Talia Pierson, 15, is very passionate about standing up for Israel, a young voice standing against hate and antisemitism, and for Zionism.

“Israel and Zionism have always been an important part of my life,” Pierson shared with The Jewish Link. “With my grandma being Israeli and having a large extended family in Israel, I have grown up with an appreciation for my heritage and the efforts made to establish the State of Israel. It is heartbreaking for me to see Zionism and the establishment of Israel twisted in the way that it has been, especially in the wake of October 7. And it is important to me to educate others on the true nature of Zionism, the importance of Israel’s existence, and the danger of antisemitism and hate in any form.”

“We have known Talia and her family for many years. We are proud of the work she does for Israel and her fight against antisemitism,” said Rabbi Yehuda Heber, rabbi of Chabad of Yorktown.

Pierson, a resident of Yorktown Heights, New York, heads the junior board, Justice Brandeis Law Society (JBLS). For over a month, she has been coordinating with her junior board and The Israel Forever Foundation to bring Israeli reserve soldier Atir Vinnikov’s story to Westchester County.

Vinnikov, 23, is a survivor of the October 7 Nova Music Festival massacre. He grew up in the Jewish communities of New York and Moscow, moved back to Israel at age 16, and currently lives in Tel Aviv. On October 7, he survived the Nova massacre, thanks in large part to the bravery of a 50-year-old Bedouin Muslim who risked his own life for complete strangers.

“On October 7 I survived the Nova massacre largely thanks to the bravery of a Bedouin Muslim named Yunes,” Vinnikov told The Jewish Link. “After fleeing 8 kilometers from the area of the party we made it to a farm called Hazorea where we met Yunes, who was guarding the farm with 24 Thai farmers.

“Yunes Alkrenawi is an Arab-Muslim Israeli who was born and raised in Rahat, Southern Israel, the largest Bedouin city in the world. He is married and a father of six children. The Alkrenawi family is well-known and one of the largest in Rahat. Many of his relatives serve in the Israeli Police and the IDF, with some even currently fighting in the ongoing war in Gaza. Yunes risked his life and spoke to savage Hamas terrorists while they were looking for us at the farm. We hid underneath one of the buildings and heard the conversation he had with them in Arabic. We saw them looking for us and miraculously, they believed that there were no Jews at the farm. I definitely regard Yunes as righteous among the nations.”

Vinnikov continued: “Immediately after surviving the massacre, the very next day, I transitioned to combat, serving an additional four months of reserve duty. My service began with defending kibbutzim and later included nearly two months of ground operations in Gaza.”

Pierson said: “I learned about the opportunity to have Atir present after speaking with Dr. Elana Heideman from The Israel Forever Foundation. I thought that the opportunity to hear a personal account of the horror of October 7 could have a meaningful impact on members of my community. It’s difficult to find any reliable information today regarding Israel, the war in Gaza, and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, especially in the wake of October 7. As one year since this horrific day approaches, it is more important than ever to spread the truth about what was carried out on that day and the continued impact it has on Israel and Israelis. The best way to do this, I believe, is through a personal lens, which is why I feel it is so important to share and amplify personal stories like Atir’s.

“About a year ago, the Justice Brandeis Law Society, a Jewish bar association, was looking to create a junior board, which I was given the opportunity to head,” Pierson continued. “Since the junior board was established just last February, I’ve been grateful to have been able to see it grow and provide a sense of community for Jewish youth. We have also begun to focus on organizing community events. When I brought up the opportunity to have Atir as a speaker, we thought it would be a meaningful opportunity to hold another community event in order to hear his story and recognize the one year anniversary of October 7.

“[The board is] made up of students from several schools in the Westchester, New York area,” she added.

“It is a great honor to be able to bring Atir’s story to audiences that can learn from his unique experience of survival and the lessons it teaches all of us,” said Heideman, CEO/executive director, The Israel Forever Foundation. “We at Israel Forever hope that those who hear his testimony will feel more confident and empowered in our fight for defense of our Jewish rights and Jewish state.

“Each time I hear the story of Atir’s experience, I know how much others can learn from the choiceless choices made under the momentary survival of escaping death,” she continued. “I can only hope that people will appreciate the need to witness and admire the resilience of the survivors of the massacre and, even more so, our brave IDF soldiers like Atir we need to defend our rights today and forever.”

The Israel Forever Foundation is an Israel engagement organization that develops and promotes experiential learning opportunities to celebrate and strengthen the personal connection to Israel.

Learn more about the event at [email protected] or http://israelforever.org.

Susan R. Eisenstein is a longtime Jewish educator, passionate about creating special, innovative activities for her students. She is also passionate about writing about Jewish topics and about Israel. She has two master’s degrees and a doctorate in education from Columbia University.