“Growth out of Pain” – One year to Oz veGaon
In an event to mark one year after the establishment of the Oz veGaon Nature Preserve, Bat-Galim Shaer, Etzion Brigade Commander, head of Gush Etzion Council and Rabbi Zinger told of the days of searching, the worries and “the unity that blew wind into the sails of the troops”.
Attended by hundreds of supporters of the settlement enterprise across the country, public figures, and rabbis, together with Bat-Galim and Ofir Shaer, the parents of Gil-Ad, H”YD, the day (Friday, July 3rd, 15th of Tamuz) marked one year since the establishment of Oz veGaon Hill, the Hill that was established by Women in Green activists the night when the murder of the three youths (Gil-ad, Ayal and Naftali, H”YD) became known.
The event was entitled “aspiring and searching for unity among the People of Israel, that same unity that accompanied the days of searching and worry for the three youths, continued into the days of Operation Protective Edge and brought about a change in the People’s spirit.
The event started with a short film of the year in summary at Oz veGaon, :

Words of Yehudit Katsover, one of the heads of Women in Green, opened the event, who described the emotions that accompanied the establishment and restoration of the Hill that became a focal point for Zionist recreation and camping on the hill near Gush Etzion Junction and near the hitchhiking station from which the three were abducted. “It was a special summer”, said Katsover, “Everything became mixed in a jumble: pain over the loss of the sons together with Operation Protective Edge, the loftiness of unity among the People, soldiers and citizens, religious and secular, Left and Right became unified with infinite love that the pain gave rise to. Flutters of excitement pass through us when we remember the hundreds of youths who flowed into the Preserve, worked and cleaned, moved rocks and boulders, prepared paths and terraces and the forest came to life, benches and pergolas, installations of water and electricity, and everything had to be done quickly, before the onset of winter.
“And in the winter”, Katsover continued, “we were privileged to have hundreds of winter tourists who came from all areas of Israel. The white snow and the memory of the sons attracted everyone to this place and now it is summer again. During the year, thousands of adults and approximately 20,000 youths visited here and heard from Elyashiv Kimhi, manager of the forest, the story of the Land of Israel that is so characteristic: Your blood gives me life! Your blood gives me life! And the forest lives, and the trees of the forest whisper to the Almighty and to all of the workers, who day and night so that redemption will flourish out of the pain”.
Nadia Matar, Katsover’s Women in Green’s co-chair, thanked a long list of personalities and groups, schools and youth movements who labored and contributed during the entire last year in various ways in the redemption and preparation of the hill. Then spoke, one after another: Bat-Galim Shaer, Rabbi Dov Zinger, the head of Makor Haim Yeshiva, the yeshiva that Gil-Ad and Naftali attended, former MK Shuli Mualem-Refaeli, a resident of Gush Etzion who volunteered in the efforts of restoration and preparation of the hill from the very first day, head of Gush Etzion Council Davidi Perl and Brigade Commander Col. Amit Yamin. MK Oren Hazan was also present at the event.
Bat-Galim Shaer told of the feeling of spiritual elevation felt by the entire People last summer, from the beginning of Operation Return the Sons and into the days of the war. “In Oz veGaon we returned to our values, to the act of giving, which we now know how to do; we are proud of our Jewishness and our values”.
Later in her touching words, Bat-Galim related to the name of the Preserve – Oz veGaon – which denotes the brilliance (ge’onut) that is implied in the word “Gaon” (genius): “Everyone expresses the ability and talent that the Almighty created in him, each one and his uniqueness and his genius and together we all try to channel this genius into a mission that is greater than “I”, a connection to something greater, that joins all of the People of Israel together”. She added that there is a sort of reticence around the word “genius”, which seems not to sit well with the concept of humility, but “in prayer we meet the integration of ‘strength (oz) and humility’ of the Almighty”
“Gil-Ad, Ayal and Naftali had social skills, skills in music and sport and learning along with humility, but with a lot of influence and social leadership”, Bat-Galim said, and mentioned that she likes the term “nature preserve”, which expresses the hope to preserve nature as it is, in its uncultivated and primary beauty. “This place is called a nature preserve, and since the murder, Nadia and Yehudit have carried out an amazing process in this place. Nature is a primal thing, wild and natural, and our desire is to maintain this natural quality. As parents, we are required to maintain that same youthful spirit. The preservation of nature is here too, the placement of benches and equipment, while maintaining the natural appearance. The sons, who are above, experience much satisfaction from this place”, she stated and remarked that the three “were very connected to nature. Gil-Ad used to be the first to go into every stream and every hike”, she said.
