R.I.P. Oded

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Some say we are a country, some say we are a nation, some say we are a people?

The ones who hate us, tell us we aren't any of those, and we don't deserve to be.

We've been hating for so long, we've been hated for each of those reasons through time.

Today, my people in my country stood as a nation in silence and in mourning when 3 of our own made their way back home, not in the way we had hoped and prayed for them, but still home.

An entire country in mourning, an entire nation feeling the pain of our very own people.

It’s an odd thing to try to understand. Do we only stand together because a world stands against us?

The ones who were here before us, they told us, they warned us, they said this specific kind of hate, it never dies. It will always come back, and it will always look a little different, but still feel the same.

Today, Oded was brought home. A holocaust survivor, an old man who already experienced the worst kinds of hate and discrimination.

A man who decided to overcome hate by spreading unity, love, and peace. A man who believed we could live in peace, a man who spent his life fighting for the rights of others.

Today, his body was brought back, his remains.

His life ended much as it started. Surrounded by hatred and injustice.

But even after his death, Oded with harmonious grace, brought the two most beautiful innocent babies home with him. 🧡

Our deepest and truest victory is one of Love, of Peace, and of Hope.

Together we stand, Together we win.

Me, with Yocheved Lipshitz Former hostage and loving wife of Oded.