On Monday evening, November 18, the community gathered at Hashevaynu for an incredibly informative and meaningful first-hand account of the War in Eretz Yisrael. Major Itzik Yanai shared his experience from October 7 and onward to the present situation in Israel.
Sorolle Idels welcomed everyone and spoke about the genesis of this program with Major Yanai. She goes often to Israel to volunteer, and on one of her trips she was going to a farm to pick tomatoes. She noted that the farms really need our help if anyone can go and volunteer. She met Major Yanai, who was also volunteering, and she realized that he had amazing stories to share that should be heard in the US. She arranged for him to come and speak in Queens.
He shared that he grew up in Israel – in Efrat. He served as an IDF paratrooper from 1993 to 1998. His wife, Yael, also grew up in Efrat. He worked as a tour guide for many years, and he also lived in New York for a few years. He currently lives in Kfar Zion, a kibbutz in the Gush. He has two daughters currently in the IDF, and two younger children. He related that half the family is in uniform and this is a common thing for families in Israel now.
He began as a platoon leader. He is the second deputy commander of the rear end of the unit. His job is to be in touch with 600 families of the soldiers in his unit.
He shared what he personally experienced on October 7, 2023. They don’t usually hear sirens in his kibbutz, so the first two times the sirens blared, he assumed it was a mistake. The third time they went off, he went on his phone and saw the notification that there was a surprise attack on Israel. He told his wife that war just started. He woke up his daughter, who is an officer in the IDF.
He called his friend Omer in Kibbutz Aza. His friend said that there were terrorists in his kibbutz, and he was in the safe room and couldn’t talk.
He drove to a base to meet the other officers of the 28th Battalion. He shared that there were cars parked for miles. Some soldiers in their unit had escaped from the Nova Festival. They came and told what happened.
Major Yanai said he is a different person now, after October 7. He helped Omer and his family. The unit went to Kfar Aza and participated in the battle there.
They were then busy clearing the kibbutz, which also involved removing bodies. He explained that his responsibility is to be 24 hours ahead of the unit. He knew they needed to be near open fields to train. He went to Kibbutz Gut which is not all the way in the South, and it has 800 people. The kibbutz members readily agreed for the soldiers to come. Then, 625 people and a large number of trucks showed up at the kibbutz. “We spent the first Shabbos of the war there.” They spent time talking to soldiers. There were psychologists and social workers there to help. The soldiers and officers had witnessed horrific things and needed to talk about it. They were also spending time accumulating gear and getting ready to fight.
Veterans from his unit, who are now in their 60s and 70s, called and asked to come back to the unit. The army called up 400,000 people, and they didn’t have enough uniforms for everyone.
Training went on, day and night, as it was his responsibility to ready his soldiers for the front lines.
He shared the advice he gave his second daughter who was going into the army. “We simply need to be better. Ask questions, go higher if you need to. We have to be better. We can’t be in this type of situation again.”
He pointed out that this young generation is really amazing. They will have to rebuild the country.
He expressed gratitude for all the equipment and money sent to help the war effort.
He shared the very painful experience of the first casualty of the unit, a husband and father of seven children, whose wife Esther was expecting. He went to the shiv’ah of Gidon Ilani, and it was a room full of women. All the men were at war.
He shared how they hadn’t heard of a war casualty since the Yom Kippur War and how painful this was.
Then he shared how, whenever they could, they brought a sefer Torah to the place they were staying. They missed Shabbos and Yom Tov. Yom Kippur was very hard, because they had to eat and travel on Yom Kippur.
He displayed a photo of a tunnel entrance and emphasized how we have to eliminate the tunnel system. The money given to Gaza was used to build an intricate terrorist tunnel system. The money could have been used to make Gaza a beautiful place.
After two months in Gaza, the 55th lost 12 soldiers.
He spoke about focusing on courage, resilience, and heroism. We see a whole generation of soldiers doing remarkable things. The war has affected Israeli society so much.
He played a popular song in Israel, “A Nation of Superheroes.” The lyrics speak about all different people in all different jobs and all different parts of Israel who came to fight in the army to defend Eretz Yisrael. There is a hidden soldier in everyone. This is our story, am Yisrael.
He spoke with great emotion about the fact that there are still over 100 hostages, and he shared a moving prayer “Acheinu, Kol Beis Yisrael.”
Acheinu: “Our family, the whole House of Israel, who are in distress, or in captivity – who stand either in the sea or on dry land – may the Omnipresent have mercy on them and take them out from narrowness to expanse, and from darkness to light, and from oppression to redemption, now, swiftly, and soon!”
He told the audience not to underestimate anything you have done.
The goal of the Israeli Defense Forces is to defend our people. We fight terrorists and their infrastructure. Terrorists like to hide behind women and children. The IDF found ammunition hidden in children’s bedrooms.
During the Q&A time, he described the situation in Israel since the 408 days of war. Ninety hotels are closed. In the North, Kiryat Sh’monah is abandoned.
He said we can help by donating to real organizations we know are sending help.
He concluded that there is a lot to be proud of! Our tears should transform to tears of joy.
The community thanks Sorelle Idels for spearheading this powerful event and Hashevaynu for hosting it. Hashem should protect Eretz Yisrael and all of the IDF soldiers, bring home the hostages, and protect am Yisrael.
By Susie Garber
