A survivor of the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel to speak to Sonoma

THE Jewish Center of Sonoma Valley Chabad And Shir Shalom Congregation have teamed up with several other organizations to organize an event representing the Jewish unit in the valley by welcoming on October 7, 2023, attack the survivor Irene Shavit.

Shavit, 23, lived in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel at around 3 miles east of Gaza with her fiancé, Netta Epstein, 22 when the attack by Hamas activists began.

After learning that the grandmother and Epstein uncle had already been murdered during the attack, the couple hid in a safe room of their house.

However, Hamas fighters were still able to enter the house and threw a grenade into the room, forcing Epstein – a former Israeli defense soldier – to jump at the top of the explosive to sacrifice himself to save Shavit.

Shavit, who is also a former soldier, then pretended his own death, surviving by hiding under the corpse of his fiancé for hours before she was saved by Israeli defense forces several hours later.

Since his horrible test, Shavit has devoted herself to telling his story to The public in the United StatesAnd on February 13 will speak to members of the Sonoma community.

The effort to bring Shavit into the valley started when the Rabbi Mendy Wegner of the Sonoma Chabad valley spoke with other rabbis in Jacksonville, Florida and Colorado, in the history of Shavit.

“They brought him back to speak to their community and they really said that it was not only a question of testifying to what happened on October 7, but that (irene) was really only Model of strength and resilience, “said Wegner. “It was not only about the story she told, but that was the way she told her story and the attitude she had by advancing was so impactful.”

Once Wegner learned that Shavit was planning to come to the west coast, he contacted the organization Faces of October 7 To reserve it for a speaking commitment.

The rabbi then contacted the Shir Shalom congregation as well as other organizations to help plan a collaborative event to hear Shavit Talking about its experience, as well as encouraging unity within the Jewish community of the Valley.

“Generally, attention has changed – not exactly unreasonably – to the destruction that takes place in Gaza,” said Jan Cheroff, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shir Shalom congregation. “In many ways, the whole events of October 7 have been forgotten and neglected, so we thought it was certainly important to emphasize what happened and that we want to refocus attention.”

Additional organizations have also recently joined forces to help sponsor the event, in particular Hold on with us,, Zoa campusFaces of October 7, and the Chabad at Sonoma State University.

While the following war in Gaza ended with a ceasefireWho started its first phase on January 19, the event organizers thought it was crucial to reminds members of the Sonoma Valley community of other hostages captured by Hamas who remain in the strip.

“It is a huge relief and a blessing to see them find their loved ones,” said Wegner about the safe return of a certain number of hostages to Israel as part of the ceasefire agreement- fire. “Our community continues to pray for the rapid and safe return of the remaining hostages. We hope they will be gathered with their families very soon. »»

In order to attend the surviving event of October 7, interested customers must first RSVP at the event svjewishcenter.com In order to receive the details of the place. The guests are encouraged to pay for a sponsorship of $ 36 to help with the costs of the event which starts with a reception at 7:13 p.m. before Shavit takes to speak at 7:20 p.m.

You can reach the staff editor Isabel Beer at 707-933-2734 or [email protected]. On x (twitter) @Isabelsongbeer