International
The war has frightened even those who have lived in the country for more than three decades. Many consider Israel a second home and call for peace in the Middle East.
BY GABRIELA ECHENIQUE
“We have a certainty that is unique: that what was will no longer be. We’re not sure what will be. I don’t know if my kibbutz can exist, I don’t know what the new “boundaries will be”.
This is Galia Schneider, a Brazilian who has lived in Israel for 34 years and was one of the first people to feel the effects of the Hamas attacks on October 7th. She lived on a kibbutz less than four kilometers from the Gaza Strip.
On the first day of the attack he had to flee to a bunker and the neighboring kibbutz was destroyed by the terrorist group. Galia says he has never experienced an attack like this in more than 30 years. She has three children and grandchildren and is not thinking of leaving Israel, although she misses Brazil.
“They threw very, very heavy artillery. It’s not what we went through 20 years ago. Brazil is my home, it is in my heart. Whenever I think of a place I would like to be, when I’m in a difficult moment, in a crisis, it’s Brazil. But now, because I have my family here and I already have grandchildren, I think it will be difficult to leave Israel to return to Brazil,” he says.
Like Galia, thousands of Brazilians living in Israel have no intention of returning to Brazil, even in the midst of war.
This is the case of Hannah Levi Nunes, 32 years old. In 2018, she took part in an internship program and stayed in Israel for five months which turned into five years. Today she is married and works as a makeup artist.
Hannah, who has never experienced war, has experienced some conflicts. At first she says she was scared. She has now gotten used to it and feels fulfilled where she lives.
“I was surprised. The first time there was a siren, I wasn’t at home, I had to go to a bunker. It was pretty shocking. The first few times I didn’t think about going back, firstly because the Israelis around me were more relaxed about it, let’s say they were already used to conflict. I confess that in the first days I was very afraid, something very traumatic, something very sad, very terrible, but my life is here. I don’t feel good about the idea of leaving, my friends are here, I have friends who are in the army, they are at the front,” he says.
Ilana Lerner has lived in Israel for 16 years, in a distant village with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. She had three children and today her boyfriend commands one of the Israeli army troops in the war. Where he lives, he has a secluded room with supplies of water and food. But despite the tension, Ilana says it never occurred to her to leave.
“My children are already used to it. If there is a siren, they already know it, then they say: ‘We have to run to the boom’ that is, to the hiding place. So if I stay calm, I pass it on to them, even if they know the situation is not normal. As strange as it may seem, I feel safer in Israel. Despite this terrible war, I call this my home. It’s strange, I know no one can understand this, but ‘come back’ or ‘run away’ or any verb you can use doesn’t come to mind at all,” he says.
Kelly Alves has been in Israel for almost three years. She lives in the center but has been staying with her inlaws, a village 40 minutes from the Gaza Strip, since the conflict began. Her fiancé is also a reservist and she doesn’t want to be alone. Despite being closer to the conflict zone, Kelly says she feels safer there.
“Actually, they’re not targeting this place. You have a high risk of making a mistake, a high risk that the rocket won’t land on a house, won’t hit people, just land in an open place. That’s why, even though it’s like that.” “When we’re close, it’s a little safer. We hear the bombers a lot because it’s very close, so everything shakes here the doors, windows, everything but we have since the beginning “I only heard sirens about three times,” he reports.
Many Brazilians whose kibbutz was destroyed by Hamas managed to escape to Kelly’s motherinlaw’s inn. Today these groups survive on donations. The Brazilian admits that she is afraid but does not have the courage to leave the country that has embraced her.
“I never considered this possibility. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my fiancé here. That wouldn’t help. I would be much more desperate, anxious and nervous,” she says.
Some say they are already “used to it,” others say they are still scared or even scared. But everyone agrees: They have built a new life in Israel and only hope that there will be peace in the Middle East.
“Although we don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the day after, we hope today ends well. When he sends me a message ‘I’m in bed, I’m going to sleep’ I relax. The only moment.” “We don’t worry, it’s when we sleep when we’re basically at peace. We hope and pray all the time that everything will be resolved soon.”