Israel under attack: Testimonial by a 19-year-old from Kibbutz Be'eri who survived the massacre

 Source video: Israel under attack: Testimonial by a 19-year-old from Kibbutz Be'eri who survived the massacre

All credit for this post to the video maker.

What I did was just to type down the subtitles that had been translated by the video maker.

[Subtitle: Oct 11, 2023, 4 days after the brutal attack on Southern Israel.]

I am 19 years old from Kibbutz Be'eri.

The worst thing, aside from hearing all the names of the deceased, the missing and unaccounted for, and those taken captive, the worst thing at that moment was not lying in the dark in a bomb shelter. It wasn't hearing the gunfire. It wasn't even the real time messages received from my fellow Kibbutz members, people I've known since I've known myself, begging for help and no one came.

The worst thing, for me, aside from the deceased, those held captive, and those who were abducted, was the moment that we exited our home, when we were evacuated. It was dark, and I was barefoot, and I stepped on shattered glass, and I saw the faces of my neighbors filled with fear. Absolute Terror. I saw the faces of those who I've know for so long as I can remember in a way that I had never seen them before. In tears. People whom I grew up with filled with fear. And wandering around here, I only just got here, to the Dead Sea, wandering around here, seeing the faces of my fellow Kibbutz members attempting to get up in the morning, to hang in there, to smile once in a while.. Each in their own way. The hardest thing is to pick myself up every morning. 

And it hasn't been a lot of mornings, but each one has been an extremely difficult challenge, just to pick myself up. What happened to us was appalling. But there is something that is very important for me to say: 

What happened to us was nothing new. It was only worse. We have been neglected, abandoned, for years. For Years. Do not point at the "Iron Dome" as a solution, that is a band-aid. Do not point at the soldiers, that is a band-aid. It's a band-aid. Someone is dying and you bring them a band-aid? Shameful. Shame. We've been talking about this for years. For years, they've neglected us. That is where this originated from. This was not new. Only worse. And this was not the only thing that was "nothing new, only worse" in this war. I am trying to find the words, but honestly it is quite difficult, with all the anger and grief welling up inside me right now. How am I supposed to get up in the morning? Citizens of Israel, politicians, residents of Israel and abroad, I don't care who hears this, LISTEN to me carefully - How am I supposed to get up in the morning, knowing that 4.5 km from Kibbutz Be'eri, in Gaza, there are people for whom this event has not ended. For me, it was over after 12 hours because there was a place to be evacuated to. I'm at the Dead Sea. Those speaking of revenge, should be ashamed. There is a lot of pain, that is true. I myself, after everything that I have been through, keep losing so much energy every time I hear the word "revenge". For people to go through what I went through, and not have anyone to extract them, It cannot be. It cannot be. And no, there can be no more band-aids. They ask us all the time: Do you think you'll go back to the kibbutz after this? To live there? Without added protection, without additional soldiers? Don't offer up "soldiers" or "protection". Talk to me about a political solution. For years we've been asking for a political solution. I'm 19 years old. I have friends who have fallen on the battlefield as soldiers, over the past few days. When they were in kindergarten, they knew that they wanted to do in the military. Am I to raise my own children like this? SHAMEFUL. DISGRACEFUL. Am I to raise my own children and ask them when they are 5 years old: "Sweetheart, what do you want to do in the military?"

How much?

How much loss?

How much can one endure?

We, those of us who survived, are living and walking proof and believe me, if you are hearing this, that we.... It can be a whole lot worse. It can. 

In my perspective, and this is the most important thing for me to say right now, and it's been this way for years - When we are bombarded with rocket missiles, it goes over our heads [it's out of our control]. Not the rocket missiles, they don't go over our heads, the missiles hit just fine, believe me. The decision to launch missiles, that's over my head [out of my control]. Bibi, Hamas, I don't care who [is launching], what I do know is that Be'eri suffers, Nahal Oz suffers, Kfar Aza, Sderot, and GAZA suffer.

Believe me, every missile launched, with only 4.5 km between Gaza and Be'eri, causes the ground to shake the exact same way in both places. The EXACT SAME way.

This is impossible. Impossible. Now, I know there is much anger towards Bibi, because I feel it. I feel it very strongly, in the moments I am able to feel anything at all, because as of late, that is not easy. I feel the anger, because, how many people, how many must DIE for him? How many people must DIE for his ego and his personal interests?

I don't know if I already said this, but, the missiles, particularly in this latest attack, even before the terrorists infiltrated, I heard more missiles than I had heard in all of my 19 years of life, all at once. ALL AT ONCE.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM

BOOM, BOOM BOOM

BOOM, BOOM BOOM.

A lot. A WHOLE LOT. And we immediately knew that this WAS WAR.

Before the terrorists, before everything.

We are ALWAYS the first to know, always the first to hear.

We can hear it, from where we are. 

The missiles, the ones that hit us, feel like missiles launched by my own government. Because this is the governments that has ABANDONED me. My entire life. MY ENTIRE LIFE.

And now, we are experiencing the worst of all. And if this isn't the worst of all, only God knows what is in store for us.

Now, it is true that Bibi this and Bibi that, and truly, I blame him 100% for everything. 

That is true.

He chose to have us live this way. He chose to toss the "Iron Dome" at us, instead of reaching a political solution. And he chose a lot of other things as well. 

Our BLOOD is on his hands. But it's not just him. He is the root of a much deeper problem, but it is not just him.

If my words are heard by anyone, take a good look at yourselves, look deep inside, ask yourselves what are your values. Ask yourselves, in light of everything you see around you, how do your values, the ones you know you hold, fit in with what you see.

Ask yourselves that question, really ask yourselves.

Ask yourselves who it is you vote for, ask yourselves what it is that you are demanding of them.

I know what I am demanding. I am demanding a just peace. I am demanding that Bedouins in the Negev receive the same support as Kibbutz Be'eri has. And we too DID NOT receive sufficient support. Civilians came to our rescue, civilians. The governments was nowhere to be found. And I am filled with gratitude for being at this hotel at the Dead Sea. But in a heartbeat every person here would give it up to get those held hostage back.

By the way, [only] twice I heard the governments barely even acknowledge the mere existence of hostages. They are acting as though THEY DO NOT EXIST. They drop bombs knowing that those bombs will cost them their lives too.

The return of hostages. Peace. Fairness and Decency.

If you are not interested in hearing the things I just said, then there is no hope. Take a moment, weigh my words carefully, listen. Perhaps for some my words will be difficult to hear. It is hard for me to speak, you see? Perhaps for some my words will be difficult to hear. After what I went through in Be'eri, you owe me this much. You owe me this. Not in the sense of guilt. We are all dealing with a lot. Take some time, take a break. Take care of yourselves, take care of your families. But you owe me this. Ask yourselves who it is you vote for. Ask yourselves, what you demand of them, and do not compromise.

If you let hope die, you are letting the residents of the towns surrounding Gaza die too. Over again.

I have nothing more to say.