“The Jewish point of view is to search for the good and there is a lot of good concentrated in this place. This hill represents one of the high points in the doing of good deeds”, she said, and then noted that this is in contrast to those who think that there is no reason to be impressed with the feeling of temporary and localized unity. “We value every moment that volunteers spent searching for the boys. This volunteering and unity and the connection of the entire People in such an operation during a time of crisis is not to be taken for granted”, she said and added that the hope is for connection and unity also in normal times.
After the words of Bat-Galim Shaer, Rabbi Dov Zinger, head of Makor Haim Yeshiva, spoke, focusing on how the prophet chose more than once to describe the community of Israel specifically in the feminine, because the relationship between the Almighty and the community of Israel is likened to that between a man and wife. “Redemption comes in two ways – the redemption that comes by the Almighty is “top down” and leads us as in the exodus from Egypt, but the expectation is that there will also be an awakening from below, that also the community of Israel will awaken and desire this thing. It is not by chance that this entire process of unity of Israel that we are witnessing is led by an awakening from below, by women”, he said, and addressed the heads of Women in Green thus: “Sometimes Yehudit is “oz” (strength) and Nadia is “gaon” (genius) and sometimes the opposite”, to the audience’s applause.
In this spirit, Rabbi Zinger added that the choice of Bat-Galim Shaer to speak is “not by chance, despite the fact that Ofir is also here” and the families of senior IDF officers who were present at the event who also teach us about the strength of women, the power of an awakening from below.
Former MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli’s words focused on the need to act in practical ways as part of the memorial. This is in the spirit of the words of the Baal Shem Tov “remembering the hidden part of the redemption”. “The Baal Shem Tov taught us not to stay in a place of pain. When we want to remember the beloved, we are not speaking of an abstract memory, but rather of activity. We must do something here in the spirit of these wonderful youths, with the connection to the essence of this Land. These youths are another point of connectivity to this Land”.
Mualem-Refaeli brought up the night that the murder of the youths became known: “When we all went out of the Makor Haim study house and continued to the station from which they had been abducted and from there to the Gush Etzion Junction and we sat there with youths and sang with pain; Nadia and Yehudit said that together with remembrance we must act, and they brought everyone here at four in the morning with the total encouragement of the Council head”, she said, and immediately moved on to the present meeting, one year later: “The presence of all of us here is an expression of the connection of the People to the Land and to Judaism. We are an anchor of this remembrance as we hold on to this action”. She called on the public to support the continuance of the activity in every way and she said that the broadening of the settlement enterprise is the “strength and genius” (oz veGaon) also in other additional hills such as this.
The next speaker was Davidi Perl, head of the Gush Etzion Council, who spoke about the miracle of the contribution of righteous women to the redemption of Israel. “These righteous women are the holy mothers, they are Yehudit and Nadia, and they are the wives of the officers who take care of them so that they will be able to guard the People of Israel”.
“During these difficult days one year ago we stood and asked ‘until when’. We understood that Balak and Bilaam were not the last, and also the murder of the three youths will not be the last and last week was a difficult continuation, but we look toward eternity and not toward the here and now”, said Perl and mentioned that after the murder, people of the council went up to three points to enlarge Gush Etzion, but at this point only one, Oz veGaon, remained, since it is not a place for settlement, but in parallel, proceedings began to prepare the other places.
The Women in Green Movement “took advantage” of the event also to express gratitude to Col. Amit Yamin, brigade commander of the sector, who was also present at the event, and who is ending his role in the approaching weeks. “Col. Amit Yamin expands the mission of the IDF not only in defense but also as a coordinator of pioneering education of youth. Amit knows that more than in any other army, it is essential that his army will be built on the historic mission and vision of the People, as in the words of Ben Gurion: “Our existence, the fate of Zionism, the fate of the Jewish community in Israel depends on our military branch”. Col. Amit embodies this goal every day. Days and nights, Sabbaths and holidays, we see him on the roads, at the junctions, in the villages and in the communities”, said Yehudit Katsover.
