Thank you, Rhode Island

Maor Mintz and family. Photo take before Oct. 7.

Maor Mintz sent this photo and writes: 10 years ago, during Operation Protective Edge 10 years ago, my reserve company was drafted to protect Kibbutz Be'eri, while I was a summer camp counselor at the JCC’s J-camp. Thanks to your kindness and the amazing efforts of Mel Alperin and Nitza Attali we sent to my company a donation of backpacks. As you can see, we still use these backpacks, and wanted once again to show our gratitude and appreciation for your kind help!

Posted Monday, July 8, 2024 10:33 am

Dear Rhode Island.

I was very happy and touched to see my name in the Jewish Rhody this week [June 2024]. It warms my heart to know you still remember me, even 10 years after my last summer at the JCC’s summer camp.

Even though I haven’t been able to visit since then, please know you are always in my heart and thoughts, and I will always consider your wonderful community as my home away from home.

As it was written, my home, Kibbutz Holit, was attacked on October 7th. The kibbutz was taken by tens of terrorists, and we have lost 15 people from our community who were murdered that day. During the fight of the IDF to take the kibbutz back, we also lost 2 brave soldiers who rushed into the fight to save us.

My family and I weren't at the kibbutz at the time of the attack, and watched with horror the texts on the kibbutz’s WhatsApp group how our friends are fighting for their lives and calling for help that came only later that day.

I was drafted with my reserve unit on that day and was busy fighting on different fronts since that day, some of that time literally guarding my home, and fighting in Gaza to try and bring back the safety that we felt until that horrible day.

I am writing to you now from a special course for reserve fighting officers that I am attending in order to continue my reserve service as a platoon leader in the IDF infantry corps.

Our community was evacuated from the kibbutz that is still considered a restricted military zone to a hotel in a kibbutz in Ein Gedi, and we are busy rebuilding our community and home.

At the moment, it is estimated we will be able to get back to Holit only in 2 years from now since there is heavy damage to repair in the kibbutz.

We are now working on building our temporary kibbutz in Revivim where we will move to this summer, and we will plan and rebuild our kibbutz.

This is a very difficult time for us, but we are doing all that we can in order to get back to our home that will be better, safer, and even more beautiful than it was before.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for us. It really makes us stronger to know that you are with us, and hopefully, sooner than later, I will be able to invite you to visit our flourishing beautiful home.

Miss you all!

Maor

Maor Mintz served as J-Camp shaliach during the summers of 2013 and 2014. On page 25 of the June JRI, we ran photos from Kibbutz Revivim submitted by Nitza Attali and mentioning Mintz.