A tribute to the mothers of Israel, who are turning the world upside down for the love of their children
By MANDY ALLEN
“Romi, my Romi. We miss you terribly, but we are strong. Don’t lose hope. We are turning the world upside down to bring you back… Stay strong, it’s almost over… Romi, we love you. My loved one… I love you, my beautiful daughter.”
We all have scenes seared into our souls from October 7th and its ongoing aftermath. For me, one that visits every night is that of Meirav Leshem Gonen speaking these words to her daughter, Romi Gonen (23), in the hopes that she would hear them, that they would offer her comfort. It is January. A platform and loudspeakers have been erected along the Gaza border. There are scores of people. They are there to mark 100 days – a lifetime ago – since their relatives were kidnapped from Israel into Gaza by Hamas. They call out to the stolen children of Israel – our stolen children – that they are loved, they are missed, they are being fought for. It is agonising to watch, but we have a duty to bear witness.
And there stands Meirav. One hundred days since her beautiful, vibrant Romi, terrified, made a final call to her mother from the Nova music festival.
“Mommy, I don’t know what to do.”
“Romi, I’m with you, sweetie.
“You are not alone. “Romi. I’m here. Everything is going to be okay.”
Up on the platform, her posture is composed. She looks at once shattered and impregnable. I think to myself, how? How has she not collapsed? Despite the agony in her voice – at times it sounds like a lamentation – Meirav calls out to her daughter with a sense of purpose, assurance and a strength so fierce it is visceral. She is roaring her name. “Romi. Romi. My Romi.” This woman, I think to myself, is a lioness. The archetypal mother. One who will fight tooth and claw for her children despite being battered and bloodied, exhausted and overwhelmed. A lioness of Judah.
There are many heroes that emerged on the 7th of October and since then. But it is the Israeli mothers that I think of most often, that we pay tribute to here. These women, who knew the heartbeats of their children inside them, who held them to their chests and in those moments saw a road ahead, hopeful for how their lives might unfold. Never imagining – who ever could? – that the path would take such a dark and devastating turn. The mothers of the soldiers of the IDF – those fallen and those in battle. The mothers who lost their sons and daughters on the 7th of October. And the mothers of the hostages. In a painful state of limbo, no end in sight.
And yet here they are. Still taking care of their families. Tirelessly advocating. Protesting. Lobbying. Every day, fighting tooth and claw for the return of their children. Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romi. Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hirsch. Ayelet Levy Shachar, mother of Naama. Shiri Albag, mother of Liri. Orly Gilboa, mother of Daniela. Meirav Berger, mother of Agam… Some women whose names are familiar, others not. But all mothers, all members of a group that no one wants to belong to. Their love invincible, their resilience limitless. Lionesses, all of them.
It was said of the Israelites, “Behold, a people that rises up as a lioness…”. This concept of eshet chayil, a woman of valour, is a touchstone in Judaism. The strength of Jewish women, of mothers, demonstrated throughout the ages. Ezekiel, in the second part of the Tanakh, speaks of the mother as protector: “What was your mother? A lioness among lions.” The mother of the kings of Judah, too, compared to a lioness.
Most poignantly for me, this chapter in Jewish history brings to mind Rachel; the quintessential mother, who would sacrifice herself for her children throughout the ages, until the end of time. “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel is weeping for her children and refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are away. And G-d will answer her: Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded, and they will return from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future… That your children will return to their own borders.” May the lionesses of Judah know peace soon, so that they may lay down from the fight and their weeping will be no more.
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