Unity and Resilience - Israel's Special Weapon

 There is such a sense of unity in the country in the present situation and there are stories galore of everyone looking for what they can do to help

 a)     Two hundred soldiers and 70 families from the south came on a Friday morning to Beit Shemesh, to be put up in several areas around town. Within hours, families from all neighborhoods had filled in the Google sheets to cook all the necessary food and donate all the linens, pillows, blankets, and towels that were needed. This story was repeated in cities throughout the country.

b)     On an even more generous scale, several contractors have donated dozens of newly built apartments for some of those made homeless by Hamas, such as the Ampa Yuval real estate company, which allocated 50 in Tzur Yitzhak in the middle of the country. Local chains contributed basic furniture and appliances – and dozens of locals made sure to clean them all, bring in the smaller necessary items, fill the pantries, provide games and toys, and applaud the families as they walked in.

c)     Helping The Soldiers 

Religious and irreligious people can be seen stand shoulder to shoulder singing and bringing cheer and goodies to injured civilians and soldiers in hospitals. There are clips of weddings arranged on the spot in army bases so that those who thought the most wonderful day in their lives was ruined, instead have the most intensely special event as caterers bring in food and national icons come to sing to make them happy, while almost everyone but the bride is dressed in uniform.

 d)     Innumerable restaurants are sending hundreds of portions of fresh food to soldiers all over the country every day, even if they are closed to the public due to the security situation. When several eateries in Tel Aviv heard that the religious soldiers had to go without because the meals weren’t kosher, these secular owners made the spontaneous decision to make their kitchens kosher in an intensive cleaning process so that everyone could partake in the future.

e)     The Incredible Youth

With almost all schools closed, the youth of the country have been in the forefront in thousands of places, doing good, and testimonials praising them have flooded the internet. They collect and distribute goods to soldiers and those who fled the south, run fun activities for young children so their parents can have a break, bake goodies for the families of soldiers to remind them they are loved and not alone, among so much more.

One particular story of selflessness took place in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Most of the cleaning staff had not come in for a day or two, and the situation was getting urgent, an employee posted. At 6:00 a.m., 150 teens from the Bnei Akiva youth movement showed up and cleaned without let up for hours.

“I’ve worked in hospitals for many years and have never smelled such a good odor everywhere, like in a hotel,” the person wrote. “It was really so touching, because cleaning is not something that people usually run to volunteer for, and here, overnight 150 youth came.”