Summer in Jerusalem Pt. 3: The Brothers from Shuva
Posted on 09/20/2024 @ 06:00 AM
Over the last few weeks, I have been sharing vignettes from my five-week stint in Jerusalem studying at the Hartman Institute, the leading pluralistic Jewish thinktank and educational institution serving Israel and North America. Through my short stories, I tried to open a window into the Israeli experience, to capture a snapshot of the compassion, resilience, and ingenuity I encountered in Israel, despite the ever-present grief and fear of this past difficult year.
Next week I will unpack some of the learning opportunities I had at Hartman and introduce you to the new curricula I am bringing home from there to share with our CAJE adult learning community. Stay tuned!
For now, here is the final installment of my Summer in Jerusalem series: “The Brothers from Shuva.” - Dr. Bella Tendler Krieger, CAJE’s Director of Adult Learning and Growth
The Brothers from Shuva
The most difficult experience I had this summer was a trip to the Gaza envelope to bear witness to the massacre that took place on October 7th.
We visited the Nova festival site, the bullet-ridden ruins of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and the notorious Tkuma Car Park, where thousands of burned-out cars stacked twenty-high testified to the enormity of the carnage.
I will never forget the evil I saw on that day.
But I do not want to drag you into those horrors. I want to tell you about something wonderful.
There is an intersection right in front of Moshav Shuva, the closest village near the Gaza border. It is called Shuva Junction. Miraculously spared from attack, the residents of Shuva watched as soldiers rushed to the front lines and as countless wounded were airlifted out.
Needing to do something to help, three brothers from the moshav - Kobi, Eliran, and Dror Trabelisi - took their shabbat water urn to Shuva Junction, pitched a table, and began serving coffee to soldiers. And they never left.
Over three-hundred days later, the brothers are still manning a refreshment stand for soldiers coming in and out of Gaza. But it is no longer just coffee.
They now serve over three thousand hot meals a day and man a volunteer donation-based supply depot for returning soldiers. Clean socks and underwear, deodorant, and even tefillin; they provide everything a tired soldier might want.
They call this makeshift rest stop Shuva Achim, meaning “Return of the Brothers,” a commitment that they will not leave until all of the soldiers have come home.
On the day I visited, several battle-weary soldiers lounged on donated couches, while others stocked up on supplies from the depot.
In the background, you could hear shelling from several kilometers away. But at Shuva Achim there was a respite from the fighting, a break from the ugliness of the day, and a reminder of the selfless humanity of so many in this time of need.
I am grateful to the brothers from Shuva for restoring my faith in brotherhood.
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