RSS
‘He Never Gives Up’: How One Israeli’s Miraculous Oct. 7 Survival Inspired Support for Soldiers’ Families
Amichay and Avital Shindler and their children. Photo: Courtesy of OneFamily
On Oct. 7, Amichay Shindler saved his family’s life by absorbing a bomb planted by Hamas terrorists outside the door to their safe room. Ten months and one prosthetic hand later, it is still not clear how he is alive today.
No one understands the challenges of being thrust into raising children and managing a household alone more than Avital Shindler, Amichay’s wife. She faced these difficulties under extraordinary circumstances, having been evacuated from her home in Kerem Shalom kibbutz along with other Israeli communities in the Gaza periphery.
Avital leveraged her own experience to help manage a newly formed support group for the wives of injured Israeli reserve soldiers, including those like her husband who were injured during Hamas’ massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7. Shindler’s group, Haverot Barzel (Friends of Iron), named after the ongoing war in Gaza, joined forces with OneFamily, Israel’s largest organization supporting victims of terror and their families, to host a trip to Magic Kass, an indoor amusement park near Jerusalem, for 160 families of injured reservists and the reservists themselves.
Haverot Barzel holds regular support meetings with various professionals, providing a safe space for the women to share what they’re going through with others in a similar position. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’re with other women who are experiencing what you’re experiencing. You say one word and everyone immediately understands you,” Shindler told The Algemeiner.
The women are overwhelmed with practical, logistical, bureaucratic, and emotional responsibilities, leaving no time for any non-essential activities. “Many of them barely have time for their children as they juggle household duties and, in some cases, shuttle between the hospital where their husband is hospitalized and home. Organizing a fun outing during the summer vacation is simply not possible,” she explained.
Even those whose husbands are well enough to return home face significant physical and emotional challenges. These men are often unable to help around the house as they used to, leading to frustration for both partners and, in many cases, depression.
For Shindler, her husband’s injury is an evolving journey where new steps keep cropping up. “Just when you think it’s over, something new happens. Complications, or more surgeries, it can be anything.”
But Shindler doesn’t wallow. She credits her husband’s fortitude. “He never gives up,” she said.
The Shindler’s home was the only one in the kibbutz, which is a stone’s throw away from Hamas-ruled Gaza, to sustain damage on Oct. 7. Terrorists barged into the home and demanded, in Hebrew, that Amichay open the safe door, saying they were Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. Shindler refused, shouting, “I know who you are; get out or I’ll kill you.” Amichay clung onto the handle of the door to stop them from entering.
Seconds later, an explosive device detonated. Shindler’s body absorbed a lot of shrapnel, and part of the wall collapsed onto his head. The door to the safe room was breached, but for reasons still unknown, the terrorists chose not to enter and exited the house.
Avital and the couple’s six young children were hunkering down at the other end of the safe room and were not harmed in the blast. Convinced her husband was dead, Avital instructed her children not to look at him and to recite psalms instead. Two members of the kibbutz’s civil defense squad, Amichai Yisrael Witzen and Yedidia Raziel, entered the house and approached Amichay with the intention of transferring him onto a tourniquet, away from the children and into the living room. But incredulously, Amichay opened his mouth and said, “Don’t, I can walk alone.”
But when they reached the living room, another terrorist came, shooting dead both responders. More terrorists and soldiers arrived, until eventually the soldiers gained the upper hand, saving the kibbutz.
Amichay’s life was in mortal danger. He suffered severe burns, multiple shrapnel wounds, and crushing injuries to his hands, jaw, and parts of his face. Bleeding profusely, he was rushed to a field hospital. There, a paramedic recognized him as the brother of Avishai Shindler, who had been killed in a Palestinian terror attack in 2010. This same paramedic had been unable to save Avishai’s life but was now determined not to let history repeat itself. According to Avital, this encounter was no coincidence; she believes it was the hand of God that brought this paramedic to save Amichay.
Amichay was subsequently transferred to Sheba medical center where he spent several weeks in the intensive care unit. It would be another five months before he was released home.
Today, Amichay writes, cuts salad, and is taking out a driver’s license for someone with a prosthetic.
OneFamily, which was established in 2001 in response to the Second Intifada, organized the day at the amusement park, sponsoring and staffing the event. The outing provided a much needed relief for many of the injured as well.
“Some of them find it hard to be with the kids at home. They can’t play with them. But a lot of them, being [combat soldiers], are naturally attracted to adrenaline-inducing activities so being on a rollercoaster with their children was a perfect opportunity to rebuild that connection,” Avital said.
Injured Israeli reservists and their families at Magic Kass as part of a trip organized by Haverot Barzel and OneFamily. Photo: Courtesy of OneFamily
One mother, Shachar Moss, said her family’s experience at the amusement park “moved her to tears.”
