Rebuilding life on Israel's southern border

By Judy Lash Balint

(JNS) - In the Eshkol region, tucked between Beersheva and the Gaza-Egypt border, life is measured in seconds - the time it takes to reach a shelter, the pause between sirens and the fragile quiet that never lasts. But since Oct. 7, 2023, alongside the trauma, there is a determined insistence on rebuilding both the physical structures and emotional support that sustain a community.

At the center of that effort is the new JNF-USA Eshkol Resilience Center that is expected to open in the summer of 2026. At the moment, the Eshkol Therapy Institute operates on the grounds of the...