‘Healing rifts’ and strengthening society -torn homes

The Iranian-backed terror militias Hamas and Hezbollah have, over the past 15 months of war against Israel, damaged a large number of homes in northern and southern Israel.

“Together at Home,” a new groundbreaking Israeli initiative, seeks to unite interior designers and architects in a strategic effort to rebuild the damaged homes in Israel’s war-torn areas.

The initiative, which is led by Rabbi Shlomo Raanan who chairs the Ayelet Hashachar organization, is established on a volunteer basis and offers free services to many Israeli families whose homes have been damaged by the war. Established in 1997, the NGO seeks to create unity between religious and secular people in Israel’s diverse society. 

Some 100 professional architects and designers attended the launch event of the initiative. 

Architect Rivka Raanan, the brain behind the initiative, explained that she was guided by a vision to use her professional skills to help war-affected Israeli families to rebuild their homes and lives. 

“After the difficult events, I wanted to contribute to the victims through my profession. Together with Rabbi Raanan, we set out to bring light to the homes of those whose lives were shattered,” Raanan said. 

“Our goal is to bring light and warmth to damaged homes, both literally and figuratively, while fostering unity across all parts of Israeli society,” Raanan vowed. 

Vered Solomon-Maman, chief architect of the Construction and Housing Ministry, welcomed the initiative as a reflection of the strong solidarity and resilience in Israeli society. 

“The ‘Together at Home’ project demonstrates the healing process of the Israeli people. The government provides the framework from above, and you provide the individual care,” Solomon-Maman stated. The senior official also stressed that all professional participants would receive official certificates of appreciation. 

In addition to losing their homes, many Israelis were also seriously injured during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 onslaught on southern Israeli border communities. Amichai Schindler from the war-torn Kerem Shalom community, shared his personal story of sustaining serious wounds while protecting his family from the invading Hamas terrorists. 

“Until I heard him groaning in pain, I didn’t believe he was alive,” Schindler’s wife Avital told the audience. 

Erez Diner, a resident from the southern Kibbutz Sufa, stressed the need to rebuild his damaged home. However, he also plans to establish the rural community’s first synagogue in memory of his late son. Diner told the audience that “residents’ return to their kibbutzim is a vital step toward recovery.”

Rabbi Raanan concluded by stressing that the volunteer project is about much more than rebuilding damaged homes. 

“This project is not just about rebuilding homes,” he concluded. “It’s about healing rifts and strengthening the fabric of Israeli society,” he emphasized. 

“Together at Home” is not the only Israeli volunteer-based initiative that seeks to assist in the complex and lengthy process of rebuilding war-shattered Israeli communities. 

“Brothers in Arms”, an Israeli NGO, announced in November its intention to help renovate Kfar Aza, one of the southern communities that were worst affected by the Hamas onslaught. The idea was born when Omri Ronen, an IDF special reserve veteran and former resident of the kibbutz, visited the community with his father after 200 days of fighting against Hamas terrorists. Ronen was disappointed how little the Israeli government had done in terms of renovating the damaged buildings. 

Hamas terrorists murdered his 86-year-old grandmother and her Filipina caregiver and destroyed much of her home. Ronen was eventually triggered to action after reading a terrifying message that one of the Hamas terrorists wrote in Arabic on the wall in his murdered grandmother’s home. 

“You will die here. You won’t remain here.”

“Not only aren’t we dead, we are alive and are here to stay,” Ronen vowed in an interview with The Times of Israel.