The heads of Women in Green, as well as the rest of those present at the event, directed their thanks to Col. Amit Yamin’s family: “He and his family pay a heavy price. We want to say to his wife and family ‘it is not in vain that he is not at home, he is responsible for our defense and he does this with love, with a great sense of mission and much humility’. We all remember our soldiers’ searches for the three boys. The idea came up that citizens who know the area should participate. Col. Amin answered to the challenge and thus the unity between the citizens and the IDF soldiers was strengthened. Shoulder to shoulder they went down to the wadis, into the wells, the vineyards and the fields, until they brought the sons to their final rest”.
After these words, Col. Amin himself came to the speaker’s platform, and told of the difficult days of searching a year ago, of the operational connection and the common values with the daily life of the settlements during those days of searching.
Col. Amin entitled his words ‘humility and unity’: “For two weeks we got into every possible place with very great efforts of the division and the IDF. All of the best minds and the abilities and people that the State of Israel could devote to it were here. We did not deal only with searching for the youths, which was the main task, but also with beating back terror and Hamas. This was very important to us, not only to solve the terror attack but also to punish Hamas as the responsible party for this terrible attack”.
“We did not manage to get into all of the edges and we thought about what else we could do”, Yamin continued, and told of how, on one of the days, Uri Schechter, a citizen who lives in the area, and serves in the reserves as chief of staff of the Nahal Brigade, called him and suggested to establish a “brain trust” that would present its conclusions. Later he called and told me ‘there is an idea -is it possible to meet’. We met at Herzog College. They presented to me the work that they did. I was impressed by the depth of the people who had abandoned everything and volunteered for the task. He presented to me the division of the area into seven smaller areas. I accepted this mode of thinking and the results. We decided to meet after Shabbat in order to put the necessary means at their disposal”.
On Saturday night Col. Amit met with the “brain trust” that had presented him with detailed specification of the first area in which there was an analysis of 88 search points that were categorized according to logic, which was first, and why and which was last and why”. It was decided to go down the next day to search in the first two points with all of the necessary logistics and intelligence equipment for the integrated action.
The first day ended without any findings but with a sense of clear direction. It was decided to carry out an act of deception and choose, the next day, a more southern point in order to make the abductors think that the search in the area was over. At this point, the point of the second day, the bodies of the youths were found.
“The senior commanders came to the area and with all of the commotion and the thought of whether it was possible to get to the abductors, Shechter calls me and says: ‘We are not in the picture. Don’t tell anyone that we were involved in the action. It is all the IDF’. They could have said that they led to the finding of the youths and it would have been correct, but what was important to them is not a pat on the back but to be ignored and to talk about the IDF, says Col. Amin and immediately adds: “Of course, I did not listen to him and immediately when the Chief of staff came to the place I told him that there is here a group of scouts that led the searches. This humility that I learned is a lesson for life”.
About the value of unity, Yamin said that the days of the searches were “a wonderful period, from this point of view. The entire People were with the army and everyone volunteered; people hosted entire brigades. The council volunteered and citizens hosted people and provided food”, he said, and added another layer to the value of unity, the unity that was displayed by the families of the youths: “It would have been possible from the first moment to fall into criticism and accusations – when did we become aware and when did we begin to search, and did we behave correctly. It would have been possible to attack us, but the nobility of the parents was not to fall into this line of divisiveness, and also when they met with the commanders and the soldiers they were concerned about when the commanders and the soldiers had last been at home, when they had rested and what they ate. The soldiers were in shock. They did not think at all about going home, about eating and sleeping”.
“This spirit blew wind into the sails of the troops and connected the entire People. The People of Israel arrived at a degree of unity that it had not experienced for years, and from this unity we went out to Operation Protective Edge and also there, this unity motivated the troops. It was not on an external layer but was the essence of the matter. We thank you for this very, very much”, he said, turning to Bat-Galim and Ofir Shaer.
Col. Yamin sealed his words of parting from the sector and the local residents with words of thanks in his own name and the name of the entire brigade and its soldiers,” I have never had a role in which I felt so connected to the area. There is scenery and there are people here that have a place in my heart in happy times or sad, and the actions that we have done together. I am sure that it will be wonderful and good and that you will continue to progress”.
The event ended with the call from Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, the heads of Women in Green, to the government of Israel: “We must not be satisfied with this forest alone. We must arrive at the situation where the government broadens the Jewish communities and builds new ones, not out of pain but from joy, and applies Israeli sovereignty over the Land of Israel because this Land is ours”.
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Credit for the Photography: Shlomi Shalmoni