“When you go through such a journey, or injury and then rehabilitation, every small thing takes on new meaning,” Moss said. “Every experience that the children are able to have with their father takes on new meaning. It’s felt differently now.”
The post ‘He Never Gives Up’: How One Israeli’s Miraculous Oct. 7 Survival Inspired Support for Soldiers’ Families first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Improved Food for Security Prisoners
Israel’s Supreme Court. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday instructed the Prison Service (Shabas) to guarantee adequate food supplies for security prisoners, ruling that current conditions fall short of minimum legal standards. The decision followed an appeal filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
In a 2–1 ruling, the court found that the food situation posed “a risk of non-compliance with legal standards.” Justice Dafna Barak-Erez stressed that the matter concerned “basic conditions necessary for survival, as required by law,” not comfort or privilege. Justice Ofer Grosskopf agreed, noting the state had not shown the policy was consistently applied to all inmates.
Justice David Mintz dissented, maintaining that the existing policy already met legal requirements.
The court underscored that Israel’s legal obligations remain binding, even in light of the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza and the fact that many of the prisoners include Hamas members involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the ruling, arguing that while hostages in Gaza lack protection, “terrorist murderers, kidnappers, and rapists in prison” benefit from the Court’s intervention. He added that prisoners would continue receiving only the minimum conditions required by law.
RSS
Ukrainian Government Building Set Ablaze in Record Russian Airstrike
Illustrative. More damage caused by the Russian drone that hit the Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
i24 News – The Ukrainian government’s main building in Kyiv was hit overnight Saturday by Russian airstrikes for the first time since the war, igniting a fire in the building, authorities said. Firefighters are working to put out the flames.
“The government building was damaged by an enemy attack — the roof and upper floors,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said. The blaze is is burning in the area of the office of the prime minister.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight on Ukraine — a record number since the start of the war.
Also as a result of the strike, a baby and a young woman were killed after a nine-story residential building was hit in the Svyatoshynsky district, also in Kyiv. Rescuers are still looking for a third body, authorities said. A woman was also reported killed in the strike in Novopavlivka village.
“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but also with actions. We need to increase sanctions pressure – primarily against Russian oil and gas. We need new restrictions that will hit the Kremlin’s military machine. And most importantly, Ukraine needs weapons. Something that will stop the terror and prevent Russia from trying to kill Ukrainians every day,” wrote Sviridenko after the attack.
RSS
‘Trump’s Legacy Crumbles’: Israelis Call on US President to End Gaza War
Israeli protestors take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, issuing direct appeals to US President Donald Trump to force an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages.
Protesters packed a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of the hostages. Some carried signs, including one that read: ‘Trump’s legacy crumbles as the Gaza war persists.’
Another said: “PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAVE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“We think that Trump is the only man in the world who has authority over Bibi, that can force Bibi to do this,” said Tel Aviv resident Boaz, 40, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
There is growing despair among many Israelis at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has ordered the military to capture a major urban center where hostages may be held.
Families of the hostages and their supporters fear the assault on Gaza City could endanger their loved ones, a concern the military leadership shares, according to Israeli officials.
Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7, 2023 and whose body is being held in Gaza by militants, accused the government of abandoning its citizens.
“We truly hope that the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive deal that will bring them home,” she told the rally. Her son, Omer, is also American.
Tel Aviv has witnessed weekly demonstrations that have grown in size, with protesters demanding that the government secure a ceasefire with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages. Organizers said Saturday night’s rally was attended by tens of thousands. A large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.
There are 48 hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials believe that around 20 are still alive. Palestinian terrorists abducted 251 people from Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led its attack. Most of the hostages who have been released were freed after indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
NO PURPOSE
Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, but nearly eight months into his second term, a resolution has remained elusive. On Friday, he said that Washington was engaged in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli forces have carried out heavy strikes on the suburbs of Gaza City, where, according to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing famine. Israeli officials acknowledge that hunger exists in Gaza but deny that the territory is facing famine. On Saturday, the military warned civilians in Gaza City to leave and move to southern Gaza.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in the city that was home to around a million before the war.
A video released by Hamas on Friday featured Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, saying that he was being held in Gaza City and feared being killed by the military’s assault on the city. Rights groups have condemned such videos of hostages as inhumane. Israel says that it is psychological warfare.
The war has become unpopular among some segments of Israeli society, and opinion polls show that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s right-wing government to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Hamas that secures the release of the hostages.
“The war has no purpose at all, except for violence and death,” said Boaz from Tel Aviv. Adam, 48, said it had become obvious that soldiers were being sent to war for “nothing.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since it launched its retaliatory war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack on southern Israel.
The terrorist group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
The prime minister has said Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel led to the war.
Hamas has acknowledged it would no longer govern Gaza once the war ends but has refused to discuss laying down its weapons.