After a very difficult week in Israel as Hamas victims Shiri Bibas and her two children, nine-month-old Kfir, and four-year-old Ariel were finally laid to rest, a story about the rebuilding of the kibbutzim seems more relevant than ever.

The Bibas family, like so many victims of the Hamas attack on October 7, came from a kibbutz – in their case, Nir Oz. 

The first kibbutz was founded in 1910, and these unusual, mostly agrarian, communities have flourished across Israel. Today, their number stands at 283 communities.

On October 7, and in the awful war that followed, these communities in both the south and the north have been hit hard. 

Now, they are rebuilding, and there’s even a waiting list of 2,000 people hoping to join the 22 southern kibbutzim. It’s a sign of hope and resilience, and one which this week in particular, we all need to hear.