One Kibbutz Be’eri survivor shares with ALL ISRAEL NEWS his story after Oct. 7 Hamas massacre
Lior Alon tells of the horrors of that day and his hopes for what the future might hold
Lior Alon from Kibbutz Be’eri survived the massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, but lost many of his close friends and neighbors. He leads Rotem Magen of ALL ISRAEL NEWS on a tour of his devastated community, reflecting on what it means to revisit the deadliest day in Israel’s modern history.
Located beside the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, Be’eri was the largest kibbutz in the whole Gaza envelope area with a population of more than 1,000 people. Over 100 of the residents were killed in the attack, and 30 were kidnapped. Today, the kibbutz lies desolate – the buildings still burnt and destroyed, and strewn with large posters of those lost or held hostage. But what is the future for the community?
Be’eri was established in 1946, on Oct. 6 – just one day before the massacre – meaning that on Oct. 7, the community had only just finished celebrating its 77th anniversary.
“Right? October 6th. What a coincidence,” Alon told Magen.
The secular kibbutz was named after Berl Katznelson, whose Hebrew name was Be’eri. Katznelson was the spiritual father of the Labor Zionist movement, and the residents were largely known to be “peaceniks,” seeking peace and shared understanding with their Palestinian neighbors.
Alon explained that a key member of the kibbutz had even tried to surrender.
“This guy, the first one who went out, he took a white shirt or white something and tried to say we surrender, but he didn't help so much. They shot him and killed him,” Alon said.
“It's hard to imagine these horrific stories while everything is so quiet here,” Magen said as Alon took her on a tour of the horrors that had occurred that day. “You have these strong images that are so real, you see the burnt houses, but you hear the birds. It looks so nice and quiet now.”
The Be'eri community is divided about whether to leave some of the burnt-out buildings as a permanent memorial or to try and erase all signs of that horrible day.
“Some of the families and people said we don't want to remember anything from this day. Clean it all up. Clean it all. Don't leave any memories. And there is another half of the people who said we must keep at least one house,” Alon explained, aware that in another 10 or 15 years, the visceral sights and sounds will be gone, and memories will fade.
Still, some prefer not to remember.
“But one reason to keep the memory, to keep it visual, is for those who have not gone through it,” Magen suggested. “It's for those visitors in Israel and outside of Israel that come to Be’eri to hear the story.”
Alon agreed that at least one house would most likely remain in its current devastated state, and shared his hopes for what the future might hold, for both the kibbutz and himself.
Jo Elizabeth has a great interest in politics and cultural developments, studying Social Policy for her first degree and gaining a Masters in Jewish Philosophy from Haifa University, but she loves to write about the Bible and its primary subject, the God of Israel. As a writer, Jo spends her time between the UK and Jerusalem, Israel.
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