I’m home from a profound and emotional trip to Israel. From Monday to Thursday, February 26-29, this whirlwind trip was filled with intensity and purpose. Organized by Houston Jewish Federation and led by J2 Israel Tours, it was precisely what we needed to see and do, learn and observe at this critical time. Many groups have made their way to Israel after October 7th, and all of them have returned safely but not unchanged.

With gratitude, all 19 of us from Houston’s Jewish community returned safely but not unchanged, too. In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, restaurants and cafes are busy, the streets are crowded, and the days and nights are active. But the conversations have changed. The mood is thick with overwhelming concern and angst. Though “optimism” is a word that we heard and which people spoke about sincerely, it felt like a placeholder for what comes when the war that began on October 7th ends. “For us,” one Israeli remarked, “Every day is October 7th.”

In Tel Aviv, at Hostages Forum, a grantee of Federation, the director of development spoke about the services that are provided there. Families waiting for news of their family members and freed hostages, too, come to the Forum building day and night. Social workers, meals, access to media, time on computers, and solidarity with other suffering individuals and families greet them daily. We sat and listened to a father of two sons who are still being held hostage. He had fled Argentina during the height of antisemitism to find refuge in Israel. At age 71, he said, he would trade his life for theirs. Translated for the group, his Hebrew was clear to me that the horrors of that day have no justification, and the suffering of men, women, and children, especially, is unconscionable. We listened and wept. Across the street at Hostage Square, tables and exhibits, even a mock tunnel, were on view for people to sit and talk, seek information, and share experiences. It’s a center for consolation like an ongoing shiva for everybody who’s waiting and suffering.

South of Jerusalem, we went to Kfar Aza, one of the kibbutzim that was attacked by marauding Hamas terrorists. Over the years, I’ve visited Kfar Aza multiple times and heard the stories told by Chen, a longtime resident and proud member of Kfar Aza. As before, we sat on her porch to hear her words, but this time her words began to describe what our eyes already saw on our walk to her home. The thriving and joyful kibbutz was no more, at least not now. In its place she showed us burned-out homes, trashed buildings, and spray-painted markings that identified what was found and remained in each room of each home. A red circle with a red dot inside it meant at least one dead body was found. A four-sided square meant that four groups had been there and accomplished their work to secure it from hiding terrorists and from other evidence and remains. Yes, it was like the spray-painted markings on Houston homes after Hurricane Harvey, but these markings told a more gruesome story about carnage and barbarism.

When we walked to Kfar Aza’s edge, where young people had their own rooms and lived together with dreams and hopes, the destruction of burned-out buildings—in fact, the whole area—was overwhelming to see, feel, and understand. It wasn’t just the remains of a fire; it was the result of terrorists bent on devastation and destruction of human life, dignity, and civility. How could anyone do this without having first been taught how to hate, destroy, and mutilate? It had to have begun at an early age in school, in homes where “death to Jews” was normalized, and where plans were made for what happened on October 7th.

There’s no going back to a time before October 7th, but Israel is anticipating how to emerge from this horrific period. Like those of us who traveled to Israel and came home to America’s own problems with antisemitism and bigotry, they will return to their homes, safely but not unchanged. In this way, we are one people even if we live far away from each other. “Never again” came too soon, but our will to “Choose life,” (Deuteronomy 30), as we’ve been taught since we were young, will remain our promise to God and to each other for a future we can still have in Israel and in America.

We can also leave room in our prayers for what innocent Palestinians have had to endure under the ruse of Hamas leadership. Is Hamas feeding them, protecting them, and providing for their future? Hamas stole billions of dollars to build an infrastructure and network of killing tunnels on the backs of Palestinian hopes. They paid too high of a price and Israel has been set up to take the fall for it. One day, Israel will have a partner with whom to make peace, but that day hasn’t come yet, nor can it be simply willed to be. It will take a new and younger generation of Palestinians who want a better life for themselves and their children that begins with peace in their hearts and their homes, on the opposite side of a border with the sovereign state of Israel.

May the people of Israel, and all Jews and Jewish allies everywhere, bring this war to an end for the sake of all God’s children who are born and reared with visions and plans for greater peace.

L’Shalom,