“Whenever you see Be’eri please have a picture in your mind of a human body with missing limbs. This is us now as a kibbutz. We need time to regrow our limbs or accept that our body will still live with some missing.”
Those are the stark words of 55-year old Yigal Chetrit, who lost 102 friends on 7 October including four former classmates, his boss and company chairman and “many, many” others.
Chetrit takes Jewish News into what remains of the kindergarten classrooms at Kibbutz Be’eri. Close to the Gaza border, Be’eri was a prime target for 340 murderous Hamas terrorists on Black Shabbat, and endured the biggest loss of any single kibbutz. His 102 friends massacred accounted for around one of every 13 residents. 31 hostages were taken into Gaza. 18 came back alive, 3 were killed in captivity and 10 remain.
He says: “You can’t live in a small place like a kibbutz for nearly 40 years and not feel or behave like it’s a family.”
The challenge of rebuilding a once thriving, peaceful, green and beautiful community is not just a physical, economic and logistical one; the emotional and spiritual scars from that day will likely never leave. How, then to rebuild the more than 130 homes and public buildings destroyed?
Kibbutz Be’eri, November 2024. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg
200 residents have returned to live at the kibbutz, a further 250 live across Israel and seven hundred will remain in temporary housing 43 kilometers away at Kibbutz Hatzerim in the southern Negev until August 2026, when the hope is that the majority of kibbutz members will be able to finally move back to Beeri when it is rebuilt.
Those that have returned are those whose houses were not damaged or damaged significantly and many of them are running the kibbutz businesses. Families with young children are not there as its not a place for children at the moment.
Jewish News has travelled back to Israel with the UK’s Israel charity UJIA, which has been on the ground at Be’eri from the beginning, spearheading a campaign to restore some semblance of normality. Recognising that Israel’s recovery will take years, the organisation says it’s committed “to support the people who need us as they rebuild their lives.”
To date UJIA has raised £7.8m as part of its emergency Israel campaign.
Outside the kindergarten, Kibbutz Be’eri. November 2024. Michelle Rosenberg
The organisation’s emergency relief efforts are helping communities such as Kibbutz Be’eri, Kibbutz Mefalsim in the south and towns along the northern border to return home and to thrive.
At Kibbutz Be’eri specifically, this involves the physical reconstruction of buildings like the kindergarten. Supporting 350 children up to the age of 17, its existence is key to providing the infrastructure necessary to encourage young families to return; literally bringing it back to life with a new, growing population.
Yigal Chetrit. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg, November 2024
Inside the ruins of the once busy, bustling nursery and kindergarten, Yigal Chetrit pauses frequently as he talks; to gather his thoughts. There are a number of times that it’s clearly a struggle to get his words out. He’s been at Be’eri for decades, chief executive of Messer, a subsidiary of the kibbutz’s printing press, the largest in Israel. It’s a horrific, surreal experience to be taking visitors around his home to bear witness, again and again, to what happened there.
Not all residents are happy to have their home constantly intruded upon; others realise its historic import.
Chetrit tells Jewish News that those who have come back, have a home to come back to, unlike others. Most of them work in the print house, the garage, clinic, laundry, dining room or in agriculture.
He says: “Since the opening of the print house and then the dining room we’ve begun to feel like we have gained control of our lives after the horrific events. Our lives are pretty much the same but so different as the kibbutz now is very quiet. Especially at night. You can feel the “heaviness” in the air.”
Dental Clinic, Kibbutz Be’eri. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg, November 2024.
At the beginning, in early November 2023, those who returned “saw themselves as pioneers. They took care of cleaning the kibbutz and maintaining the infrastructure. As for the rest of the kibbutz members; some are still hurt and need time to come back to normality. We still have 10 members in Gaza and we haven’t yet buried all our dead.”
Most residents wanted to be with the evacuated community firstly in the Dead Sea and now at their temporary home at Hazerim.
Artist rendition of planned new kindergarten and educational buildings at Kibbutz Be’eri. Pic: ODA Architecture
Chetrit adds: “Beeri has yet to begin rebuilding. We haven’t started to demolish our 130 homes and public buildings that were ruined. Some families don’t feel safe to be in our area, and education facilities not ready yet. Some people are saying ‘I’m not going to set foot in Be’eri until everything is rebuilt and we have a real sense of security’. Others don’t care and they’ve come back.”
In July, YNet reported that Kibbutz Be’eri will receive nearly $100 million for rebuilding and reconstructing some of the 130 houses destroyed, and for infrastructure, including roads and pipes. It’s the largest sum to date allocated to any of the Gaza border communities invaded by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
Some of the money from this Tkuma (‘revival’) Directorate will be allocated to creating new communities at Be’eri, for residents who want to start somewhere entirely new on the kibbutz.
