Slice of LIFE
13 Heroes of October 7th and its Aftermath
by Bruria Efune
~ Part 2 - Continued from Last Week
Nobody knows how Yossi made it alive, driving from his home in Ashdod to Sderot early on October 7th when the roads were teeming with terrorists. But as the head of operations for the Southern Command of ZAKA, he knew he had to be there. ZAKA is a volunteer organization known for arriving at every terror attack to ensure honorable care for the dead. Nearly all volunteers are also trained EMTs, including Yossi.
Upon arrival in Sderot, Yossi and his volunteers immediately set up an emergency field hospital and began treating victims while also fighting off terrorists. Once the situation was under control by the volunteers in Sderot, Yossi moved on to the Re'im festival, and then Kibbutz Be'eri and Kfar Aza.
In the first week alone, ZAKA volunteers under Yossi's command processed more than 670 bodies of those brutally murdered by terrorists. Despite the deeply traumatic scenes he witnessed, Yossi continued to help locate and identify bodies of missing people in the months following, so that families could have closure and bury their loved ones with dignity and respect.
Rebbetzin Chani Klein
Eilat, the small tourist city on Israel's southernmost coast where Rabbi Mendy and Chani Klein are Chabad emissaries, was not under attack on October 7th. Instead, the remote city became a refuge for over 60,000 Israelis who were displaced from their homes in the Gaza Envelope and Northern border communities. The city's population doubled overnight.
When Chani met with survivors of the attack who were being housed at local hotels, she quickly realized that there was a lot of work to do to help them feel comfortable and begin their recovery. What started as bringing baby supplies to new mothers soon developed into opening daycares and preschools for the children, getting washing machines donated and installed in the hotels, and organizing volunteers to run a wide variety of therapeutic programs.
Long after volunteer fatigue kicked in for most people, Chani continued working day and night to do everything she could for the displaced residents, so that their stay could be a drop less traumatic and more filled with love.
Alice Duke
Alice grew up in the Gederot region, a forty-minute drive from Gaza. She's a fashion designer as well as an engineer with bridge and tunnel expertise. In the aftermath of October 7th, many civilian volunteer groups popped up to help the victims and displaced Israelis, as well as the IDF soldiers serving in Gaza and the north.
Alice quickly joined the leadership of Chamal Gederot, a volunteer group that, in addition to donating essential tactical gear to troops, focused on engineering quick solutions for various problems that soldiers encountered in Gaza. Alice's expertise in tunnels was put straight to use.
Since then, Alice has barely slept a wink and her phone hasn't stopped buzzing for a moment. With a team of volunteers at her side, she has invented, fundraised for, and delivered millions of dollars worth of essential equipment which has been used to save countless IDF lives, improve combat capabilities, and assist in hostage rescue missions.
Almost every terror tunnel found in Gaza has been searched with the help of equipment from Alice and her team at Chamal Gederot.
Rabbi Dani Cohen
Rabbi Cohen and his wife Batsheva have directed Chabad of Hebron for over two decades, where they primarily serve the hundreds of soldiers stationed in the city, inviting them for Shabbat meals and giving them encouragement as they patrol the streets. On October 7th, Rabbi Cohen took out his own uniform and began patrolling the streets of Hebron himself as an IDF reservist.
Together with the other Chabad rabbis of Hebron—Rabbi Mordechai Hellinger, Rabbi Yoni Attiah, and Rabbi Itzik Naimark—who also reported for reserve duty, he has continued directing Chabad activities while simultaneously keeping the locals safe in uniform. Cohen's Chabad center quickly adapted to the increased number of soldiers and reservists, and has been supplying meals, tactical gear, and emotional and spiritual support to troops and their families.
Chagai Lober
Chagai is an actor, playwright, and founder of the Aspaklaria theater and acting school in Jerusalem. On December 26th, Chagai's son, Sergeant (res.) Yonatan Lober, 24, fell in battle in Gaza. Yonatan left behind a wife and baby, and another baby on the way who never met his father.
In his deep heartbreak over the loss of his son, Chagai began to campaign for unity and dialogue between the people of Israel, stating that the only way forward is together. In the midst of controversy and struggles over the length of the war, Chagai continues to organize rallies with other bereaved families, raising billboards reminding the country of the sacrifices made and the unity needed to preserve what they fought for.
