KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel — Inside the kindergarten that Hamas terrorists burned on October 7, Pastor Gary Gardner offered a prayer: “To be here, and see it … we may want revenge, but what we’re going to need is peace.”
Gardner, from Tyler, Texas, is part of a group of three dozen Christian leaders brought to Israel this week by the Aliyah Foundation, a nonprofit that helps the needy in Israel, and helps connect Christians worldwide to the Jewish roots of their faith.
The trip was organized to show solidarity with Israel in its war against Hamas and other Iranian-backed terror groups. Along the way, the pastors are visiting Christian holy sites — and sharing blessings with war-weary Israelis.
Half of the pastors on this trip lead congregations in the U.S., and half are from Columbia, meaning the tour is being conducted in two languages, with simultaneous translation. But for some experiences, there simply are no words.
On Thursday, the group began by touring Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities in the October 7 terror attack, where roughly one in four residents was murdered or kidnapped.
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News
From the dining hall, its glass doors still riddled with bullet holes, to the burned-out homes of residents who were murdered, the pastors took in the horrors of October 7, unfiltered.
In the near distance, loud booms could be heard as Israeli forces bombed terror targets in Gaza.
Smoke rises from Khan Yunis, Gaza, after an Israeli airstrike, as seen from Kibbutz Nir Oz, July 25, 2024. (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
Next, the group visited the site of the Nova music festival, where roughly 400 people were murdered, a third of the 1200 who were killed by Hamas on October 7. Some 40 festival-goers were also kidnapped; some are still in Gaza.
Portraits of the kidnapped and the fallen at the makeshift memorial at the Nova music festival site, Re’im, Israel, July 25, 2024 (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
The makeshift memorial, with names and photographs of each victim, has become a mandatory stop for tourists and Israelis alike.
A short distance away, at an overlook with a view of Gaza City, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Oria Berlin, 19, recounted her harrowing experience surviving the October 7 attack, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated her base.
IDF soldier Orio Berlin, 19, recalls her experience surviving the Hamas terror attack on October 7, atop an overlook near Gaza, July 25, 2024. (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
After a few weeks of rest at home, Berlin volunteered to return to duty and to lend her skills to the fight.
The pastors then visited Kibbutz Be’eri, where over 100 residents were killed on October 7. They visited two homes that had been destroyed — one when it was used as a base by Hamas terrorists, and was attacked by Israeli forces, the other burned by Hamas in an attempt to kill anyone inside.
A destroyed home in Kibbutz Be’eri, used by Hamas terrorists as a base while they held the kibbutz. July 25, 2024. (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
The latter home belongs to Nir Shani, 47, who survived inside his home’s “safe room” and whose son Amit, 16, was kidnapped by Hamas.
Nir Shani, 47, who survived the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Be’eri in his home’s “safe” room, and whose son Amit was taken hostage and later released, Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, July 25, 2024 (Joel Pollak / Breitabrt News)
(Amit was released in November, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal, along with dozens of other women and children who were taken to Gaza.)
Amid the wreckage of Shani’s home, a ceramic menorah, made by his daughter for the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, survived.
A menorah survived the burning of Nir Shani’s home in Kibbutz Be’eri. July 25, 2024 (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
The pastors then continued on to the coastal town of Ashkelon, where the Aliyah Foundation dedicated a computer lab for special needs students at a local high school. The lab is named after Ido Kaslasi, an Israeli commando and farmer who was killed in a fierce battle with Hamas inside Israel on October 11, as Israel began to fight back.
Guy Leibovitz of the Aliyah Foundation dedicates the Ido Kaslasi room at a school in Ashkelon, Israel, July 25, 2024 (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
Kaslasi’s parents described the life of their son — an aspiring farmer, a man of the soil with a great sense of humor and a determination to fight for his country.
Pastor Gardner summarized the day: “It was wrenching — gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, everything.”
He added: “It think the thing we bring here is our presence, letting Israelis see that they are not alone.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “ ”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “ The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
