Day 401 of the War: 101 Hostages

This has been one of the hardest weeks since tOctober 7 2023. On Monday, I worked at the dining room in the Families Headquarters. Most of the family members were in the Israeli Knesset again to convince the MK to act on behalf of the hostages.  As I drove home from Tel Aviv, I listened to podcasts from The New York Times and felt optimistic about the possibility of having a woman as President of the United States. I believe that she is  the right person for the job and couldn’t imagine that anyone with a conscience would vote for a convicted felon, who has committed so many crimes, to fill the most important role in the world.

On Tuesday night, here in Israel, we were shocked to hear that Netanyahu had fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Thousands of people left their homes and took to the streets in protest. Galant was the only government official tirelessly working to advance the release of hostages, and he was the one to whom families turned for help and information. In August, I attended a demonstration of Families of the Hostages outside Galant’s home. After the demonstration ended, we walked back to the bus, and Galant met with the families in his home https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/day-303-of-the-war-outside-galants-home/.  In his last speech as Defense Minister, he promised to continue working to bring the hostages home, as it’s the most crucial issue for all of us.

Wednesday was filled with demonstrations across Israel, and we woke to the news that America had chosen Donald J. Trump as its next president. I felt sadness and disappointment but realized I had no more emotional capacity for bad news, so I turned off the radio and didn’t read the news on different sites.

Fortunately, on Thursday I was also offered a brief reprieve. Last summer I was involved in a project to write the life stories of women activists, both Jewish and Arab Israelis. The project brought together a small group of women and was led by two activists, with Professor Amia Lieblich teaching us interviewing techniques to capture the stories of activists we admired. The organizers, Ghadir Hani and Dror Rubin, ran the project as both a learning experience and a support community. We dedicated the project to Vivian Silver, a revered activist who was murdered on October 7. On Thursday night, the Canadian Embassy (Vivian was Canadian) hosted a reception in honor of the project. Although not all participants could attend due to the ongoing conflict in the north, for a brief time, we were transported into a reality where activism and peace were the only things that mattered.

On Saturday, we went again to demonstrate at the Hostage Circus. It was day 400 of the hostages’ captivity. Thousands of people gathered, holding signs, posters, and Israeli flags. There were powerful speakers on stage, but hope was scarce. The families pleaded with us not to despair and to keep coming and demonstrating. The crowd seemed determined to keep showing up.