In June 2021 I went to Kfar Aza along with Miami rabbis as part of a solidarity mission to Israel following Operation Guardian of the Walls. We met with Ofer Libstein, mayor of the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council. We were in the home of Chen, who took us around and who showed us the rockets and grenades that had landed nearby her home. The day ended with a prayer from one of the rabbis saying “We live in a constant state of channeling Yehuda HaLevi לבנו במזרח ואנחנו בסוף המערב-our hearts are in the east and we are at the ends of the west” and concluded with a prayer for peace.

          How poignant HaLevi’s words are today when we see the massacre of 40 babies, many of whom were decapitated, along with women and the elderly-dozens of bodies for the entire world to see. Ofir was killed by gunfire when he was attempting to protect a kibbutz. Chen is alive but shaken to her core-her kibbutz where she took care of children, developed agriculture and lived in community with so many is now in ruins and quarantined off from the world. People’s lives, people’s belongings are spread out across their lawns. They have been blown out of their houses by explosives. The security fence is in pieces, rammed through and enabling Hamas terrorists to enter. Major General Itai Veruv said, “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career, never in 40 years of service; this is something I never imagined.”

          What can we do here in the Diaspora, when we are so far away? One thing is to tell these stories, to show that we will never forget. Another is to attempt contact with Israelis, both those living in the Holy Land and those in our communities, to show that they are constantly on our minds, that our hearts bleed with the wanton spilling of Jewish blood. A third is to be vigilant at this difficult time while concurrently not letting antisemites and those who are anti-Israel scare us into hiding. This is a time to be proud of who we are and to stand proudly with Israel. To the people of Israel and Kfar Aza-I am in the west but my heart is in the east.