The ‘light within us’ still burns
"Although they hit us hard, as hard as can be, they cannot extinguish the light within us," says Dafna Admati from Kibbutz Be'eri.
A capacity attendance at Caulfield Racecourse for the United Israel Appeal (UIA) gala fundraiser in Melbourne heard from a visiting Israeli military hero and two survivors of the October 7 pogroms.
At the March 6 event, IDF Major-General (Res) Doron Almog, in a podium interview with UIA Australia CEO Yair Miller, reflected, “I came to Australia to tell you we are in the biggest crisis of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Only by our commitment can we make Israel become stronger.”
A military figure who hunted Munich Olympics terrorists, lost a brother in the Yom Kippur War, and ran the airlift of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan, the Jewish Agency chairman has seen tough times – but October 7 was even more incredibly difficult – all his family at Kfar Aza were killed.
Almog reiterated the priorities of Keren Hayesod-UIA as aliyah, strengthening bonds between Israeli and Diaspora Jews and restoring Israel’s resilience in its southern and northern regions.
Speaking before a candle-lighting for the victims of October 7, survivor Dafna Admati from Kibbutz Be’eri, attacked by more than 200 terrorists who murdered over 100 residents, recounted those terrifying hours.
“Although they hit us hard, as hard as can be, they cannot extinguish the light within us. I want to thank all of you, my dear brothers and sisters, supporters of UIA, for all you’ve done for me, for my community and for my family,” she said.
Survivor Michal Uziyahu of the Eshkol Regional Council, comprising 32 communities near Gaza, described the border as “the 15-second frontier”, the time Israelis have to reach bomb shelters when Hamas fires rockets.
“Life on the Gaza border is 95 per cent heaven and five per cent hell,” she said. “We choose the 95 per cent.”
Israel’s ambassador Amir Maimon said, “This is a war we didn’t ask for. It is a war we didn’t start. But it is a war that we are determined to end.”
Urging attendees to dig deeper, UIA Victoria president Peter Horowitz noted the UIA emergency campaign has to date aided 8446 victims, and has distributed NIS13.7 million ($5.8 million) in emergency grants and NIS20 million ($8.4 million) in relief to 23 regional councils in the south and north.
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