Even After Everything (Review)
In Betsy Frischman Fischer’s recently published book, Even After Everything, she recounts the incredible story of the life of Gadi Yarkoni, an extraordinary man of courage and determination. After years of research and personal interviews, Fischer paints a rigorous and intimate portrait of a devoted husband, and father of three, whose triumph over adversities is legend.
Gadi’s story centers on Kibbutz Nirim located in Otef Aza, the Gaza Envelope, 1.5 miles from the Gaza border. As such, over the years Gadi and his fellow kibbutzniks routinely experienced the Tzeva Adom red alert warnings of incoming missiles, mortars, and rockets, launched by their next-door neighbors, the terrorists of Hamas and their all too willing Gaza fellow residents. While coordinating efforts to restore power to his kibbutz during the waning days of Operation Protective Edge in 2004, Gadi took his last steps on his own two feet, as an explosion from Hamas took them, and his two best friends on that ill-fated day.
But adversity never deterred Gadi from accomplishing his goals despite facing a series of life-long hardships. From an early age, classroom work was not his forte as he suffered from dyslexia and dysgraphia. True to his indominable nature and despite his limitations, he wanted to join the IAF (Israel Air Force) as a combat pilot. Expectedly, the military deemed him only fit for becoming a jobnick, someone who did less challenging tasks such as working in the kitchen, doing laundry or sitting at a desk performing administrative paperwork. But true to his character, he applied himself diligently to whatever his commanders asked him to do, to the point his fellow troopers regarded him as a ‘geek’ during his tiranoot (basic training) stint.
As if the loss of his legs was not bad enough, a cardiologist diagnosed him having a heart defect and an ophthalmologist detected he had glaucoma. Those defects would have derailed any plans an ordinary person might have had for their future. But Gadi was not like anyone else. Although a farmer by trade, his physical challenges did not discourage him from pursuing his desire to become the racaz gadash (head of field crops) for his kibbutz. And never one to remain in one place, after five years Gadi decided he wanted to become kibbutz Nirim’s minahel kiheelah (community manager), in which he oversaw all the operations of the kibbutz. Eventually he became the merakez meshek (economic director) and finally his community elected him to the position of mayor of the Eshkol region, which is a large area in Israel’s northwestern Negev Desert, bordering the Gaza Strip and Egypt, comprising 32 communities of kibbutzim and moshavim. He accomplished all that teetering on two artificial legs, while learning how to walk again.
Despite having to regularly make a dash to a mamad (bomb shelter), on two prosthetic legs to protect himself from incoming missiles, Gadi continued to perform his daily tasks fully and responsibly.
Gadi, by his own admission was a life-long idealist; he believed peace was possible with Hamas. But Oct 7 shattered that delusion as he realized that his Gaza neighbors could be “such monsters and do such horrific things to us.” He confessed, he was beyond disillusioned when he saw, “that it was not only Hamas who came to slaughter us. It was all the residents of Gaza, including people who worked in our kibbutzim.” He has come to believe that it is impossible to co-exist with the monsters of Hamas and like-minded residents of Gaza. Despite the unimaginable cruelty the radical Islamists of Hamas rained down upon innocent civilians, Gadi said he does not want to kill Hamas or the people of Gaza. But he also said he cannot have them as neighbors.
For anyone interested in getting a close-up view of past and current struggles in which Israelis have been and are currently engaged, Fisher’s book will provide it. Throughout the book, she intersperses her account of Gadi’s struggles and successes with Hebrew terminology which imparts authenticity to her narrative. Her genuineness and heartfelt description of people, places and events make the reader feel as if they are on site, rubbing elbows with locals, while sharing both their tears of sorrow and ululations of joy. She guides you on a very personal and authentic journey through the kibbutzim and moshavim located in the Israel Envelope (formerly known as the Gaza Envelope). While reading her book, you will not see the Western Negev region as though looking through the windows of a bus, but rather by witnessing history, hopes and dreams of its residents come alive, across the landscape of their ancestral homeland.
