Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Natalie Sopinsky lives in Suissa, Israel, in the southeast Negev. She shares her daily life with Heritage readers, her thoughts, her reality in the land she loves.

Welcome to Israel ... where we allow terrorist murderers free reign.

They have education, jobs, families, possessions...they are normal citizens.

So why do they hate us so much?

What pushes a mother to kill? What causes a mother to be a killer, to forfeit her life, to lead a life in jail? Why attempt to kill an Israeli soldier?

As we know, it isn't just ladies doing this. It is all kind of people ... men, too. Young ones, mostly. They are influenced by their culture. They are seeking acclaim. The young men have the excuse of "I have nothing to lose."

But a mother? Doesn't a mother have something to lose?

Our resilience

Each day I take my dogs out for a long walk. I used to do this in the early morning hours. Lately, I have done the long walk when the sun goes down.

In the morning, I have to rush to beat the kids going to school and the young children start their nursery at 7:30. That means I have to be back home by 7:15, because there are always early birds. Walking sometimes takes 1.5 hours and I let both dogs off the leash. The huskie tends to run off, so if I don't get him back he'll be loose, running around the yishuv. He thinks "Come!" is a game. We need to train him on a new word.

Anyway, I have switched to evening walks. In the evenings, we run into donkeys and horses. The families living on the hills have these animals. There is a goat farm and a smaller regular farm with cows, goats, chickens and a donkey or two. I guess the donkeys help out with the farm work.

Donkeys are strong. And they are smart.

When we approach them, they are always calm. They only give the littlest kicks to the dogs when they get too close and sniff them. I would kick a dog too, if he sniffed me up close!

The donkeys can be heard all the way to my house which is in the center of the yishuv. Their "hee haw" reverberates off the hills like a boomerang. Wow. Such a small little animal with such a big strong voice.

Our freedom to walk in the land, to own animals, to plant trees and grapes, to raise our families in this holy land ... It is hard to put into words how it makes me feel. But I want to share it. It belongs to all of us. All Jews have this privilege. I speak publicly about the challenges sometimes, but what I really want to share is this privilege, that outweighs all the hardship. The privilege of living in our homeland.

Recently there was an attack against a shepherd in Har Hevron. The shepherd was knocked unconscious, hit on the head with a rock. Eight Arabs attacked him. This is happening more and more. On Shabbat, a 14-year-old shepherd was killed while with his flock. The family saw the flock return without their son. Can you imagine?

We hear these things and understand how close our enemies are. While at a birthday party Motzei Shabbat talking about this poor boy, one lady at the party said that her son, who helps with his brother's farm, was also attacked. Our medics attend to these incidents. She had to call an ambulance for him.

There are certain kinds of crimes that we aren't prepared for. Attacking a shepherd. Do people outside of this area understand what it's like to be out there with the goats and dogs?

It is beautiful. It is holy.

The land is being lived on the way it always has been. Out here when you drive, you have to look out for bad drivers and flocks of goats who cross the road. There is always a shepherd with them and several dogs.

Some are Arab shepherds, some are Jewish.

It is a peaceful occupation. It is a peaceful life. It is important. Our animals are property, valuable.

Why attack us from all angles? Why attack the leader of the goats?

They are trying to make us afraid. To chase us away.

Progress

My daughter passed her driving test! So now I have to accompany her for three months during her driving during the daylight hours, and then the following three months I will have to accompany her at night. Perhaps this is also a challenge that comes with a privilege, the privilege of raising children.

While driving with her on Friday to our weekly early morning outing to the Nitzanim beach with one of the dogs, I thought to myself: "What do I do if a rocket is overhead?"

I pushed that thought aside and gave her reminders about her speed, her tendency to drift, etc.

Hard to let my mind wander when I am focused on her driving. A good thing. I don't want my mind to wander.

We pass Sderot and my mind wanders again ... "Will I remain calm if a mortar hits the road? Do we have medical supplies in the car?"

We need to get one. Everyone needs to have medical supplies in the car, certainly in our corner of the world.

We got to the beach safely and had a great time. The water was rough and there were seashells littering the sand, hurting our feet as we went into the water.

A group of Givati soldiers was there, one of the fighting army units. There is always some sort of army group there. It is a clean beach, very private, and good for running. They asked me to take a group photo. There must have been about 60-70 of them, all in the purple shirts of their brigade.

