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Last Saturday, Hamas committed a horrific mass murder of men, women and children — the worst since the Holocaust. There is not a single Israeli family that hasn’t been personally affected by these crimes.
Our families, children, sisters, brothers and friends were murdered in cold blood or taken prisoner to Gaza. These sights awaken deep-seated memories in every Jew on this planet — stories passed down from our parents and grandparents, recounting the days before the establishment of the sovereign state of Israel. But now, it is different, very different.
It is remarkable to witness the Israeli civilian population standing as one. We are all serving on the front lines as soldiers or bidding farewell to our children, siblings and parents as they deploy to what we all know will be a long and brutal war on which our survival depends.
While our hearts are broken, we grieve for our dead, and we feel the weight of the moment, Israelis are miraculously resilient, united, and strong right now.
In our supermarkets, you see old people with carts overflowing with groceries to give to soldiers on their way to frontlines. On our streets, you see lines out the door to donate blood. In WhatsApp groups and around kitchen tables, Israelis are lending their skills for free to support those who need help — building apps to locate the missing and help the displaced find shelter. Friends and total strangers are babysitting the children of doctors working in our hospitals around the clock.
There are so many miraculous stories of heroism and courage from this weekend. The young woman who rallied ordinary citizens at Kibbutz Nir Am to fight off more than 25 terrorists trying to destroy their community. The 62-year old father who traveled south from Tel Aviv to rescue his son and grandchildren being held hostage by terrorists. The friends fleeing the horrific scenes at the Supernova dance party who stopped to take care of one another, sometimes at the cost of their lives.
In this tragic moment, Israel is coming together — buoyed by the belief that we can navigate whatever is in our path and build a better future.
As the CEO of a leading Israeli biotechnology company based in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Haifa, I have seen firsthand this side of Israel every single day. It doesn’t always get captured in the headlines. This Israel is creative. It’s compassionate. It’s committed to the mission of moving humanity forward.
I take deep pride in the fact that Pluri’s employees are collaborating with others in the Middle East and around the world on cell technology products that promise to mitigate the impacts of climate change, address food scarcity, prevent animal cruelty and solve some of the greatest medical challenges facing humanity.
Together, with like-minded innovators, we are developing solutions including cost-effective, preventative treatments for nuclear radiation poisoning; a sustainable way to create meat and other food products to feed our growing population for the long term; and so much more. We get up every day striving to change the way the world eats, how we heal, and the way we coexist.
This collaborative spirit, this sense of global purpose, is our strength — and we are not alone. So many other companies in Israel — made up of Jews and Arabs; Christians and Muslims; men and women; secular and religious — share our desire to create a more enlightened and thriving world and devote everything to that work. We are multicultural, multilingual. We live, work, and dream together. We look beyond our own borders.
We are a microcosm of Israel itself.
This is what’s at stake for the global community as we confront those who would have us turn inward. The heinous bloodshed inflicted by Hamas is not just an attack on us. It is a battle between hope and hatred; innovation and extremism; those who seek to build something better in the Middle East, and those who seek to tear down everything in their path. No terrorist can kill the miracle of Israel or dampen our dream for a brighter future.
We are the people of Israel, and even in this terrible time, we remain committed to the values forged in our land in ancient times. As Isaiah once said, “But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” We will rise from this tragedy scarred but stronger than ever. Our nation, which treasures life so much and despises war so deeply, will have no choice but to prevail.
Yanay is the president and CEO of Pluri Inc.
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Yaky Yanay
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