiro will be important later. While doing the tour, we noticed that a warehouse near the flagpole was half destroyed because an Iranian drone had struck it the week prior.
The next day, we did a lot of work in the kitchen: cleaning dishes, floors, and refrigerators, sorting and unpacking boxes of food, and taking out trash. When we weren't working, we were hanging out with the IDF soldiers as they competed to see how far they could kick a water bottle or strike a match on someone's freshly-shaved beard. During lunch that day, Yael, one of our Madrichot, told us that we were her last Sar-El group after a year and a half of being a Madricha. Yael was born in Columbia, but at 17 years old, she decided to make Aliyah (move to Israel and become an Israeli citizen) alone, and she joined the IDF at 18. She also told us that in a few weeks her service with the IDF would end, and she had planned a party, which she had invited her parents and friends to but had to get canceled due to last minute circumstances. Immediately, we, collectively as volunteers, decided that we were going to throw her a party to celebrate her service. Later that day, we told Ramiro our plans, and he worked to get a cake on base. Fast forward to Wednesday, during our lunch break, we quietly set up the party. Once it was set up, we waited for her to come down to begin the activity that she had planned for us. When she came, she was greeted by a surprise party, complete with cakes, snacks, and soda. I even made her an imitation of the certificate that Sar-El volunteers receive at the end of each week, thanking her for her service.
There were two instances where I had to run to the bomb shelter. One night after dinner, I was lying down in the volunteer bedroom when I heard a whooshing sound, a boom that shook the room, and then confused screams. We all in that room looked at each other silently with wide eyes until I said, "I wasn't the only one who heard that, right?" There were no alerts or sirens, but to be safe, and since we weren't sure what exactly had happened, a few volunteers and I went to the bomb shelter for a few minutes. We learned that the Houthis had launched a drone from Yemen and that the Iron Dome intercepted it directly over the base. Some other volunteers told me they actually saw the interception because they were sitting outside when it happened. The second time was just after lunch, and we were taking a break before resuming work, when the loudspeakers on base started screaming "!אמת! אמת" (emet, meaning truth), which is the signal that the alert is not a drill. Everyone else in the room seemed a little confused as if they didn't catch what the loudspeaker said, until I said "guys, emet, we gotta go to the shelter, let's go." We all went to the bomb shelter where we all squeezed in with volunteers and other soldiers for about two minutes, until the loudspeaker said the alert was over. What confused us was that there were no sirens. We later learned that the alert was sounded because someone had wandered onto the base who wasn't supposed to be there.
At Uvda, I also befriended another cat, a black kitten whose name translated to Stupid. This guy's behavior backs up that name because he had no survival instincts. I picked him up by the belly the second I saw him and he did nothing but purr and fall asleep. Other notable events that week included: swimming in the Red Sea, befriending other random stray cats, staying the weekend alone in a hotel in Eilat because I got sick, and going to the beach.
Weeks 6-10: Israel Project Weeks 6-10: 04/21 - 05/25
I do sincerely apologize for the extended hiatus. I have been dealing with some personal and mental health issues for the past month. I won't go into detail here. Also, not much has happened for much of May that is actually relevant to my project. I've been working an internship at the Kaufman Music Center for a few weeks now, but it is difficult to make any connection between the internship and the project.
My last few days in Israel were spent with family and friends all over the country. I met my 3rd cousin Orly, who I hadn't seen since I was very young, and she took me to the Kikar Hatufim (Hostage Square) in Tel Aviv. It was another crushing experience, much like visiting the site of the Nova Music Festival, but I found it very meaningful. I also hung out with my childhood friend Carmel for a day. Passover Seder at my uncle Steve's was an adventure - I ended up playing magnetiles with his 2yo step-granddaughter and I definitely didn't drink 5 glasses of wine.
Recently, I set up and published an online survey designed to gain insight into the correlation between political views, connection to Judaism/Israel before/after Oct 7, and level of religious observance. However, I had to take it down after 20 minutes, because I intended to obtain a Jewish sample, and there was no way to guarantee that without paying over $3000, so I put 'JEWISH PARTICIPANTS ONLY' in the title, and as it turns out, people can't read so they were just complaining about how the survey assumed they were Jewish. Since that method didn't work, my backup plan is to distribute that same survey to various Jewish institutions around the country, while aiming to sample a variety of political, geographical, and observational (religious observance) Jewish populations.