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October 7: Voices of Survivors and Witnesses
October 7.
The date evokes a harrowing fear. The news broke worldwide that on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, Hamas terrorists had descended on the Supernova Music Festival, several nearby communities near the Gaza Strip, and IDF bases, brutally slaughtering anyone in their path; wiping out families and tearing apart entire families; and kidnapping over two hundred innocent civilians. As footage made its way across the internet and eventually into the hands of news stations and publications, mainstream media outlets quickly deemed most of it too graphic to reveal to audiences. Still images surfaced of a brutality beyond comprehension.
This collection of writings by survivors of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust is groundbreaking in scope and detail. These raw, first-hand accounts memorialize the murdered and keep that day alive in our collective conscience. The events of October 7 will never be forgotten by those who were witnesses, and the impact must be shared with the rest of the world.
As one survivor writes, “The whole world needs to know what we’ve been through.”
In these writings, we learn of the many acts of heroism that such events so often inspire. And we read of the agonizing pain a parent of a child taken hostage endures; tributes to a fallen father who died protecting his disabled daughter; poems honoring lost sons, daughters, husbands, and wives; recalls of the Torah; and pleas for peace.
Each portrayal opens wide the door to grief, giving the reader an unfiltered account of that terrible day. Some of these writings may be difficult to read, but it is vital that we do read them and understand the impact that day has had on so many lives.
Proceeds from the publication of this book will be provided to organizations that support the survivors and their families.
The date evokes a harrowing fear. The news broke worldwide that on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, Hamas terrorists had descended on the Supernova Music Festival, several nearby communities near the Gaza Strip, and IDF bases, brutally slaughtering anyone in their path; wiping out families and tearing apart entire families; and kidnapping over two hundred innocent civilians. As footage made its way across the internet and eventually into the hands of news stations and publications, mainstream media outlets quickly deemed most of it too graphic to reveal to audiences. Still images surfaced of a brutality beyond comprehension.
This collection of writings by survivors of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust is groundbreaking in scope and detail. These raw, first-hand accounts memorialize the murdered and keep that day alive in our collective conscience. The events of October 7 will never be forgotten by those who were witnesses, and the impact must be shared with the rest of the world.
As one survivor writes, “The whole world needs to know what we’ve been through.”
In these writings, we learn of the many acts of heroism that such events so often inspire. And we read of the agonizing pain a parent of a child taken hostage endures; tributes to a fallen father who died protecting his disabled daughter; poems honoring lost sons, daughters, husbands, and wives; recalls of the Torah; and pleas for peace.
Each portrayal opens wide the door to grief, giving the reader an unfiltered account of that terrible day. Some of these writings may be difficult to read, but it is vital that we do read them and understand the impact that day has had on so many lives.
Proceeds from the publication of this book will be provided to organizations that support the survivors and their families.
- GenresIsrael
207 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2024
13 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 4, 2024
I cannot begin to fathom what the Jewish Community went through on October 7th and continue to keep them in my prayers. Though this book does give some personal insights into what took place that day, I was hoping for a little more into the time line of events. A decent portion of this novel is beloved family tributes to the victims memory in a general sense and not necessarily during the attack on October 7th.
An absolutely beautiful project and testimony, but not exactly the read I was hoping for.
An absolutely beautiful project and testimony, but not exactly the read I was hoping for.
February 6, 2025
This book is a series of memoirs of experiences during the October 7 pogrom. As such, it is a valuable read and would be quite compelling for fellow Israelis and I assume for Jews across the world. I liked it and was moved by many of the remembrances. If you like that sort of thing, I would recommend it.
January 3, 2026
This is a heartfelt and poignant set of , records of experiences poems and letters to loved on lost or taken hostage on the horrific massacre of October 7 by Hamas against the Jews of Israel, the largest and most horrific massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
It eulogizes these victims and captures the grief and anguish and longing of the loved ones left behind.
