SAN ANTONIO – Israeli Shani Vilan, 18, is having to grow up fast, seeing war unfold in her country.
“It was out of the blue, no warning. I’ve heard of kids being murdered in front of their parents or parents being murdered in front of their kids. Their homes are being taken away from them. They’re burnt down. They’re destroyed. They’re massacred,” Vilan said.
Israel is a small country the size of New Jersey, meaning Vilan inevitably knows some of those people.
“Some relatives, some family. And even the ones that I do not know — they’re my brothers and sisters. They are my people. They are the citizens of my country,” Vilan said.
With being so close to the devastation, hope is sometimes hard to come by. But, Vilan said she’s finding some from thousands of miles away in San Antonio.
“The city is definitely amazing, like a second home, but the most memorable and meaningful thing for me was definitely the community. The amazing people who love San Antonio so much and love Israel and they showered us with so much love and hospitality,” Vilan said.
Vilan lived in San Antonio for a year-long service program, engaging with the Jewish community, the schools, and the city in general.
She just left in August to return to Israel and feels the worry and love from San Antonians she now calls family.
“I know they’re terrified and brokenhearted, just like we are in Israel for what is happening here,” Vilan said.
In turn, she’s worried about them too.
“I know people who haven’t been sending their kids to Jewish schools and haven’t been wearing Jewish uniforms to schools because it has two symbols on them,” Vilan said.
That’s why she is circling back to what happened last Saturday.
“Hamas is like ISIS... It’s truly, it’s a terrorist organization with the entire goal right now is to just massacre Israelis, Jews,” she said. “Monstrosities. The 40 babies beheaded. These are women, videos that I don’t want to even describe.”
She emphasizes her anger is not with Palestinians, but specifically with Hamas. In fact, she is sympathizing with innocent people being affected.
“It’s a terrorist organization who are hurting their own people. They’re putting them in front of the rockets. They’re putting them as targets,” she said.
But as her country defends itself from terrorism, she said her people weep for all innocent lives being taken, especially young people like herself.
“No one deserves that. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone — not Palestinians, not anyone in the world. I know that there are civilians there. And I wouldn’t wish any, any civilian, any person who isn’t hurting me to be hurt,” Vilan said.
Before the attack, she had just returned home, excited to start her required enlistment in the Israeli Defense Force or IDF.
That has now been put on hold because there is no one to train her. Everyone is on the front lines.
“Just putting you in uniform puts you in danger. So if you’re not crucially needed, they’re not going to enlist you right now. But I’m waiting for it,” she said, ready to serve her country.
Now she’s finding other ways to support her people, like dispelling fake news and begging people to protest for peace, not hate.
“Calling for peace and calling for love and calling for safety,” she said.
She also pointed out that last week the Jewish Federation, alongside San Antonio city leaders, called for support for Israel.
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