Dozens of terrorists violently and hatefully infiltrated the kibbutz, spreading terror and causing extensive damage to the homes of the members. Six central and beloved members of our community were killed. Six families became bereaved, a loss that echoes throughout the community. Eight people were kidnapped, and their condition is unknown.
The home has become a frightening and unsafe place. This is the main feeling that we must rally and rehabilitate so that members will choose to return to the kibbutz at the end of the period.
The vision for return: The biggest challenge we face in rehabilitating Nir Yitzhak is the trauma that was seared into the bodies and souls of all present in the kibbutz that day, which severely affected the residents' sense of safety and security at home, and raised doubts about returning to the kibbutz. As part of the process of restoring a sense of security and strengthening the community, we ask for your help in leading projects that inspire hope and renewal in the settlement, with the aim of strengthening the community and the choice to return home. At the regional level - as the largest kibbutz in the southern part of the council, we want to turn Nir Yitzhak into a regional anchor for culture and leisure that will serve the other residents of the area. On a personal level - to bring into the homecoming process - energy of anticipation for the future, to restore sparkle in the residents' eyes and the ability to imagine a future and hope, recovery, and blooming - we are not returning to the kibbutz that was - we are returning to a kibbutz that is renewing itself and creating a new narrative.
Upgrading Nir Yitzhak's youth club - a place of connections: The veteran club serves as a local pub that opens once a week, and sometimes parties and private events are held there. Currently, the club is almost inactive in a very small and old building that does not allow its opening at the regional level.
Our vision: A space for live performances for young people and adults that serves all the settlements of the council - with an emphasis on the southern settlements. It will include a space for performances and dance parties, and a green area around it for sitting and talking, including the possibility of operating a coffee cart. A space that will host artists from the area and from all over the country. The project will include renovating and expanding the complex, developing the green area around the building including pleasant seating areas for the comfort of the visitors, and adapting it to the possibility of opening a coffee cart. The place is intended to serve the entire southern part of the council: the settlements of Pithat Shalom, Tsohar, Sufa, Holit, Kerem Shalom, until Ein HaBesor, Magen, and the Persian settlements. We would be happy for your help in raising funds that will allow detailed planning and obtaining all the necessary permits for the initiative and the renovation of the building. The initial estimated cost of the project is about one and a half million shekels.
About Nir Yitzhak Kibbutz: The largest kibbutz in the southern part of the Eshkol Regional Council. A strong community, numbering about 600 people.
Unique to Nir Yitzhak: a petting zoo that people visit from all over the area, a quality and sought-after education system that absorbs children from the entire area, rich internal culture (concerts, plays, festivals - all homegrown original productions! Directing, acting, scenery, music).
