Everything lies here in the balance The abysses are open  We have come to the threshold  War or brothers A week of mourning and reflection. On Wednesday, we watched Yarden Bibas's heartbreaking eulogy for his wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir at their funeral. On Thursday, the bodies of four hostages were returned to Israel for burial: Itzik Elgarat, Tsahi Idan, Shlomo Mantzur, and Ohad Yahalomi. 59 hostages remain in Gaza, and it is not clear when they will be released. I'm still thinking about the interview that Eli Sharabi gave on Thursday night, in which he shared chillin ..read more

Thursday was tough. I tried to avoid the news most of the day, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to work. In the evening I saw footage of the four coffins being brought to Israel, footage which was interrupted by the breaking news of three buses exploding, thankfully all empty, and two more were found with explosive devices, in what clearly was a botched terrorist attack. I woke up the next morning to the shocking news that while the forensic experts had identified the bodies of Oded Lifshitz and the two young boys Ariel and Kfir Bibas, they found that the fourth body sent by Hamas didn't ..read more

Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, and Sasha Troufanov, all from Kibbutz Nir Oz, are finally in Israel after 498 days in hell. It was a tense week, heightened by Trump's reckless threat for 'all hell to come down on Gaza' if all the hostages are not released, a threat embraced enthusiastically by the far-right ministers who opposed the hostage deal. Obviously, all the hostages should be released, the sooner the better, but it's clear at this point that any return to fighting will put the remaining hostages in immediate danger, especially after we've learned more about the harsh conditions in which ..read more

Not an easy morning. As joyous as it is to know that Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi are finally in Israel after 491 days in Hamas captivity, it was difficult seeing the images of them, so frail and clearly malnourished. They are all returning to a very different reality. Or Levy, 34, was at the Nova music festival with his wife. They took refuge from the rockets in a shelter on the highway, which later became known as the Reim "death shelter" where his wife was murdered, along with 15 others, and Or was taken hostage. They have a 3-year-old son, who was told yesterday that his father ..read more

Another emotional day of hostage releases, hopefully with many more yet to come. And yet, today's release was heavier on the heart because as joyful as it was to see Keith Seigel reunited with his family and Ofer Calderon reunited with his four children, two of whom were kidnapped and were released last November, it wasn't easy to see the release of Yarden Bibas, who was taken hostage separately from his wife Shiri and their two young children, and their fate is still unknown. So many of the released hostages are carrying with them the trauma not only of their captivity but also of the tragi ..read more

Finally!  Last Sunday we woke up not knowing who would be released, and by the end of the day, we were all in love with Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, so happy to see them finally reunited with their mothers. Today was just as emotional, and words can't express how moving it was to see the release of Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Danielle Gilboa, and Naama Levy, and their long-awaited reunion with their parents. And at the same time, I couldn't stop thinking of the mothers who will never be reunited with their children, and of the mothers still waiting to embrace their c ..read more

Holding our breath. After an anxious few days, the government finally voted in favor of approving the hostage-ceasefire agreement with Hamas and tomorrow three Israeli hostages will be released, the first among 33 who will be released over six weeks in the first phase of the long-awaited deal. I'm overwhelmed with joy that the agreement is finally happening, but I'm also frustrated and angry that it took so long to finalize a deal that could have happened in May, with a growing understanding that it partly didn't happen because of internal politics. We're about to begin a terrifying rollerc ..read more

A warm and comforting light amidst the darkness. Things are happening, people are marching, filling every city square I try to blend in to find myself among them, but I'm lost somewhere There's a tragic beauty in the way they move like birds out there I wake up hoping it was just a nightmare that I dreamed There's a voice of peace that lights my road A kid in me that never grows old A lot of things to be upset about when seeing what goes on but I got enough anxieties to handle on my own The garden needs my tending and my woman needs me to lean on I'm not that strong but still I hope that ..read more

The world isn't the same without Korin Elal in it. I was actually thinking of posting this song before I heard of Korin's death after battling cancer. I listened to it quite a lot in the past year, the lyrics piercing in me more than before, not to mention the unforgettable melody. It's a song of radical vulnerability and Korin never shied away from who she was or what she felt. She will be dearly missed. I don't want to fall Into a moment of vanity, a moment of foolishness I don't want you Shooting words without meaning I don't want a stormy sea again Without ebb or flow I don't want road ..read more

♥ It's your birthday Today So I sent you a flower bouquet And I laughed At myself A cliché of living in a movie  Romance like in the movies An hour and a bit from Tel Aviv Givat Halfon White night When is the day after tomorrow I'm tired I miss you And I'm sick of the smell I find in my pocket A snack for Sig You sent a video of him barking I drove straight into the mud Just not to hear or see The street, the routine They're already in the day after tomorrow And it's scary To remember How I swallowed the lie That someone Cares for me too I could sleep peacefully then How I found co ..read more