Rye Brook residents open their homes to Israeli families looking for respite
November 21, 2024 at 12:12 a.m.
Residents of Kibbutz Gevim have spent the last 13 months of their lives with one thing enveloping their minds: The Israel-Hamas War.
Located just two miles east of Gaza, their community suffered several casualties during the bloody massacre on Oct. 7, 2023—a day that left over 1,400 dead.
That day, members of the Kibbutz Emergency Team left their families in shelters to defend their homes from Hamas terrorists.
Shortly afterwards, most of the community was evacuated by the Israeli government to the northern part of the country, away from the frontlines.
To help the families of members of the Emergency Team, the Jewish communities of Rye Brook, Port Chester, Rye and Harrison partnered with Project 24, a group that strives to assist those who were directly affected by the Oct. 7 attacks, to participate in the Thanks4Giving initiative.
It brought dozens of families to the U.S., including 16 to Westchester, to give them a week of respite away from the war.
Hanna Poplausky and Vicki Lurie, members of Congregation KTI in Port Chester, were tapped to represent their synagogue.
“This kind of started through our walks,” Poplausky said. She referred to the Walk for their Lives events, in which she and others largely from the Jewish community participate in weekly marches across the county. “We worked with them before to put on a cycling event last summer, where we rode with a group of cyclists who were there that horrific morning. And we stayed connected.”
On Monday, Nov. 11, 56 members of Kibbutz Gevim arrived at Congregation KTI after an 11-hour flight for a welcoming celebration.
Though still weary from the trip and 7-hour time difference, Amir Ashkenazi animatedly described how excited he was to be there.
“Coming here, I didn’t know what to expect,” the 48-year-old said. “We heard that people wanted us to come, but we didn’t really understand how much.”
Dozens of the synagogue’s members were joined by peers from Congregation Emanu-El, Community Synagogue of Rye and Jewish Community Center of Harrison gathering to greet their guests.
Ashkenazi and the rest of his community members spent the evening mingling with the local Jewish population. Some chatted about their plans for the visit, while others simply stopped by to thank the Emergency Team volunteers for their service.
The local congregations organized various activities for them to partake in, including a dads night out, girls night out and a free trip to the Boundless Adventures ropes course in Purchase, owned by Rye Brook residents Lorrie and Brian Funtleyder.
“We want everyone here to know that there is a whole community of people here supporting them,” Poplausky said. “But we also want them to leave with a happy experience. We have a lot planned to make sure they have a good time here before they leave. They deserve to be away from that world for a little bit. Especially the children.”
The Rye Brook resident described an interaction she’d had with a 12-year-old as they were approaching the synagogue.
“She saw an airplane go by and said that it must be annoying,” Poplausky said. “And she compared how frequently the planes fly overheard to the missiles she heard at home.”
Sandy Rubenstein, who’s lived in Rye Brook for the last 31 years, saw firsthand what the Oct. 7 attacks had done to some children. She was one of the three locals who opened their doors for the week, housing a family of five.
“I never asked the kids about what they saw that day,” she said, after her time as host ended on Monday, Nov. 18. “But I saw what it had done to some of the kids. One of the daughters was very sensitive to loud noises and had nightmares.”
She explained that on the day of the attack, the children were placed into their home’s saferoom with their mother Liron. Her husband Victor spent the next 28 hours protecting the kibbutz.
“From what I understand, there was little to no contact between the parents during that period,” Rubenstein said. “All she could do was worry about her husband and try to keep the children safe and calm.”
In an effort to instill happier memories into the family, the Country Ridge Drive resident took them to the scheduled Project 24 activities along with other, more personal trips.
“We did the events that were planned, but they had some goals to check off when they arrived,” Rubenstein said. “We took them to Central Park, the M&M’s Store in Times Square and went ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Every day was a new adventure together.”
Though some of the nights were set aside for those special occasions, Rubenstein said her favorite moments were those that were less eventful.
“I think what stuck with me the most were the times we acted like a family,” she said. “The moments in the morning where we had short conversations or the quiet shabbat dinner we had in our home. Times we got to just relax and be together.”
Rubenstein summed up her relationship with the family by saying she and her husband gained a new set of children and grandchildren.
“They stole a piece of our hearts,” she said. “There were a lot of tears when it came time to say goodbye.”
The family has since arrived back in Kibbutz Gevim and Rubenstein has begun to plan her own visit to their home.
“Israel has always been close to my heart, and this just brought it all closer,” she said. “I had heard many stories, but this really personalized it for me. At the end of the day, I’m just looking forward to the war being over so people can live in peace again.”
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