As Romi Barash put it in her essay entitled Life Keep Running 'The whole world needs to know what we have been through. A group of terrorists panned deliberately to murder innocent people whose only sin was to live and celebrate the life that was taken from them...I say to you , the political and military ranks. dont let any citizens feel what we experienced, There is no option but to destroy Hamas , they have no place in the world.. They invaded and conquered settlements on bicycles, continually kidnapped , murdered and abused and and in the end also laughed at us''
Adi Kempner how Hamas monsters came to his house and shot and kiled his wife in front of his children , Michael aged 9, Amalia aged six and Abigal aged three, He writes of the terror and loneliness Abigal must have felt in the terror tunnels,
The book affirms the extraordinary spirit of the people of Israel,
the most humane, giving, life-affirming people on the planet--
whatever sick propaganda you might have read to the contrary..
The past two years have been largely fashioned by the violent and cruel stepping-up of the campaign of Muslim terror networks and their international networks of support, to destroy the Jewish homeland. This attack on Israel is not merely for a piece of land. It is an attack on decency, truth, compassion, respect for human life, on the sense of honor and on the Judeo-Christian spirit.
In the face of this growing terror, it may seem to be whistling in the wind to call for confidence. Yet it is good to remember the Jews are not fighting alone. Many Christians in the lands where freedom is still valued realize the assault on Israel is an assault on Judeo-Christian civilization, and that the Islamists and their extreme Left allies are a common enemy.
It is good to remember also that the Jews have shown a capacity for resistance and survival that has never been equaled. There have been others who have attempted what the the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamas , Hezbollah, the Houthis and their sympathizers are attempting, such as Pharaoh, Amalek, Haman, Antiochus, Torquemada, Chmielnicki, Hitler and Stalin.
It may require a miracle for Israel to survive the contemporary Amalek, the most powerful incarnation of them all. But the very existence of the Jewish people after so long a travail is itself a miracle. It is clear that God has always pulled the Jewish people through and ensured the total defeat of our enemies.
Jews and Israel must once again call up their reserves of courage and hope and, in alliance with the pro-freedom forces that still survive, continue to fight back. Perhaps our stamina, tested so often in the past, will once again help us over this grave crisis. Most importantly God will once again destroy our enemies and save Am Yisrael.
It eulogizes these victims and captures the grief and anguish and longing of the loved ones left behind.
As Romi Barash put it in her essay entitled Life Keep Running 'The whole world needs to know what we have been through. A group of terrorists panned deliberately to murder innocent people whose only sin was to live and celebrate the life that was taken from them...I say to you , the political and military ranks. dont let any citizens feel what we experienced, There is no option but to destroy Hamas , they have no place in the world.. They invaded and conquered settlements on bicycles, continually kidnapped , murdered and abused and and in the end also laughed at us''
Adi Kempner how Hamas monsters came to his house and shot and kiled his wife in front of his children , Michael aged 9, Amalia aged six and Abigal aged three, He writes of the terror and loneliness Abigal must have felt in the terror tunnels,
The book affirms the extraordinary spirit of the people of Israel,
the most humane, giving, life-affirming people on the planet--
whatever sick propaganda you might have read to the contrary..
The past two years have been largely fashioned by the violent and cruel stepping-up of the campaign of Muslim terror networks and their international networks of support, to destroy the Jewish homeland. This attack on Israel is not merely for a piece of land. It is an attack on decency, truth, compassion, respect for human life, on the sense of honor and on the Judeo-Christian spirit.
In the face of this growing terror, it may seem to be whistling in the wind to call for confidence. Yet it is good to remember the Jews are not fighting alone. Many Christians in the lands where freedom is still valued realize the assault on Israel is an assault on Judeo-Christian civilization, and that the Islamists and their extreme Left allies are a common enemy.
It is good to remember also that the Jews have shown a capacity for resistance and survival that has never been equaled. There have been others who have attempted what the the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamas , Hezbollah, the Houthis and their sympathizers are attempting, such as Pharaoh, Amalek, Haman, Antiochus, Torquemada, Chmielnicki, Hitler and Stalin.
It may require a miracle for Israel to survive the contemporary Amalek, the most powerful incarnation of them all. But the very existence of the Jewish people after so long a travail is itself a miracle. It is clear that God has always pulled the Jewish people through and ensured the total defeat of our enemies.
Jews and Israel must once again call up their reserves of courage and hope and, in alliance with the pro-freedom forces that still survive, continue to fight back. Perhaps our stamina, tested so often in the past, will once again help us over this grave crisis. Most importantly God will once again destroy our enemies and save Am Yisrael.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews