On Thursday, Oct. 5, Galit Lev-Harir mounted her mountain bike in the Golan Heights. She rode along with a group of Israeli bikers and made stops along pivotal points of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. During that war, three Israeli tanks faced off against 177 Syrian tanks. The leader of the bike ride was a veteran of that war who shared his memories of a battle 50 years ago.
“We heard all of the details about the Yom Kippur War, said Lev-Harir, 57, who is a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona. “It was incredibly impactful, incredibly emotional. At the time, we couldn’t imagine an enemy taking Israel by surprise and attacking us in two days.”
Lev-Harir and her husband, Elie Harir, left St. Louis right after Rosh Hashanah to spend Yom Kippur with family in Israel. They had intended to return in mid-October, but their plans were derailed as the Hamas attack unfolded on Oct. 7. Lev-Harir made it back home on Tuesday, Oct. 17 after a two-day journey from Israel to Cyprus to Doha, Qatar to Miami to St. Louis. Elie Harir is still in Israel but should be back home in another few days.
As she decompressed from her trip, Lev-Harir discussed some of her observations about being in Israel during the surprise attack that left hundreds of Israelis killed, wounded and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. She also shared the harrowing story of her nephew, who was seriously injured during the attack, as well as suggestions for how the St. Louis Jewish community can support Israel.
Status of Rohn Harir’s recovery
During the Solidarity for Israel event at the Jewish Community Center on Wednesday, Oct. 11, a packed gymnasium of more than 1,500 attendees watched a video of Lev-Harir (who was still in Israel) as she shared the story of her nephew Rohn Harir, an IDF medic who barely survived a Hamas attack.
Rohn has spent time in St. Louis and attended Camp Ben Frankel in southern Illinois. The YouTube video, which has now generated over 1,700 views, is a raw, emotional account of Rohn’s harrowing experience. While in a military jeep en route to evacuate a kibbutz, a missile pierced the vehicle. It grazed Rohn and tore off his right arm. In the video, Lev-Harir stood in front of Soroka Medical Center, the Be’er Sheva trauma hospital where her nephew recovered.
Almost two weeks have passed since the incident, and there is good news to report about Rohn.
“He is doing much better,” Lev-Harir said. “His spirits are very high. The first day that he came out of the coma, he was a little foggy and didn’t know exactly what was going on. He asked his dad, and his dad said, there’s a war going on. And his first immediate reaction was, ‘I need to go rejoin my unit.’ And his dad explained that his right arm was gone. And Rohn’s first reaction was, ‘Am I going to get a bionic arm?!’”
Rohn may get just that. He has been transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, the largest medical facility in Israel. It is also one of the top facilities in the world for treating amputees. Rohn has a long road of recovery left ahead of him, but he has a positive attitude—and he is alive. During the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 18 members of his platoon died. It was something of a miracle that Rohn survived the attack. He was thrown from the vehicle when the missile hit and lay in a field for 30 minutes before someone could get him out.
“I wouldn’t have believed this if the doctor hadn’t told us the missile that hit his arm was so hot that it cauterized the artery, and that’s why he didn’t bleed out,” Lev-Harir said.
How To Support Israel
Members of the St. Louis Jewish community who want to support Israel right now should do so by giving donations, Lev-Harir said. There are a number of options, including the Jewish Federation and United Hatzalah.
“United Hatzalah does amazing work,” Lev-Harir said. “They were the first rescue organization to get into the kibutzim and start evacuating wounded. There are also organizations supporting the soldiers, such as Shaving Israel, and it is better for Americans to give money and then for people in Israel to buy them supplies.”
The costs will continue to mount and financial support from the U.S. and other countries will be essential to the war effort, she said.
“There are going to be a lot more wounded and a lot more casualties,” Lev-Harir said. “It’s scary to think how this is going to impact all of Israel. There are 330,000 Israeli troops who have been called up out of a population of 9 million.”
Beyond financial support, it’s helpful to share with friends, both Jewish and non-Jewish, the importance of standing with Israel.
“Our non-Jewish friends and colleagues, for the most part, don’t have any clue of how it’s affecting us,” Lev-Harir said. “I suspect the majority of Americans currently support Israel. The majority of Americans were horrified by what they saw and feel that Israel has a right to retaliate. However, as this goes on and the Palestinian casualties continue to mount, I fear that we will lose public opinion support. My kids are telling me that there are kids who they grew up with are posting things on their Instagram that are very pro-Palestinian.”
Some news organizations won’t even use the word “terrorist” in their reports.
“They refer to Hamas as militants. That’s very disturbing because when 9/11 happened, nobody called the people flying the planes militants.”
One bright spot Lev-Harir has discovered is that within Israeli society itself, people have been transformed by the tragedy. That transformation has demonstrated a newfound unity.
“Before this happened, there were all these divisions,” Lev-Harir said. “There was so much hatred between the left and the right and so much division between the religious and the non-religious. Hamas knew that and sensed the weakness of Israeli society. Since this has happened, there has been this unique expression of solidarity. When we were in the hospital, everybody was coming together and supporting one another. It doesn’t matter. Religious, not religious, left, right, everybody is just together.”
