Israel is rebuilding, just like the Jewish people always do

There are moments in history that force us to ask not just what happened, but what we chose to see. Too often, the world fails that test. It looks away when evil demands confrontation. It rationalises the irrational. It excuses the inexcusable. I felt this last month, standing in the south of Israel at the sites of the October 7 massacre, while on a trip with Elnet.

I had been there before, just days after October 7, when the massacre was fresh, when the blood had yet to be washed away. Now, more than a year later, the bullet holes remain, the homes are still charred, but the world has already moved on. What Israel, and Jewish people worldwide cannot forget, too many have chosen to ignore.

We started the day in Netiv HaAsara, a small village that sits directly on the border with Gaza. It was one of the first places Hamas terrorists infiltrated on the morning of October 7. They moved house to house, murdering 20 residents in cold blood. Families who had spent decades building a quiet, peaceful life were wiped out in minutes. The streets where children once played now carry the weight of unimaginable horror.

From there, we travelled to Sderot. A city that has, for years, been on the frontline of Terror, its residents used to running for shelter within 15 seconds of a rocket siren. But October 7 was different. This time, terrorists stormed the streets, moving from home to home, executing people in their bedrooms, kitchens and gardens. The police station, once a symbol of security, was reduced to rubble.