This paper­back work of non­fic­tion, though slim, packs in much strong human emo­tion by a col­lec­tion of peo­ple shar­ing their feel­ings a year after the ter­ror attacks of Octo­ber 7, 2023 in South­ern Israel. The author put out a request on social media for the public’s reac­tions to the mas­sacre per­pe­trat­ed on the Jew­ish hol­i­day of Sim­chat Torah, by Hamas, an Islam­ic ter­ror organization. 

The attack was specif­i­cal­ly direct­ed toward par­tic­i­pants in the annu­al Nova music and dance fes­ti­val, as well as the neigh­bor­ing com­mu­ni­ties. Kib­butz­im and towns along and close to the Gaza bor­der were raid­ed by these ter­ror­ists. Alto­geth­er, thou­sands of civil­ians — includ­ing men, women and chil­dren — were tor­tured, maimed, raped, kid­napped, burnt, and mur­dered. Some sur­vived and share their sto­ries in the media while about twen­ty are still kid­napped and bare­ly alive in Gaza, and about thir­ty bod­ies of mur­dered hostages remain unre­cov­ered. The vic­tims were local res­i­dents and vis­i­tors, for­eign work­ers, Israeli cit­i­zens, and nation­als of many coun­tries — inno­cents who were reli­gious and sec­u­lar, Jew­ish and not. The entire nation of Israel was tak­en by sur­prise except for some Israel Defense Forces offi­cers and sol­diers who observed warn­ing signs which were seem­ing­ly ignored. 

This event is said to be the largest most hor­rif­ic attack on the Jew­ish peo­ple since the Holo­caust eighty years ago. Yet, most of the world showed sym­pa­thy and com­pas­sion only for a day or two.

This col­lec­tion of poet­ry and prose reflects the sub­jec­tive reac­tions of ran­dom peo­ple who respond­ed to the author’s call. We read about shock, anger, fear, despair, and anx­i­ety, but also see hints of resilience, strength, and hopefulness.