Kibbutz Be’eri Kindergarten. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg, November 2024
Whilst a start, those funds are limited and won’t cover everything Be’eri needs to thrive.
That’s exactly why UJIA has made significant pledges, including a commitment of £960,000 for the rebuilding of this kindergarten, a vital foundation for the education and well-being of its children, and an additional £80,000 pledged for the reconstruction of a nursery garden outside.
These are non-negotiables for the kibbutz – but elements the government funding wouldn’t be able to cover.
Artist images of the new kindergarten at Kibbutz Be’eri. Pic: ODA Architecture
UJIA chief executive Mandie Winston says that the rebuilding of the complex of kindergartens and educational facilities “will signal to families that Be’eri is building for the future and so this will be the first major capital project the kibbutz will undertake.”
“As a community in mourning, in trauma and struggling to heal – particularly while 10 of its members are still held hostage in Gaza – this process is taking time. The land for the UJIA-supported kindergarten has already been cleared and it is expected that significant progress will take place in 2025 to begin construction and development of the complex later in the year.”
Yigal Chetrit tells Jewish News that Be’eri residents, “dream and live for our future. Part of this future is the new kindergarten and the new educational complex.”
In the first year of its recovery post Black-Shabbat, Be’eri has provided 2,300 individual therapy sessions, facilitated 70 therapeutic groups, and organised nearly 4,000 complementary treatment sessions. Programmes like surfing, cycling, and skiing have brought healing and connection to community members of all ages.
Residents and survivors have established seven kindergartens in hotels, portable schools for grades 4–12, and a summer learning centre for 27 children.
Kindergarten, Kibbutz Be’eri. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg, November 2024
Chetrit says that bar and batmitzvah ceremonies “united our youth and strengthened our sense of community” whilst Shabbat receptions, picnics, workshops, and food trucks created “vital opportunities to rebuild our communal bonds, even while dispersed across the country.”
Looking ahead, the kibbutz is launching three critical campaigns; firstly, to continue supporting its members through tailored programming and training; secondly rebuilding Be’eri into a self-sustaining economy and thirdly, implementing a large-scale plan to rebuild its infrastructure.
Attempts to move forward, emotionally or practically, are difficult. There is also the challenge of 1,100 Jewish residents and multiple opinions. Not everyone is agreed on exactly how to move forward. Some are adamant that no-one will ever live again in a home of a murdered Be’eri resident. It’s unthinkable. Others believe that keeping them as memorials is a fitting tribute.
Chetrit says that “firstly and foremost, I want to express our deepest respect and gratitude to the Jewish diaspora in England, who have stood by us from the very first days. We vividly remember the delegations that came to the Dead Sea hotel to listen to our story, learn about the atrocities we endured, and stand united with us in the face of evil.
Translation: ‘In memory of all the heroes who took care of the injured and fought, we will never forget you. Your death has granted us our lives’. Kibbutz Be’eri. November 2024. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg
“Opening the gates of our beloved Kibbutz Be’eri to host you, allowing you to witness the devastation—our burned and destroyed homes—was a profound and emotional moment for us. Your unwavering love and support are deeply felt.”
Chetrit is determined that with the support of the diaspora, “together, we will overcome this tragedy, win the war, rebuild Kibbutz Be’eri, and work tirelessly to bring our hostages home. For those alive, we will support their journey of rehabilitation, and for those brutally murdered, we will ensure they receive a proper burial with the honour and dignity they deserve.”
Inside the kindergarten, Kibbutz Be’eri. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg, November 2024
Mandie Winston says: “The UK community’s support of Be’eri is critical at a time when government support for the kibbutz does not cover all the physical, emotional and economic needs of a kibbutz trying to rise from the ashes. In addition, through this project, UK Jewry is making a statement of support and solidarity for the kibbutz that we stand with them and support them as they rebuild their community and their lives.”
Emily Pater, UJIA Israel director, says that the UK Jewish community’s generosity over the past year is making this possible. “As we enter the next stage of the recovery, in particular, as evacuated residents begin to return home, further funds are needed to ensure families can return safely and communities are empowered to rebuild in a manner that is sustainable and sets them up for the future.”
Kibbutz Be’eri, November 2024. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg
Speaking directly to those across the global Jewry who have supported Be’eri, Yigal Chetrit says “last year, your generosity came during our most vulnerable time. Before we could even assess our needs or create a formal recovery plan, you had faith in the future of our community. Your support became the cornerstone of our recovery, enabling us to achieve remarkable milestones. Thank you for your trust and belief in us.”
- To support UJIA’s efforts at Kibbutz Be’eri, click here.
