The war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023 with a surprise attack on the Gaza border communities and continues at a low and sporadic intensity, but at the same time there are those thinking about the day after. "It is clear to everyone that the affected kibbutzim cannot remain as they are. This is unacceptable," said a community manager in one of the kibbutzim.
In the Gaza border communities, which are the first line of defense against the terrorists in Gaza, those who were overtaken by the terrorists, and whose family members and neighbors were murdered and kidnapped and their homes burned, have difficulty making decisions on how to commemorate the difficult events that took place there.
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The parking lot of the Nova music festival has become a spot for commemoration of the victims
(Photo: Yael Stein)
The internal and charged discussions within the communities are mainly around the subject of the houses and buildings that were damaged or completely burned. On one hand, some localities believe that the process of rehabilitation and rebuilding must already begin so that the residents can return to their homes, but on the other hand, they fear that the rehabilitation may "erase" the memory and the stories of their murdered neighbors.
For example, in Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the localities that was at the center of the massacre, a stormy conversation took place last week and a kibbutz assembly will be held Monday as well on the controversial topic, mainly around the future of the two neighborhoods that were affected by the massacre - the Zaitim neighborhood and the Kerem neighborhood. Some believe that it would be best to destroy the houses completely and rebuild them, but there are also those who demand not to destroy at all, that is, to maintain "authenticity" in the wake of the attack. In addition, there were also ideas to move the damaged houses to another area of the kibbutz, in order to establish a kind of commemorative site. Either way, there are no decisions on the matter yet, and apparently it will take a long time.
Gaza terrorists breach the border fence on October 7
In Kibbutz Nir Oz , where most of the houses were burned or damaged, the method of commemoration is being discussed and no decisions have yet been made. The future of the Reim parking complex where the Nova music festival was held will not be the same again. If in the past on the land of the parking lot the surrounding spaces and woods bloomed every year in the winter carpets of anemones, this will probably not happen again. The place became a huge memorial site, with hundreds of photos of the party's victims, commemorative corners and more. Hundreds of visitors come there every day, to be in the place where their loved ones were killed and to hear the stories of the festival, which turned into a bloodbath on October 7.
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"Our duty is to commemorate the events of October 7 in a very tangible way and to preserve every object, detail or information about the people, about the battles that took place there and especially about the stories of heroism. Somewhere the communities will have to find the balance, on the one hand to commemorate in a dignified way and on the other hand to continue life as usual It's a very charged topic, it's probably painful, and everyone sees things differently," said a community manager of a Gaza border community.
"Even if the war ends soon, what happened in the surrounding communities will never be forgotten, certainly not at the local level, nor at the international level. Even now, delegations are coming from all over the world to hear what happened," he said. "This can contribute very significantly to Israeli advocacy, which, as we all know, is severely lacking."