"May God arise and have mercy on Zion.

May the set time come.  May the time of favor come.  And may all the nations under Heaven fear the name of the Lord and give honor to your glory.

May peace within the walls of Jerusalem on every street and every home and every place of worship.

May Jerusalem be known as a place of prayer and a place where all nations can come together and worship.

May God soften the hearts of the Palestinians. 

May those who have lost loved ones be comforted.

May the generations of violence cease.

And may the sons of Isaac and sons of Ishmael come to peace as the sons of Abraham."

"What we faced on October 7th when Hamas attacked, was evil of a different degree; the sexual violence, the fact that they took families and tied them together and burned them alive; the fact they put babies into ovens, this is something which you simply can’t just say, “Oh, that’s part of a resistance.” Or “That’s part of a war.”  That’s part of their plan to destroy the Jewish people." Jonathan Medved said. 

At the end of the day, nearly 1200 Israelis were dead…

While more than 250 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

The attack was unlike anything in the country’s modern history…

And in just a few days, the Israel Defense Forces tripled in size…

As reservists from all over the world came home.

"Turnout rates were something like, depending on which unit, 140 to 150% -- overwhelming majority of Israelis were showing up. And then on top of that, you have people who didn't have to serve and who weren't calling up or who had aged out of reserve duty who were showing up saying, look, I know I'm aged out, but I wanna serve."  spoke Dan Senor.

"Because they understood that the country's calling, and when the country calls, you show up, period. // Because there's a purpose that is greater than me, and my comfort and my parents' concern.  Something terrible happened, and my friends and I, our job is to ensure it never happens again." A brunette solder pitched in as well. 

"I’m a citizen. I’m an ordinary person, with a family, with a job. I’m a lawyer. And I joined the army once the war started, immediately. I came and just did it." Stated another. 

"For me, it's more difficult because I know my family at home, they're worried and they watch the news. // And that's what I kept thinking about, that my girlfriend and my family are waiting and they're extremely worried and I experienced that.  So for me that was more difficult than the experience itself." Noted Nitayi

"The day this war broke out, this incredible tribe all started coming home.

They all stopped what they’re doing, the country needs you, it’s time for heroism,

it’s time to serve, get on a plane, figure out a way, come home. (starts tearing up) And that’s really what it’s about." Said Jonathan Medved

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

"Ladies and Gentlemen, like December 7^th, 1941, and September 11^th, 2001, October 7^th is a day that will forever live in infamy.

It was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.  It began as a perfect day.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Thousands of young Israelis were celebrating at an outdoor music festival.  And suddenly, at 6:29 A.M., as children were still sleeping soundly in their beds in the towns and kibbutzim next to Gaza, suddenly, Heaven turned into Hell.

Three thousand Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel.

They butchered 1,200 people from 41 countries, including 39 Americans.

These monsters.  They raped women, they beheaded men, they burnt babies alive.  They killed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents.  They dragged 255 people, both living and dead, into the dark dungeons of Gaza.

And I pledge to you – and to all the bereaved families of Israel // no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the road ahead: Israel will not relent.  Israel will not bend.  We will defend our land. We will defend our people.  We will fight until we achieve victory:  Victory of liberty over tyranny, victory of life over death, victory of good over evil

The sacrifice of your loved ones will not be in vain...  Because for Israel, “never again” must never be an empty promise.  It must always remain a sacred vow.  And after October 7^th, “never again” is now."

We met when I was 20 on a big trip after the Army. 

He had a smile like a Hollywood actor.

And I had no idea it would become more than a relationship. 

He was the happiest and most optimistic person.  Ask anyone who knows about him, ‘what do you remember about him?’ And the first thing they will say is his smile and his joy.

We became more than just a couple.  We were partners in everything.  After the wedding, there were holidays.  We did not plan anything; we were just going to rest.

Our friends insisted that we come to the Nova Festival.  Calling non-stop.  In the middle of the night, we decided to go.  And we arrived at 6:15 in the morning.

We started to hear rockets.  A crazy number of rockets launches.  We had to evacuate the area.  And we just drove like crazy.  Me, Mor, and two other good friends.

We reached the intersection of Mefalism.  There we see a white truck.  The truck was blocking the road.

It was a split-second decision of what to do.

Mor said he was going to go around the truck on the right side. 

We all lowered our heads.  Mor sat like this, so he can keep his eyes on the road.

And a stream of bullets started pounding the car.

The car flipped over.

We were upside down in a ditch.

Everything was gray and I was in pain.

You could still hear gunshots outside, [people speaking in] Arabic.

Chaos.

And then we realize that Mor is not answering.

We’re saying ‘Mor, answer us.  Are you okay?”

And he doesn’t respond.

I reached out my hand to Mor, to check if he’s breathing.  Maybe he’s unconscious and he needs to be resuscitated.

And my hand just went to his head.  And I see that it is covered in blood.  And I completely lost it.

I see that the right part of Mor’s head was completely open.  I did not know what to do.

I press on him; I’m trying to wake him up.

I keep telling Mor to get up, please.

No, it can’t be that you’re dead now.

It can’t be, we just got married.

There’s no way.

I called the police.  They apologized.  They told me they have no way of helping.

And I knew.  This is it.  And I just waited for my death.

They moved from car to car.  You would hear screaming and crying.  Shots.  Then silence.

We took Mor’s blood, we smeared it over ourselves, and laid there like we were already dead.

The car was crushed.  We were upside down.  And when they got to our car, they got on top, they circled the car, and then continued to the next car.

I have no way to explain that they didn’t shoot at the car, they did not even try.

Nothing.

They just continued to the next car.

After five-and-a-half hours, the IDF arrived. And by chance, they found us.  My first phone call was to my parents, at one in the afternoon, when I got to a shelter in Sderot.

And from there I started a new chapter in my life.  Here I am, a 26-year-old girl who suffers from anxiety attacks, from nightmares, too afraid to drive.  I am not able to take care of myself.  I can’t go back to work.  All the time I keep saying “what?  Is this how my life will be from now on?  For the rest of my life?”

Many times, during this period you feel alone.  But then others come and show you that they’re here for you.  And during this period, it’s most important not to be alone.

When you know there are people who care about what you are going through, it gives you strength.  Because you get up and say I’m not alone.

You get up.  Keep going.  Enjoy.  Dream.  Smile.  Get up.  That will be my victory.

I’m rebuilding myself from day-to-day.  I’m occupying myself by memorializing Mor, our story.  The whole world needs to know what we went through.

No one can take the place of Mor.

No one will be like my husband.

He was the most special person I’ve ever met.

He was my home.

And he always will be.

And I promised Mor that we would win.

So, I have to.