{"id":18360,"date":"2025-03-30T21:18:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T18:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=18360"},"modified":"2025-03-30T21:22:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T18:22:35","slug":"religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious and Secular Israelis Find Common Ground on Gaza\u2019s Front Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tweet by Israeli news reporter, Almog Boker, on Sunday has brought renewed public attention to Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, a small community on the Gaza border that has become a symbol of unity between religious and secular Israelis.<\/p>\n

\u201cKerem Shalom has been operating for several years now as a mixed community\u2014religious and secular residents who\u2019ve chosen to live together,\u201d Boker wrote, adding that on Friday, both secular and religious Zionists visited the kibbutz to explore joining the community.<\/p>\n

Thank You to Those Choosing to Live on the Border<\/strong>
\nBoker expressed frustration over backlash by some to recent reports about religious Israelis moving to the area, ending his tweet with a call for gratitude: \u201cSay thank you to the secular and religious who choose to live on the front line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kerem Shalom residents seen during a Sabbath gathering at kibbutz tzuba in the Jerusalem mountains. November 16, 2012. Photo by Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This Is Why We Trained<\/strong>
\nThe story of Kerem Shalom is also a story of heroism and sacrifice. Residents Amichai Yisrael and Yedidia Raziel, childhood friends from the religious settlement of Psagot and members of a religious youth group that joined the kibbutz to help save it from closure, were among the first to respond to the October 7 Hamas attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly what we trained for in the emergency response team,\u201d Amichai said in a final message to his wife: \u201cLet the kids dance for Simchat Torah today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both were killed while defending the kibbutz from terrorist infiltration, saving many lives.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Border fence separating Kerem Shalom from Gaza | Photo: Doron Horowitz \/ Flash90
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fighting in Gaza So We Can Tweet in Peace<\/strong>
\nSince the attack, the bond between the religious and secular members of the community has only grown stronger. As Boker wrote: \u201cThey\u2019re being called up again and again for reserve duty, fighting in Gaza so that the rest of us can sit at home and tweet in safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kerem Shalom, once nearly dissolved, has now become a living example of unity, prooving that not only can people from different backgrounds fight side by side, but they can build, live, and believe in a shared future together.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kibbutz Kerem Shalom | Archive Photo: Doron Horowitz \/ Flash90<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A tweet by Israeli reporter, Almog Boker, reignites public appreciation for Kerem Shalom, an extraordinary border community where unity, sacrifice, and shared values define daily life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":18361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,85],"tags":[3569,1478,3570,1514,1744],"class_list":["post-18360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-judaism","category-positive-moment","tag-almog-boker","tag-gaza-border","tag-kerem-shalom","tag-october-7","tag-unity"],"yoast_head":"\nReligious and Secular Israelis Find Common Ground on Gaza\u2019s Front Line - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Religious and Secular Israelis Find Common Ground on Gaza\u2019s Front Line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A tweet by Israeli reporter, Almog Boker, reignites public appreciation for Kerem Shalom, an extraordinary border community where unity, sacrifice, and shared values define daily life.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-30T18:18:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-30T18:22:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/kerem-shalom.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"By Menachem Marton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"By Menachem Marton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"By Menachem Marton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/85289d9583f8c0d96ade025fd71ebd5a\"},\"headline\":\"Religious and Secular Israelis Find Common Ground on Gaza\u2019s Front Line\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-30T18:18:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-30T18:22:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/\"},\"wordCount\":402,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/kerem-shalom.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Almog Boker\",\"Gaza Border\",\"Kerem Shalom\",\"October 7\",\"Unity\"],\"articleSection\":[\"JUDAISM\",\"POSITIVE\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/religious-and-secular-israelis-find-common-ground-on-gazas-front-line\/\",\"name\":\"Religious and Secular Israelis Find Common Ground on Gaza\u2019s Front Line - 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