Yarden Tzemach and three other members of Kibbutz Be’eri arrived in Los Angeles on Nov. 8 to raise awareness and funds for their community, which suffered some of the worst losses on Oct. 7. Hundreds of Hamas militants from Gaza invaded, looted and set fire to homes, leading to the deaths of 101 civilians and 31 security personnel, with 32 hostages taken from the kibbutz.
Among the fallen was Shachar Tzemach, Yarden’s brother, who died after running out of ammunition while defending the kibbutz dental clinic. Shachar left behind a wife and two young children, Ella, 4 and Netta, 2.
At the time of the attack, Yarden was attending a friend’s bachelor party in Ashdod. “We woke up at 6:30 a.m. to the sound of sirens. There were 15 of us from Be’eri, all with families at the kibbutz. We started packing and headed there,” said Yarden. “The police had set up roadblocks and we couldn’t pass. We didn’t know what was happening until messages started coming in on WhatsApp.”
With his parents and four siblings living on the kibbutz, Yarden coordinated remotely and provided any assistance he could. “I had a weapon in a safe, so I called my neighbor Yossi Bachar, a former IDF major, and told him where to find it. He took it and went out to fight.”
Yarden stayed awake all night, tracking locations of kibbutz members and sharing them with the IDF through WhatsApp. Later that night, his family was rescued by IDF soldiers — all except his brother Shachar. “My parents were in the mamad (bomb shelter), using walking canes to keep Hamas from opening the door,” said Yarden. “They were trapped for hours. The militants were on the roof with RPGs and a machine gun. They spent time in the living room, eating, drinking, smoking and even using my parents’ credit cards to shop online.”
By morning, Kibbutz Be’eri — a place of carefully manicured lawns and flower beds — had become a war zone. A third of all houses were burned, others looted and destroyed and a few spared. It took Yarden two weeks to return. He was only the second member to come back; others were too traumatized or had no home left to return to. Even so, those who didn’t return home made the journey from their evacuation location at the Dead Sea back to Be’eri’s printing company, the kibbutz’s main source of income.
“I went back to the farm, as our Thai workers had returned to Thailand and we had no choice,” said Yarden, who has worked globally as an agricultural consultant. At Be’eri, he helped establish the largest avocado and mango orchard in the area. “But something incredible happened: volunteers from around the world came to help. Some stayed a day, others weeks. One Israeli, Eran, paused his doctoral studies in archaeology in Los Angeles and stayed four months to help with the harvest.”
The Israeli government has provided temporary housing for kibbutz members in Kibbutz Hatzerim, located just west of Be’er Sheva. Yarden’s family has already settled there, and he plans to move in with his girlfriend, with the intention of returning to Be’eri once it’s rebuilt.
“It will take two to three years to rebuild,” he said. “I believe most of us — 80% plus — will go back. It’s where I was born. I’ve lived in many places in the world, but Be’eri has always been home. It always gave us a sense of pride to say that we are from Be’eri. We love the country lifestyle and close-knit community. It’s the best place in the world, and we want it back the way it used to be.”
“It will take two to three years to rebuild. I believe most of us — 80% plus — will go back. It’s where I was born. I’ve lived in many places in the world, but Be’eri has always been home.“ – Yarden Tzemach
The Israeli government has promised to help them rebuild, but Yarden isn’t sure how much funding will be allocated to the kibbutz or if it will be sufficient. For now, they’ve decided they can’t wait for the funds to arrive and are using kibbutz resources to begin the rebuilding process.
As for security, they intend to build better bomb shelters with bulletproof doors that can be locked from the inside. Previously, these shelters were meant to protect against bombs and rockets, but not from militants just outside the door, and thus were not designed with locks.
Yarden is a third-generation kibbutz member. His paternal grandparents, Jacob and Carmela Tzemach, were among the founders of Kibbutz Be’eri, while his maternal grandparents, Hana and Yoel Epstein, were members of Kibbutz Hama’apil. “Almost every family here has been hurt, losing brothers, parents or grandparents,” he said. “Some families were wiped out entirely. But we are planning to return and rebuild.”
When asked if he fears returning to a place so close to the border with Gaza and filled with painful memories, he replied that those memories will stay with him and the other kibbutz members, no matter where they live. They are committed to rebuilding in memory of those who perished and for future generations, so that they, too, can enjoy life on the kibbutz, just as their parents did growing up.
The Be’eri delegation remained in Los Angeles until Nov. 18, sharing their stories in synagogues and private homes.
To learn more about rebuilding Be’eri and how you can help, visit rebuildbeeri.org
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