I was privileged to visit Israel earlier this spring for 12 days to assist in volunteering opportunities and to participate in a few tours that gave me a deep perspective on the events of Oct. 7.

Shortly after I arrived in Israel, I visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. Hostage Square is filled with beautiful artwork as a tribute to the hostages that are being held in Gaza and to those hostages that were murdered by Hamas. Hostage Square has a tunnel on display to depict where the hostages are being held. Hostage Square also has a number of tents devoted to each kibbutz that was attacked by the terrorists in Gaza. My visit to Hostage Square was so meaningful to me, as it highlighted how the hostages and their continued trauma is kept in the public eye so vividly by their family and friends

I visited the town of Sderot and the Nova Music Festival site with a Nova survivor. We first toured Sderot and saw a number of memorials to the attacks by the terrorists in Sderot on Oct. 7, which included the police station that has since been rebuilt. We also visited the Chabad Center, also impacted by a missile that landed there but miraculously, the Chabad rabbi was saved from the missile attack. A beautiful menorah created from the remnants of the missile can be seen at where this miracle occurred.

We then visited the Nova site, where the tour guide explained that most of the individuals at the festival went there to connect to God through psychedelic music. We heard the personal story of our tour guide, who survived the attack and the tremendous amount of miracles that occurred that enabled him to survive while some of his friends were killed there.

From there, we went to the car cemetery to bear witness to the burning of so many vehicles and emergency vehicles that had been filled with people who were murdered. Standing at the Nova site was very emotional for me and it provided a deep connection to our Jewish people and their suffering over many generations. Yet our resilience as a Jewish nation is strong and forever.

The tour ended in Shuva Junction, which is a place near the Gaza border that provides services to soldiers on a 24/7 basis. It was also a place that assisted with the evacuation of the people injured on Oct. 7 to provide medical care and transport them to the local hospitals. It is truly remarkable as Shuva Junction continues to serve as a rest stop for soldiers near the Gaza border.

I visited Pina Chama in Gush Etzion, which is a small rest stop devoted to assisting the soldiers. They provide activities for groups and individuals to perform for the benefit of the soldiers and at the same time, allows individuals to meet some of the soldiers. I also visited the Gevurah Tent located in Jerusalem, which was established as a beautiful memorial to all the soldiers that have been killed during this war.

While I visited Israel, I had a wonderful opportunity to engage in many volunteering activities through the Swords of Iron Facebook group, which now has created a website for volunteering efforts, www.israelvolunteeropportunities.com.
The volunteering opportunities include farming and agricultural opportunities to pick vegetables and fruits on kibbutzim; rebuilding of the kibbutzim impacted by Oct. 7; food packaging for the poor in Israel; food packaging and baskets for the soldiers, spouses and their families; assisting with goat feeding and care of horses and animals; attending barbecues held for the soldiers; tzitzit tying for the soldiers; visiting the injured soldiers and visiting rehabilitation centers, and many opportunities for volunteering in Israel. The volunteering opportunities are posted daily and weekly.

I was able to volunteer in a number of food packaging opportunities and basket preparation in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and to participate in tzitzit tying to provide needed tzitzit to the soldiers. I was able to deliver gluten-free products to the soldiers who needed them through various organizations.

Most importantly, I was able to be part of this tremendous effort of over 45,000 plus volunteers from around the world who have come to Israel, staying weeks to months at a time, to volunteer in Israel. While I was repeatedly thanked for coming as an American tourist to volunteer, it is my privilege to be in Israel to assist with this amazing volunteer effort at a time when sirens are being heard and a war is still ongoing.

My experience participating in this monumental effort of collective and individual volunteering is a powerful testament to the Jewish nation. While Oct. 7 and afterwards was truly a dark time in history for the Jewish people, the strength of our nation and the capability of volunteering to unite the Jewish people is very inspiring.

Volunteering allows individuals to do good and to bring much needed light into the world and connect us in a deeper way to Israel and the Jewish nation in these uncertain times. As we are able to collectively spread light and stand united as Am Yisrael, we strengthen our emunah and bitachon in Hashem and hasten the coming of Moshiach in our times.

Barbara Ungar-Frish teaches a monthly class on emunah and Tehillim on Zoom to women. If you are interested in joining the classes, you can email her at [email protected].