A Journey Through the North: Witnessing Hope and Renewal in Israel

posted March 6, 2025 by Yael Perlman

On the 500^th day of war, I had the opportunity to visit the programs and people in the North of Israel that my team has been working on since the war began. Over the past year and a half almost all departments in JDC Israel have shifted to focus on war relief efforts and humanitarian support, in addition to their other regular work. As an Entwine Jewish Service Corps Fellow in Israel, I have been working since September with JDC Ashalim, Israel Unlimited and the Mental Health & Wellbeing initiative to write about these essential programs for marketing and donor relations.

It was a day full of resilience and life, yet it was clear the devastating and destructive impact of the war on the residents of these towns. The communities within 7 km of the border with Lebanon evacuated, besides for the Druze community who refused to leave the land. Among those who left, 40% do not want to return due to a lack of proper infrastructure and available schooling. Government aid for evacuees ends in the coming weeks so support for the North is more critical than ever.

We started the morning in the Druze town of Hurfeish, driving up the mountains to a beautiful overlook of the city, where we met with the dynamic mayor of Hurfeish. He pointed out the hills that overlooked into Lebanon and showed us just how close the borders are. The fear was palpable as he explained the daily rocket fire his community endured for months with little protection from shelters. His town also became a base for hundreds of thousands of soldiers who came to defend the border. Amongst the Druze community, it is largely Zionist with 94% serving in the IDF, despite not having the same draft requirement as their Jewish neighbors.

After the discussion, we went to the community center to meet with a preschool group who prepared an adorable welcome song in Hebrew and gave each visitor a carefully crafted stick doll. The classroom was a temporary space, the third since the war started due to their regular classroom not having the appropriate saferoom needed. Despite this, the kids seemed eager and excited to greet us, and were acting like, well, kids. As we left the classroom, we noticed a Hibuki doll, one of JDC-Ashalim’s flagship programs, in the cubby, reminding us of all the hardships and traumas these kids have endured. Hibuki therapy was first introduced in the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to help kids who were suffering from PTSD.

Representatives from the local Education and Welfare departments spoke with us about their plans for daycares and how they have had to adapt since the war began. They showed us kits JDC distributed as part of the humanitarian support to the northern localities impacted by the war, with the help of JDC-Ashalim department. These kits are intended to help kids deal with their new reality and provide several trauma therapy tools including a children’s book in Arabic specifically designed to help kids cope with trauma. We watched a video of a small girl using games from her kit while in her bomb shelter, a space she had spent countless hours over the last year and a half.

Next, we visited the Medical Room, provided in partnership with GRID, JDC’s department for international humanitarian disaster response. While most of GRID’s work is global, their experience in other countries helped prepare them to respond effectively in the aftermath of October 7^th. Peripheral communities in the North suffer from a lack of hospitals, often inaccessible when under rocket fire. In Hurfeish, there is only 1 ambulance for all 7,087 residents. The Medical Room with essential life saving supplies can help immensely when the hospital is too inaccessible to reach. We also saw the concrete safety walls installed with the help of JDC to ensure that those going to the Medical Room had a safe route to enter and exit.

After an impactful morning, we ate a delicious traditional Druze lunch with lots of fresh salads, dips, and stuffed meats of all kinds. The food came from a restaurant recently made kosher specifically so it could serve the IDF soldiers stationed in the town.

During lunch, we heard a presentation on how JDC is planning, in partnership with the government, to resettle Northern residents and ensure better infrastructure for the future of the border communities. While the war widened existing wounds, it revealed how much is needed to create a better society in the sparsely populated North. Crises can often bring opportunities to rebuild better tools and infrastructure for the future.

In the afternoon, we visited Nahariya, a beautiful Northern beach city. Though technically outside the lines of evacuation, the residents still experienced daily sirens and missiles during the war, causing them to be homebound for months. One resident said the scariest part was traveling on the road and not knowing your proximity to the closest shelter.

An intergenerational trio introduced us to their community garden, part of the Mashiv HaRuach initiative, which helped them cope with the trauma of the war by providing a therapeutic space to work with their hands and cultivate the land. Tasting their fresh lettuce leaves, the garden offered something to look forward to during a dark time, and they felt comfortable coming knowing a bomb shelter was just a meter away. The garden, overflowing with bountiful produce, had all been grown after October 7, 2023, showing the amount of life that could be produced since such a destructive and dreadful day.

While in Nahariya, we also met with community caseworkers who discussed how they assist residents in accessing their benefits. Additionally, we met with a couple who participated in the Young Mothers in Wartime program, run by JDC-Ashalim, and told us how beneficial the classes and support group had been for them throughout the pregnancy and birth. All of these programs exist to build community, especially in wartime which could be lonely for many.

Our last stop of the day was with JDC’s Mental Health initiative. We learned how 84% of children in Israel are showing signs of distress and there is a 6 month wait period for therapists through many HMOs. Or Rishon, one of two programs we spoke with, provides training for public servants to detect and manage early signs of mental health distress. 65% of people won’t admit they need help themselves so public servants are a critical first step to finding those who most need it. KAI, is a start-up app created by Israeli developers and first used in the US and Ukraine to provide AI chatbot therapy in combination with licensed human psychologists. This innovative tool was brought to Israel after October 7th, with the help of JDC, and introduced to several college campuses across the country for students who were impacted by balancing reserve duty and attaining their higher degree.

Overall, the day was extremely impactful and allowed me to see the wide variety of responses JDC has implemented since the war began. I saw a glimpse of the rehabilitation that is to come: children back in school, peacocks roaming the gardens, and most importantly the people that inhabit the spaces. Maintaining community and strength during such a difficult time is crucial and more important now than ever as Northern residents begin to return. Israel has much to learn and build in the coming months and years but with the partnership of JDC, I know the country is in good hands. The resilience of the North showcases the spirit of Israel and the Jewish people, giving hope for a brighter and safer future ahead.