The relative miracle that struck Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7 seemed to be swallowed up by the other headlines that flowed from that Black Sabbath. The vast majority of the members survived the inferno, thanks to the persistent fighting waged by the alert squad there, but the crisis in the kibbutz is still evident, physically and mentally. "Our rehabilitation will take at least a year," says Janet Zweigbaum, spokeswoman for the kibbutz, whose story of terrorist infiltration could have ended on the scale of the tragedy of Kibbutz Be'eri.
The scale of the disaster at Kibbutz Be'eri // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The heroism of the members of the alert squad of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, located between the Eshkol region and the Shalom region, will be remembered for many years to come. Three paid with their lives defending the community in the face of the surprise murderous attack - CSC (Military Routine Security Coordinator) Yaron Shachar z"l, Sergeant Major Ofek Arazi z"l and Sergeant Major (res.) Boaz Avraham z"l. In addition, there are other abductees and missing persons: kibbutz members Oren Goldin, Tal Haimi, Lior Rudyaf and Clara Merman, as well as visitors who came to spend Simchat Torah with Clara - her partner Luis Har from Kibbutz Urim, Her brother Fernando Merman, her sister Gabriela Merman Leimberg, and Gabriella's sister-in-law, Mia Lemberg.
Sergeant Ofir Melman, a member of the kibbutz, served in the Nahal Platoon and was killed in battle against the terrorists at the nearby Sufa outpost.
"There was a massacre in Bari, and what happened on Kibbutz Nir Oz is still hard to digest," Zweigbaum says painfully. "With us, in Nir Yitzhak, we were very lucky. Our alert squad saved us. Unfortunately, three friends fell in battle, and we have three missing members of the kibbutz. Everyone here knows Clara, our mythological kindergarten teacher. There isn't a friend who hasn't been educated with her as a child in the last 40 years. Our hearts also ache for the four outsiders, Clara's family, to whom we don't know what happened. They're gone.
Burnt cars in Nir Yitzhak, photo: None
"The terrorist drank Actimel"
"The alert squad really protected us. They were alone, a group of guys, ready for half an hour or an hour of fighting, because they believed the army would come. But he didn't show up. I was in the safe room and I followed what was happening on TV and in the WhatsApp group, I understood what the terrible thing was happening."
She remembers more than anything else the moments when terrorists and looters from Gaza infiltrated homes, the frightened messages sent by the group, one after the other. Each member she knows well personally. "In real time, it was a trauma that came back time and time again, because you know where everyone lives. Someone writes 'they're with me' – and you know how far away it is from you or close to someone else. You could really feel what everyone was going through at that moment."
More scenes of destruction and vandalism left by the terrorists in Nir Yitzhak, October 7,
When members of the alert squad fought outside for hours, everyone in the safe room was left in a fog. "The terrorists entered the houses, and fortunately did not manage to penetrate the safe rooms. So they did a pogrom for objects here. They had a thing about breaking and smashing everything. They even opened a fridge and broke eggs inside. I couldn't understand why they did it, what the explanation was. One of the terrorists drank a vial of Actimel from inside the refrigerator. It was surreal."
"The tumors were severely damaged"
At a certain point, the terrorists left the area with everyone they managed to kidnap, followed by civilians looting from Gaza to Nir Yitzhak. They continued to burn and steal, destroy and destroy. "They stole computers and money, and every vehicle they couldn't start, they just burned."
According to Zweigbaum, 92 percent of the kibbutz's survivors are currently staying at the hotel in Eilat to which they were evacuated. "They divided into groups there, taking care of all their needs. The main thing is that they occupy themselves, it's also part of the treatment and rehabilitation."
Janet Zweigbaum, kibbutz spokesperson, photo: None
Zweigbaum worked all her life in the media, and as part of her work she received delegations from abroad and even gave lectures in South America. At every opportunity she emphasized to her listeners how safe the envelope area is, but today she repents. "I feel naked in the middle of Ayalon. I feel like I lied to everyone. But I believed it myself. Today I realize that everything I thought and believed was actually a lie – and that's my struggle now."
How are you doing these days?
"In the meantime, we have volunteers in the cowshed, including soldiers, and four other workers who continue to grow the field. We have 1,000 dairy cows in the cowshed, and in the meantime, with the help and volunteering, we can keep up.
"It's terrible that someone disappeared from the kibbutz. This is a blow not only to the family, but to the entire community, because everyone had a part in the work of the farm. People have a role that now there is no one to play. In order to return, many things need to be rehabilitated."
A smoke mushroom billows in the kibbutz on the day of the attack, photo: None
And according to Zweigbaum, there is another problem: "Our school is regional. When there is no school and no kindergartens, parents will not be able to return here either. People cannot return to a place where there is no normal routine and lifestyle. I say honestly: If I had young children today, I wouldn't send them to study. From the window, you can still see Gaza in front of us. The adults might come back, but the kids? It's hard for me to believe.
"We already understand what kind of injury we suffered and how long rehabilitation will take. What they looted could be repaired and returned, but our fields were severely damaged. We had crops in the ground, such as carrots and potatoes, which the IDF tanks must have gone through. Irrigation systems were also damaged, and other things.
"70% of the crops in the Eshkol region are potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, carrots, peanuts - and none of this will be anytime soon. Our fields are glued to the border. We need to ask the Ministry of Agriculture which potatoes the people of Israel will eat on the table in the near future. In the meantime, I tell myself every morning that a new day has arrived, and with it a new hope that we will be rehabilitated, and that everyone who was kidnapped will return home safely."
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