Interviewer: Adrianne Vo

Interviewer Subject: Alexandra F.l

On October 7, 2023, the most tragic situation happened. Children being kidnapped, lives being taken, homes being destroyed, memories gone. It’s hard to believe that my own family in Israel is being harmed. Not to mention my nine year old first cousin’s friend, Nave, was recently taken hostage. She was later on released a few days later, but during the time she was gone, everyone was worried. It’s terrifying to even think about what may happen to my family in Israel. 

I go to an all-Jewish school [CHAT], which has been very difficult recently. Being at an all-Jewish school during this time is scary. Not only is the war happening in Israel but people here are coming to all Jewish places to harm us. There have been many incidents at my school recently including: threats, evacuations, and students being attacked. Recently I have been scared to go to school as there has been an incident where our principal and dean received an email stating that there was a bomb in the school with a quote “lots of Jews will die”. This has impacted my mental and physical health terribly as I’m not even sure if school is safe anymore. School is supposed to be a safe environment for me but now after these incidents, I am  scared that something might happen to me. 

I am trying to cope with all this stress and trauma that’s going on, but it’s very difficult. Recently I have been using different trusted resources to keep up with what’s going on. My family and I have been donating money as well as lots of resources that are brought on a ship to Israel. It makes me so happy to see that many people outside of Israel are coming together during this very difficult time and helping donate to Israel. I have been to an Israel rally previously and I am planning on going to many more. Another thing I find really helpful is that there are teen helplines for Jewish kids and teens who are having a difficult time coping during this hard time.

I went on vacation to Israel not too long ago and I had the best time of my life. Israel is such a beautiful place but knowing that Israel will never be the same again really upsets me. I go to see my family in Israel a lot but not knowing what will happen to them scares me.