Four lessons I hope my children learned 6 months after October 7 - opinion

• Published date: 30 March 2024
• Author: MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

As the day progressed, despite it being Simchat Torah and Shabbat, I was glued to my keyboard, in pajamas at the dining table, sirens blaring overhead, my seven-year-old in tears, and my 13-year-old asking me, "Mom, what should we do?"

Little did we realize how fortunate we were to be in Jerusalem.

I could not stop to answer. I didn't even know how to respond.

Until 1:30 a.m., I remained in that old chair, striving to communicate the unfolding events to the world. I worked tirelessly with my young web team. Rumors circulated about hostages. The uncertainty of the actual number of casualties loomed.

It's surreal to think this happened almost six months ago, as we've since been entrenched in this war. Our children are growing up amid one of Israel's most painful chapters. There are funerals, teachers called up to reserves, and prayers for the hostages' safety in their schools.

My 11-year-old put an Israeli flag as her WhatsApp status with the phrase "Together we will win." My 16-year-old suggested we distribute blue-and-white shalach manot Purim food gifts tied with a yellow ribbon. My 15-year-old stepson attended the funeral of his school principal.

Having visited the South numerous times since that fateful day, taking a tour of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute and seeing the IDF's film of the atrocities I grapple with the incomprehensibility of how one human can commit such heinous acts against another. I try not to think about it. When I do, I cry.

I live with a sense of guilt for being a resident of Jerusalem. Unlike many others, my family doesn't have relatives in the country who could have been victims of violence or taken hostage. My son is part of the IDF's Psagot program, so he is currently studying at university and is set to serve six years in the army afterward. This means that while his friends are deployed in Gaza, he's in Tel Aviv.

As a journalist, I often write about events I don't directly experience. But somehow, this time it's been different.

Let us emerge victorious, in whatever form that may take, as we continue to learn of more hostages that have been murdered at the hands of Hamas and as the international community condemns us for fighting for our security. I hope we'll reflect on our progress in another six months and realize that we have achieved victory, even with all the sacrifices we are making now.

As we consider the Hamas massacre six months later, when it is now possible in Jerusalem to not even realize the war is still going...