SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — For Kibbutz Re’im resident Ifat Haimovitz Twilly, seeking cover in a bomb shelter on October 7, 2023, as sirens blared and enemy rockets lit up the early morning sky, was only the beginning of the nightmare. On March 7, 2024, the survivor of the Hamas terrorist attacks recounted her harrowing near-death experience and the unusual way she healed from the trauma. Her audience included local philanthropists seeking ways to support Israel at Jewish National Fund-USA’s Evening of Appreciation event in San Diego.
Jewish National Fund-USA President Dr. Sol Lizerbram, a San Diego native, commented: “To hear her tell her story in person is a gut-wrenching reminder that wherever there is tragedy, resilience is right around the corner.”
On the “Black Shabbat,” Twilly and her daughter spent nearly 30 hours in the fortified safety room located a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip after realizing this was not a normal “emergency routine” scenario and staying put meant life or death. They were terrified, had no food or drinks, and were only able to get pieces of information at a time while conserving their phone batteries. They sent text messages to relatives while gunfire blasted outside.
It was only after Twilly left the shelter that she learned the extent of the devastation and how many people were brutally murdered in her community. “The son of one of my best friends was murdered,” she said. “My own nephew was nearly killed when terrorists tried to throw hand grenades in a shelter room but didn’t succeed.”
Shortly after evacuating to another city in Israel with other survivors and looking for ways to work through her grief, Twilly began an emotional healing journey at Jewish National Fund-USA’s Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center, a treatment facility in Kibbutz Grofit that uses equine therapy and other methods to treat children and adults with special needs and who have experienced trauma.
Twilly spoke about that fateful day and detailed the transformational emotional impact she experienced while bonding with horses. She was joined by Eva Lange, the Resource Development Director for Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center, who shared more in-depth information about the life-changing facility in the Negev Desert, the incredible therapeutic team, how other October 7 survivors have followed in Twilly’s footsteps to receive care for PTSD at Red Mountain, and how local philanthropists make programs like this possible.
“It’s more than just riding horses,” said Lange. “It’s also learning new things, brushing the horses, maybe helping, maybe being a volunteer, playing games with children…and we do this for over 200 people a week. We also help children with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and people who have cancer. Whatever the special need, we try to help them.”
“We are dedicated to ensuring that remote communities in Israel’s north and south have all of the same amenities and services found in major population centers,” said Jewish National Fund-USA San Diego President, Jacqui Schneider. “That includes schools, housing, spiritual community, security, employment, medical care – and yes, special needs and trauma therapies.”
Attendees also learned about some of the other ways individuals can support the Jewish Homeland in the short and long term through Jewish National Fund-USA’s Israel Resilience Campaign (jnf.org/supportisrael), which has raised nearly $60 million since October 7, 2023, supporting the evacuation and relocation of tens of thousands of residents in Israel’s south while providing thousands more with housing, food, clothing, and other supplies.
The campaign also includes the Livnot B’Yachad – Build Together plan, a bold, strategic initiative to rebuild communities in the Israel Envelope (formerly known as the Gaza Envelope) and the lives of broken people.
“From Sderot to Ofakim, Jewish National Fund-USA has been responding to the needs of the people living in these communities decades before October 7, and we will be rebuilding their homes and communities alongside them in the months and years to come,” said Jewish National Fund-USA San Diego Board Member and Past San Diego President, Shari Schenk. “There is no better organization to be involved with if you care about the wellbeing of everyday Israeli families and prosperity in every corner of Israel.”
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Preceding provided by JNF-USA.