Kibbutz Be’eri in black and white
On the morning of October 7th 2023, at 6:30am, Kibbutz Be’eri was struck by a devastating tragedy.
Auckland photographer Ilan Wittenberg visited Kibbutz Be’eri and filed this report:
Hundreds of Hamas terrorists invaded the community, unleashing a wave of unimaginable horror. At least 130 members of the community had been brutally murdered. This horrific event claimed the lives of women, children, toddlers, and even an infant, amounting to 10% of the farming community’s residents.
Established in 1946, Kibbutz Be’eri was well-known for its pro-peace sympathies. It had a special fund to provide financial help to Gazans who came to the kibbutz on work permits. Additionally, kibbutzniks would often volunteer to drive sick Palestinians to an oncology centre in southern Israel.
Fire and gunfire destroyed thirty percent of the homes, leaving behind tales of survival marked by horror, abandonment, helplessness, and enduring pain. After capturing the kibbutz, the terrorists went from house to house, shooting or capturing residents while setting buildings on fire. They were accompanied by a camera team and a journalist who documented the attack and extolled it as a Palestinian victory. Many residents tried to hide in shelter-safe rooms, but the attackers blew up the doors and killed everyone inside.
Nine members of the kibbutz were taken into the Gaza Strip, five of whom have since died in captivity. 101 Israelis are still held hostage, their fate uncertain. More than 1,200 people were massacred on October 7th which was the deadliest terrorist attack in Israeli history, with an unprecedented scale of civilian casualties, including 36 children and 364 people at the Supernova music festival. The attack was part of a larger coordinated assault by Hamas on multiple locations in southern Israel. This event marked the beginning of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The kibbutz is currently a closed military zone, off-limits to the public. Created on February 7th, exactly four months after the horrific attack, this series of documentary photographs has a significant historical value. In an era rife with disinformation, fake news and Artificial-Intelligence manipulated imagery, these documentary photos serve as a silent testament of the aftermath.
A collection of 23 prints had just been displayed at Auckland Hebrew Congregation. Juliet Moses, President of the New Zealand Jewish Council delivered the following address:
gave this brilliant address at the opening event. This series is now with Zionism Victoria and about to show in Melbourne. Another set is about to be displayed in Brisbane by the Zionist Council of Queensland.
All images: Ilan Wittenberg https://ilanwittenberg.com/
