Through Grief and Hope: Why Israel’s Widows and Orphans Must Never Stand Alone

Over the past two years, since October 7, we have witnessed untold horror and heroism.

As Hamas flooded southern Israel, our brave citizens, soldiers, police officers, reservists, and rapid-response teams rose like lions and ran into the line of fire to save lives. Sadly, many never returned.

On that fateful morning, my cousins Menachem, Itiel, and Elhanan Kalmanson drove 60 kilometers from their homes to Kibbutz Be’eri, where they went house-to-house, saving Israelis from the clutches of Hamas. Under heavy fire, they were able to save over one hundred innocent men, women, and children, until Elhanan, a father of five, was fatally shot and died in his brother’s arms.

A few weeks later, another cousin, twenty-two-year-old Pedaya Mark fell, battling Hamas in Northern Gaza. Just seven years earlier, a younger Pedaya had sat on my lap during his father Michael (Miki) Mark’s funeral, after he was gunned down by Hamas terrorists on his way home.

The heart-wrenching reality is that in this war, my family is not unique. There are few Israelis who have not lost a friend or relative, both civilians and soldier

Their ranks have grown to accommodate an additional 330 widows and 780 orphans.

We will do everything in our power to fill the voids left by their loved ones. They gave everything for the nation. Now, the nation must give everything to those left behind.

Yet through the pain and suffering, I am also filled with hope for the new year.

We saw military operations on a scale that nobody could have ever dreamed. Our two most formidable enemies, Hezbollah and Iran, were brought to their knees in days.

I can now reveal that while it all happened in a flash, the Mossad had quietly been working on these explosive plans for decades.

But beyond military strength, Israel’s greatest asset is its people. We cherish life like no other nation and will go to the ends of the earth to achieve peace and security.

Our enemies know how much we cherish life – that’s exactly why they took so many hostages. To date, the vast majority have been brought home through deals and daring operations.

However, we can never give up on bringing home the last fifty that are still being held in Gaza, including five fallen IDF fathers – Tal Haimi, Tamir Adar, Lior Rudaeff, Asaf Hamami, and Muhammad Alatrash, whose widows and children have become an integral part of the IDFWO family.

When our heroes head into the battlefield, they need to be able to concentrate on nothing but the mission ahead, with the knowledge that whatever happens to them, the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization will forever be on hand to help their loved ones.