A Revolution and a Miracle are Needed: Reflections from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Written by Kalela Lancaster, NCJW Israel Program Manager

Six beautiful souls held captive by Hamas were so close to coming home. I know that you all share in the agony of this time, but I will share some reflections on the last few days as I have experienced them on the ground in Israel.

In Israel, we all feel bound up in the fate of each and every hostage as if we knew them personally. We see their images and hear their stories everywhere, all day long. Their families who are fighting for them have sprung up as symbols and leaders, all catching the collective imagination in different ways. In the week since the murder of Hersh, Carmel, Ori, Eden, Almog and Alexander, may their memories be for a blessing, the mood in Israel has been a cocktail of raw pain and fury.

Tensions were already running high since last Thursday’s government vote to cement a hard line on the Philadelphi Corridor. Numerous leaks pointed to a consensus amongst the security establishment, the negotiating teams, the hostage families, and the U.S. administration that the vote amounted to a decision to sacrifice the hostages. These devastating deaths were the proverbial straw which broke a simmering pot ready to boil over.

On Sunday, I went to the demonstration in Tel Aviv. As you know, Israelis protested all of last year to save Israeli democracy. Since October 7th, demonstrations have continued – but the focus has splintered. Saturday night demonstrations have been taking place at three different locations in Tel Aviv. Some continued to protest the government on Kaplan Street where the pro-democracy protests had been. Others went to the Hostage Square outside the Tel Aviv museum to support the families and express their solidarity. Under the Begin bridge, between the two locations, a third crowd was a mish mash of the two: a more antagonistic call for action on the hostages. And throughout these 11 months, many just couldn’t drag themselves out to protest at all, at least nowhere near to the same extent as the previous year. It all just felt so exhausting and hopeless.

On Sunday night, it felt as though everyone poured out onto the streets, converged under the Begin bridge and became one raw cry of agony and anger. The message was singular: the public, led by the hostage families, had lost their patience. They just couldn’t bear it any more. And they demanded action.

The funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l, the American-Israeli child of light, love and peace, was held in Jerusalem the following day. Devastating yet profoundly moving, it almost feels as though the two events were one moment sliced at different angles.

Hersh z”l and the struggle of his inspirational parents Rachel and Jon have left an indelible mark on Israeli society. The dignity, clarity of purpose, gentle strength, dedication to Jewish values, and sheer force of love of the parents for their child have filled a void of moral leadership in this country. I didn’t know the family personally (though I’m one degree of separation through many people), but that was why I felt compelled to go in person to the funeral, and to represent our NCJW movement there.

During the “National Vigil for the Hostages” in Washington, DC co-led by partner organizations including NCJW, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff shared that, during a call to comfort Rachel and Jon, Doug felt that they were actually comforting him. That is what I have felt all along about the family’s campaign and their presence. That was what was so particularly shattering in losing Hersh. And that was what I felt at the funeral. As though the thousands who attended and the millions who watched on livestream needed to hear their eulogies. I’m grateful to have been able to go to the funeral in person, to take part in being there for the family, and have them be there for me.

What will happen next, I cannot say. I’m sure you are all following the headlines with similar anguish and despair as us over here. It seems like we might be needing a miracle.

May Hersh’s memory be for a blessing, for a revolution and for a miracle.

And may we have good news – “b’sorot tovot” – as we say here.