Pain and Joy: A December Letter from Israel

An update from JULIE ZUCKERMAN

DEC 14, 2023

Dear friends, 

Thanks to everyone who has been reaching out. There is nothing to sugarcoat in this mid-month report: the news is still bad, and the days and nights feel heavy. Most of us are walking around in a fog of depression, but there are also moments of joy. Scroll down to “10 Things…” if you want to get straight to the joy. 

Since I last wrote on December 1st, another 49 soldiers have lost their lives and the families of at least nine or ten hostages have been informed of their deaths. Every morning we wake up to the terrible news of the IDF deaths cleared for publication. We skim the names and hometowns quickly, thinking - Is that the son of someone I used to work with? Is that the nephew or cousin of someone I know with that last name? Many of my friends whose kids are fighting in Gaza are still going weeks without hearing from them.

Tonight is the final night of Chanukah. Halevai (may it come to pass) that the remaining 135 hostages return home today, before the holiday is over, before Shabbat starts tomorrow. If you’re in the US, remember to visit oneminaday to call your reps in Congress. 

Each day, still, Hamas fires rockets into civilian centers in Israel; as of this writing, the Homefront Command reports 887 alerts of missiles or hostile aircraft incursions in the last two weeks. To say nothing of the looming Hezbollah threat in the north (some of the aforementioned alerts are from Hezbollah). I’ve had to enter a safe room more times in the last two weeks than in the period from October 7 - December 1. And though I squarely place the blame on Hamas, it is a terrible feeling, too, to know that the war is causing untold suffering and thousands of deaths of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

Spotted recently on Facebook. “I don’t know what I’m more afraid of: what has happened, what is happening, or what has yet to happen.”

“I don’t know what I’m more afraid of: what has happened, what is happening, or what has yet to happen.”

And yet: People are finding ways of coping. Whether it is throwing oneself into work, avoiding the news, volunteering as much as possible, continuing to exercise or write or make music or art (usually some combination of all of the above), coupled with some good old-fashioned gin and tonic/wine/whiskey/beer/drink of choice, most of us are still getting up in the morning and putting one foot in front of the other. 

With that being said, as an antidote to everything going on, I decided to follow my own (and Ayelet Tsabari’s) advice and write a list of 10 Things Bringing Me Joy.

Julie Zuckerman became a part of BHC family when she presented her novel, The Book of Jeremiah for Books of Jewish Interest in 2020. Julie spoke to us on Zoom from her home in Israel.  Julie, who lives in Modin, offers a view opens a window on "the situation" and how she and her family are experiencing the Hamas Attack. Her letters from Israel offer an honest and compassionate voice that she has allowed us to print here.

Read the rest of Julie’s letters on her Substack page here.

Julie invites you to subscribe to her newsletter here.