Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning, the morning of Simchat Torah. Imagine that morning, a day like any other, when out of nowhere, at 6:30 a.m., you wake up to sirens raging and missiles falling on your city.

I watched the news from my house in Argentina. I saw that in cities all over Israel, Hamas was murdering hundreds, destroying families, burning houses and people alive.

It's unbelievable how I, who grew up with my family telling me that we would always be okay because we would always have Israel, we would be protected by the Tzavah; I always grew up with my parents wanting to do aliyah, it's so frustrating and unbelievable to see what's happening now, seeing people's basic human rights being violated.

Last year, I was lucky to be in Israel for my Bat Mitzvah. One of the days I was there, my family went to the beach, and I stayed in the place we were in. That day, the alert siren went on. My older brother came looking for me and told me to go up the stairs (emergency protocol). While we were there, we started arguing about something. Two girls from one floor overheard we were scared, so they told us, "It's nothing, don't worry, it happens all the time." Luckily, all the rockets were intercepted in the sky, so nothing happened, but today, when these missiles are being launched from Gaza, I wonder how these girls are. I don't know why, yet I feel guilty that I'm okay, and they probably aren't.

I believe this conflict goes beyond any political disagreement; what Hamas is doing in Israel is horrifying. Hamas is not Palestine. Things are happening there that I will not talk about, yet just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. As I just said, their treatment is simply disgusting and inhuman. We always say, "Talk about the Shoa so it won't happen again." On October 7th, 2023, they killed the largest number of Jewish people in a single day since the Shoa.

I know many of us feel powerless, like there's nothing we can't do about this, but there is. We can tell everybody about what's happening, use social media, talk to our friends, whatever each one prefers and feels comfortable doing.

We must inform people of what is happening, and this does not mean fighting on social media but rather explaining and informing about the situation. It is important that you check in with your Israeli or Jewish friends and family or friends with family in Israel and offer your support. It is important that if they need to, they can talk to someone and vent with someone. If you can donate anything, please do; it could change someone's life.

Above all, it is important to be activists for the Jewish community, participate in groups and events, and show that we are here, we are strong, and we are going to prevail.