Go and Return

On October 7th, I was at Venice airport, our flight to the country was canceled, I said goodbye to my father and set out on my way back to Israel.

Among the flights that took me to Munich, to Athens, and almost to Corfu, I spoke with people.
There were American Jews who gave me strength with Floridian Zionism, there was a dear German woman who wouldn’t have gone in my place,
there were airport representatives who cried when they realized they had soldiers going to battle in front of them, and of course,
there were soldiers and reservists, all fighting to return to the country in a difficult time.

I spoke with many fighters, reservists, some on their big trip abroad, some were young parents flying with their children,
all had the conviction to return to fight, and some were under pressure by friends and family not to return.

Of course, the feelings were complex, both out there and in Israel, I felt the need to talk to the families,
to explain to them why their loved ones want to return now more than ever.

Go and Return

Currently there is no English version of this poem, you can view the Hebrew version instead.