"Never again has happened again!"

Israel Reflections – Rabbi Bregman

When the terrorists couldn’t break into the safe room, they would set the house on fire and wait for the people to out and usually murdered some but not all , taking the remaining as hostages.

The IDF found a Hamas playbook on the evening of Oct 7 on one of the roads on Kibbutz Be’eri. In speaking to one of the members of the kibbutz he told me this playbook could have been written by Eichmann or Hitler, calling for the mental, emotional and physical destruction of the Jews. And that is why at times Hamas selectively murdered parents in front of children, siblings in front of other siblings and then taking the remaining siblings as hostages.

After telling me that I tried to keep walking but simply collapsed and sat down and wept. Our guide saw me and quickly ran over to me put his arm around me and said, is it okay that I’m giving you a hug and before I could say yes of course, he said, because I need it as much as you. This whole country needs to be hugged.

We’re now in Kikar Hatufim (Hostage Centre). Gatherings take place every night. Tonight of course they included the lighting of the Chanukkiah. People from all walks of life, all races, religious non religious. It is so wonderful, inclusive and as crazy as this sounds, so safe. And above is the table set with 138 seats and place settings for all the remaining hostages.

We’re now in the museum set up to remember all the people who were murdered and taken hostage at the Nova dance festival. Below are pictures that reminds me of the glass cases of shoes I saw at Auschwitz.m or at Yad Vashem.

Never again has happened again!

I’m used to coming to Israel and of course visiting hard and difficult places like Yad Vashem(Holocaust Museum) or military cemeteries, but this trip is one giant kick in the gut after another with barely anytime to catch or breathe or stop crying before being hit again and again and again.

Am at Ben Gurion and waiting to take off in approximately an hour for a 14 hour flight to LAX. Again the airport is virtually empty except for EL AL flights. Sad to leave our tiny country that is in such pain and distress. But glad we came.