This is How I’m Talking to My Kids About Israel Right Now

Last updated on: December 11, 2023 at 1:55 pm by Dana Shemesh

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This is How I’m Talking to My Kids About Israel Right Now 2023-12-11T13:55:20-05:00 Dana Shemesh

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Unless you are living under a rock, you know that there has been a massacre of biblical proportions in Israel over the weekend, and it’s not over.

It started at a music festival in Southern Israel, where hundreds of young people came to celebrate youth, freedom and the beauty of a life well lived – only to be met with a horrific scenario out of a terrible movie: Hamas terrorists infiltrated the border, in droves, to massacre and kill in the most heinous way possible.

They wiped out young people, and communities along the border – killing parents in front of their children, children in front of their parents, raping, pillaging, beheading and burning people alive. It is as if the Dark Ages have come back with a vengeance and beyond fathom.

My family is from Israel. Both my husband and I are from Tel Aviv, a cosmopolitan city brimming with life – arts, culture, history, cuisine, and families we love. We consider Israel our eternal homeland. We are well-traveled, and the people of Israel are like no other people I have ever encountered. They are strong, full of perseverance, resilience, resolve, and good nature.

We had a family weekend plan of cheering on our sons at their football and soccer games, of choosing the best pumpkin at a pumpkin patch where we would take some Fall pictures and jump on a pickup truck for a hayride. Instead, we’ve been glued to our phones, and televisions, literally blinded, deafened, and traumatized by what we’ve seen.

I once loved to watch kitschy horror films and have never seen a horror movie as graphic as what I’ve seen over the past several days – men, boys, women, children, elderly – taken hostage, slaughtered, dismembered, taunted and tortured.

We’ve been receiving some guidance on how to talk to our children about this situation – our kids who share cousins, friends, and beautiful memories of Israel.

Our kids’ schools offered resources for family counseling and support. But most of all, we are talking to our kids about the images they may see on social media. We cannot completely shield our children from social media, but we can try to mitigate what they may be exposed to.

Last night, I told my 13-year-old son – who months ago celebrated his bar mitzvah in Jerusalem – that the images and snippets that he may be exposed to are images that one cannot ‘unsee’, ones that are difficult for adults to process, and he should not be watching them. I told him that the evil is real, and there are people who want to kill us just because we are Jewish and Israeli. I told him he needs to always be aware of his surroundings.

I want to protect our kids, but they cannot be shielded from these truths that have made themselves so apparent.

And it’s just the beginning. There are reports of dozens of Israeli (and some American) citizens who were kidnapped into Gaza awaiting an uncertain fate, for those who are still alive.

I also told my sons that while we are a people that have been brought to our knees, we will survive, and we will continue to thrive.

AM ISRAEL CHAI!

Politics and Religion

About Dana Shemesh

Dana Shemesh is a writer and journalist residing in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two growing boys. She and her husband were born in Israel and strive to share their cultural heritage with their children. You can read more about the author here.

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