On February 20, 2025, the people of Israel poured into the streets.

Outside, it was raining, temperatures were dropping, in fact it was the coldest week of the year so far. But that did not stop people from going out into the streets, standing, and waiting until the convoy carrying the four fallen passed by – from the south, at the border with the Gaza Strip, to the “Abu Kabir” forensics lab in the center of the country.

Tens of thousands of people held Israeli flags and yellow banners – a symbol that all hostages must be freed. They stood in silence, full of grief, with tears in their eyes and deep respect, as they bowed their heads before the convoy carrying two toddlers, a mother, and an elderly man – all kidnapped from their beds and murdered in malice.

The soldiers who accompanied the convoy – what an honor for them to bring these innocent victims home, to cleanse them, and to bury them with dignity.

And yet, this day will be forever burned into their souls.

Police officers salute as the convoy carrying the bodies of four Israeli hostages arrives at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv on February 20, 2025. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.

Throughout the day, many of the people standing along the roads were interviewed by various television stations. I stood there, speechless, mouth open, at what I was hearing. How much strength and noble spirit these people had. How much humanity and empathy. The identification with the pain was absolute – a pain that had long since become a national suffering and a collective mourning.

A woman from Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, who waited in the rain for the convoy, said that her husband was murdered by a terrorist in 1992 – and that his murderer has now been released from prison as part of the hostage deal. Yet, she added: “I wholeheartedly supported the release of the hostages. It is of utmost importance to me that they all return.”

She also said that she had no doubt that the time would come when justice would be served upon the released terrorist.

Then she continued speaking about herself, telling that her daughter lives in Kibbutz Be’eri and, on October 7, 2023, had to endure a night of hell with her family. And I wonder: Where does this woman find the strength? Despite all the heavy blows of fate, she stands there with an umbrella in one hand and an Israeli flag in the other, honoring the fallen.

People pay their respects as the convoy carrying the bodies of four Israeli hostages drives near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip on February 20, 2025. Photo by Jamal Awad/Flash90.

Another woman, Ruth from Kibbutz Be’eri, is a Holocaust survivor. When the Holocaust swept across Europe, she was a child. She remembers the images, the hatred, the hunger – and she does not forget the humiliation and the death that surrounded her.

But above all, she remembers how people lost their humanity.

And what did she talk about on this day, to our great surprise? First, she asked a question: “How can one ever recover from experiencing the Holocaust here?”

Her generation, the survivors of the Shoah, saw the State of Israel as a miracle!!! And they would not allow this miracle to be destroyed. They would rebuild Be’eri because there was no other choice.

Then she added: “We must find a solution because otherwise – what kind of life is this? We have sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren – but in the face of war, there is no future here. We must give hope. I am waiting for leadership that will give hope to the children, who have gone through horrors they should never have had to experience.”

And I stand there, amazed, wondering: What are we made of? What is it about the people of Israel that makes them so unique? They are beaten, they suffer death – and yet they reach out for peace.

A deep inner conflict rages within me. Are we trapped in some kind of self-flagellation? We are slaughtered, raped, our elderly and babies are murdered – and yet we continue to reach out for peace and search for hope. Is this not foolishness? Perhaps we should wake up and see the world through different eyes?

And yet, I tell myself: This is exactly how Jesus behaved.

He endured hatred, was led like a lamb to the slaughter – and yet he turned the other cheek.

Perhaps this is the only path to redemption?

And so, I remain contemplative, in awe, wavering, wrestling with this question – and finding no answer.

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