Current Events: Israeli Story

We created Birthright Israel BEYOND for you, our alumni, across the world. We are always looking for ways to help our community build connections, including creating the Facebook groups Worldwide Connect for world travelers and those on the move, and Around the Table, a group for food lovers to share Jewish recipes and traditions. 

When the war broke out on October 7th, we had to adapt to the times. As you may have noticed, over the last couple of months, creating a safe space and elevating your voices by featuring the stories of alumni has been key.

While many of our alumni reside outside of Israel, now more than ever, we must shine a light on the alumni who reside inside of Israel. So, after the events of October 7th, we reached out to alumni in Israel to hear their stories. One of the most important and essential ways that we can keep the war in Israel at the top of our minds is to hear personal stories from people on the ground. 

Matan Lion Melech and Fernanda Cherman—Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni from Israel and Brazil—who got married in Israel a couple of years ago, answered our call and provided their stories in the midst of the great crisis.

Matan and Fernanda’s Story

Matan is an Israeli who joined a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip as a mifgash participant in 2004. His wife, Fernanda, is originally from Brazil and went on a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip in 2005. The couple was living peacefully in Israel when the war happened. Because they are parents to a 4-month-old baby, they opted for refuge in Fernanda’s home country, Brazil.

Fernanda said she was on a walk when she heard a boom. 

“People were running, doing sports, and then I arrived home and heard the siren in the background,” she said, noting that this time was different—there are often warnings regarding alarms. “This time it was completely random.”

“We ran to a shelter, met up with a neighbor, and went to the bunker,” she said. 

Once they got home and turned on the television, they saw the news: the pickup truck with terrorists, the news of the massacre. 

“It was so insane, so absurdly stressful,” Fernanda tells us, “A nightmare.”

As more information came through, they felt terrified. The questions everyone was asking were: How could this happen? How did Hamas get into Israel?

When we spoke with Matan and Fernanda, they were in Brazil. Matan is slated to go back to Israel to be in the Israeli Defense Forces. As he prepares to go back to the reserves, he notes that it is very different as a parent. 

The IDF, he explains, is responsible for the media material that is distributed to the world about Israel and the war. Matan produces content for the army and works in video production in Israel.

“We join forces together. Some people say, ‘We have some footage,’ and we put it together,” Matan explains. 

They were living close to the Iron Dome, so they heard rockets being intercepted. “Seeing the missile going above your head—so scary,” Fernanda explained. “[We were] scared to do everything because there were so many terrorists, and we didn’t know where they hid. I was very afraid to go out with my dog and my baby.”

Matan and Fernanda were eventually evacuated by the Brazilian government.

“I don’t know what we did to people for this antisemitism to grow. Because we are Jewish, they take the opportunity to revert the situation. I just don’t understand,” says Fernanda, who was the only Jew in her university. “We are the same. You go to church, I go to synagogue. That’s it. I try to show them that we are not monsters.” 

“I saw we were victims, and I was in shock,” she describes as great antisemitism erupted in Brazil. 

“We are open-minded. We just want to live our lives. We are not against Palestinians,” she explains, noting that they lived in an area with Israeli Arabs.

Her husband Matan explains that, during Ramadan, they were invited by their Muslim neighbors for dinner when they would break the fast. 

“Jews and Arabs together. Everyone respects one another,” he said. “I wish everyone could learn from this.”

At Birthright Israel BEYOND, we are extremely grateful for all of our alumni who have opened their hearts to share the raw, vulnerable stories of their lives and everything that has unfolded since October 7, 2023.