Makes you glad to be here. To be healthy. To be fit.

We took turns in the water and watching the dog. Here, having dogs on the beach is pretty normal.

Then after about 1.5 hours, at around 9:30 a.m., we packed up our sheets and towels and headed for the car.

My son called. He was there, too. Can we bring him home? He had slept there in a tent with friends. What a coincidence!

So we picked him up and made our way home. This time, my daughter had two people criticizing her, but she was fine. Fridays are pretty good for driving. The Israeli weekend. Not much traffic.

We got home and prepared for Shabbat. During the Friday night meal, my husband said that Iran was threatening to fire missiles at us in the next day or two. But that didn't seem important. We had to start cleaning for Pesach! That's what was important!

Too busy to worry

As soon as the rocket fire stopped, (it was the middle of the night), we fell asleep. It was then something like 3:30 a.m.

The next day, things resumed as normal. It's the week before Pesach. The busy whatsapp chat in my yishuv has families giving away items. It is hilarious and I thank haShem for giving me the ability to laugh.

"giving away this pot"

"giving away this pasta"

This goes on all during the week before Pesach. People are cleaning!

Now it is Wednesday. This is still going on.

But I am too busy to read the messages. When the kids were little, I would send them around to collect the different things people were giving away...mostly snacks and food. It was fun and kept them busy.

Now I find myself giving away things. Office supplies, notebooks. People answer my messages and come to take! It is great. We are a smart ecological community. Why throw someone out if it can be useful for someone else?

This moment my daughter is doing a zoom interview for the army. She is 16, turning 17 in a month and already the army is after her. So she is committed!

My youngest son is with his friends on a trip near Mitzpe Ramon, where there is the biggest water "hole" in the south. Yesterday he and his friends spent all day building a pool and deck out in the hills. Unsupervised.

But helping me clean and paint? That will be later..."tomorrow, Mom" is what he tells me.

Last night he was interviewed on Zoom with an American daycamp, "Moshava", for a program where he can be a young counselor. Sounded like he will be accepted and could be spending the entire summer in the U.S. at a camp, a first for him. But we'll see.

My second son, the Paratrooper, told me he will call me before he goes into Rafiah; and he does not know if he will be released for the Pesach Seder. That is typical of the army. Especially during these times.

We will host soldiers here for the Seder. Due to the heightened security situation - the Iran attack and the uptick in shepherd attacks - the army has deployed a unit here to help our security. They are far from home and missing Pesach, so we'll have some join us for the seder!

On that note, we at Hatzalah will be supplying all shepherds and small farms with communication devices. These individuals and families will simply push a button for HELP and the closest medic and security person will run to them as fast as possible, by foot or vehicle. The off-road vehicles are so important, to reach these hilltops and rocky areas.

Our Role. Our Dedication.

Sometimes I wonder what I have to say that's of any value. What do I have to share with the people I meet. Why do people care about us in Israel, and in Yehuda and Shomron.

People in the U.S. and other places have their own lives, their own circles, their own problems. Why do I bother reaching out, sharing my life stories, trying to connect them to us and to our rescue medics. Why?

Do they care about the Jews living in Yehuda and Shomron? Do they care if we live or die? And honestly, why should they care?

Time after time, newsletter after newsletter, I receive wonderful heartwarming somewhat surprising responses.

"Natalie, you inspire me" and "We love Israel" and "Keep up the good work!" Those of you who respond, thank you. It is meaningful. Don't stop!

People ask me sometimes if I am scared to live here.

I'm not. I don't think I was ever scared. You fear the unknown. You fear something foreign.

A donkey in the Judean hills. "Such a small little animal with such a big strong voice."

But here we are home. I feel it and everyone else must too, because I am not alone!

There are 500,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria. We are not scared to be here. And you should not be scared either.

Since 2001, Rescuers Without Borders Israel (aka Yekirei Hatzalah Yehuda and Shomron) has been the primary supporter of volunteer medics, paramedics and ambulance drivers throughout Judea and Samaria, working in full coordination with Magen David Adom in supplying defibrillators, medical equipment, ambulances and training. Today the organization has over 1,600 volunteers also in the areas around Jerusalem and the Old City. Rescuers Without Borders and is funded completely by private donations and is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

To learn more, visit us at http://www.hatzalah.org.il.