[Editor's note: Three of Orly Dreman's cousins were murdered by Hamas and a fourth cousin in the IDF was killed in action in Gaza]

Israel will never be the same country it was before Oct. seventh. Nothing prepared us for this.

We are in a loop of pain, an insane reality and shock. We do not know how long the war will continue

nor how it will end, but we must have hope.  

We go from funeral to funeral, from shiva to shiva. The country is so small everyone knows people

Who were murdered or kidnapped.

When we wake up in the morning (for those who can sleep), we then remember

The unimaginable atrocities.  We are witnesses to the most difficult events in the state’s history.

How will dozens of orphans who witnessed their parents being tortured and murdered and their

siblings taken hostage grow up to be normal with the horrors and losses they have been exposed to?

Whole cities were evacuated, communities wiped out, hundreds of thousands of refugees are now residing in hotels and hostels in the center of the country, they are traumatized and exhausted.

The sirens blast every hour, rockets are falling and the hospitals are full. There is no normal routine.

We are a nation used to wars and bereavement, but never to this extent. The bombardment of names and photos that cannot be contained.  We worried sick about one of our soldiers who was held hostage for five years, what can we say now about two hundred and forty civilians of all ages in the hands of the Hamas. Even thousands of psychologists will not be able to help. There are military fronts in the South, the North and Judea and Sameria.

Every neighborhood in the country has an emergency platoon to protect the residents in case our “friendly” neighbors decide to rise against us.

At present ninety percent of those who are not in the military are volunteering. Donating blood, collecting equipment for our refugees, cooking meals- it gives us a sense of control and stability instead of being powerless.

We have strength and emotional resilience, we will eventually come out stronger, but we still have a long way to go.  It is exciting to see young couples getting married in army zones, hoping the husband will return from the battlefield.

I was a leftist on the political spectrum all my life but the current tragic events were a real wake up call for me. Today I am aware that evil and wickedness like this must to be erased from the face of the earth. One cannot be noble, enlightened, righteous, feel sorry for the other all the time and then offer the other cheek. Many of the people who were murdered were peace activists.

We thank all those who offered to host us abroad, but we are staying in OUR country.

I love Israel because we have a mutual bond, social solidarity, the spirit of volunteering and national unity during difficult times.

One must remember this genocide like they remember the Holocaust of WW two. History repeats itself.

The Holocaust gave the legitimacy to establish the state of Israel.

We are now in existential danger and on top of this most of the world is against us.

If today there was to be a vote in the U.N to establish our state, there would NOT be a majority.

We cannot turn back the clock, we are living in this very difficult present, we must be

resourceful and continue forward.

We need your solidarity by being active and explaining the tragedy. You should look at some short

films of the Hamas on “Telegram” which they filmed in Israel in real time and your human core will be shaken, you will never be the same.

We always believed progroms cannot happen anymore.

To all of you abroad take a firm stand on behalf of Israel and explain our cause.

We do NOT have another Jewish state. We have a mutual destiny. Remember you might be next.

YOU must have a Jewish land in case of need.