Gifts of Nature:
A Survivor's Tale
A Survivor's Tale
Read Shlomit Cohen's letter, recounting her experiences during the tragic Hamas invasion in Israel.
We are experiencing very difficult days, filled with pain and suffering.
We lost a number of close friends in the Hamas massacre, including a dear student who studied with my husband for five years and fought heroically, using weapons he took from his fallen comrades, even though he is a young man.
The heart struggles to comprehend the sheer scale of devastation that occurred.
It is simply impossible to accept!
My husband Tomer rushed to join up with the army on Shabbat, just hours after the Hamas invasion began. Since then, he has been there, fighting heroically, with full faith, in very difficult circumstances. He serves in the army as a tracker. During his patrols, he found many injured people and terrorists. He is currently in Gaza together with my brother, brothers-in-law, good friends, and neighbors. Everyone is pulling together to do whatever they can to defend our wonderful land and its people. They are AMAZING!
The heart is full of worry and pain, but also complete faith that something much larger than us is occurring and we will be witness to many miracles.
We live in a tent in the city of Bat Ayin, without a protected space. After Tzuk Eitan (Operation Strong Cliff which took place in Gaza in 2014) we dug an underground shelter and stocked it with emergency equipment.
We have a son who is battling with a bone disease and underwent an operation just last week, so I am home alone with the children, with one just after an operation, and we are just thinking the whole time - what we can do to support our people?
From the business side, we donated pampering packages containing our organic products to tens of families who were forced to leave their homes in the south, and I am providing treatment to people suffering from anxiety and trauma using techniques of natural medicine and essential oils. It is the least I can do.
Right after Simchat Torah (October 7 - the day of the invasion), I intended to restart the business. A new year that was supposed to include teaching my herbal medicine course to a full class, sales, and lots of business activities.
I haven’t worked since the beginning of the war, especially not while my husband is on the front lines. The factory in the south where we produce our products is in southern Israel and currently, it is not functioning. My workers can’t get to work, and despite all these difficulties, I decided to use my studio to host families who managed to flee the massacre of the Gaza belt communities and to treat them and lift their spirits as much as possible.
With the little remaining time I have, I use it for volunteering because that is the order of the day. In the night I join the community support groups to help where needed.
The best form of support I can give - is support itself! Be with us! Speak about what is happening in Israel to the world! You are our ambassadors in your hometowns! Pray for the success of Israel! And if you really want to help and support us, especially in these difficult times, to really give us some breathing space and energy, you are invited to purchase our quality organic products. It would really help us.
We lost a number of close friends in the Hamas massacre, including a dear student who studied with my husband for five years and fought heroically, using weapons he took from his fallen comrades, even though he is a young man.
The heart struggles to comprehend the sheer scale of devastation that occurred.
It is simply impossible to accept!
My husband Tomer rushed to join up with the army on Shabbat, just hours after the Hamas invasion began. Since then, he has been there, fighting heroically, with full faith, in very difficult circumstances. He serves in the army as a tracker. During his patrols, he found many injured people and terrorists. He is currently in Gaza together with my brother, brothers-in-law, good friends, and neighbors. Everyone is pulling together to do whatever they can to defend our wonderful land and its people. They are AMAZING!
The heart is full of worry and pain, but also complete faith that something much larger than us is occurring and we will be witness to many miracles.
We live in a tent in the city of Bat Ayin, without a protected space. After Tzuk Eitan (Operation Strong Cliff which took place in Gaza in 2014) we dug an underground shelter and stocked it with emergency equipment.
We have a son who is battling with a bone disease and underwent an operation just last week, so I am home alone with the children, with one just after an operation, and we are just thinking the whole time - what we can do to support our people?
From the business side, we donated pampering packages containing our organic products to tens of families who were forced to leave their homes in the south, and I am providing treatment to people suffering from anxiety and trauma using techniques of natural medicine and essential oils. It is the least I can do.
Right after Simchat Torah (October 7 - the day of the invasion), I intended to restart the business. A new year that was supposed to include teaching my herbal medicine course to a full class, sales, and lots of business activities.
I haven’t worked since the beginning of the war, especially not while my husband is on the front lines. The factory in the south where we produce our products is in southern Israel and currently, it is not functioning. My workers can’t get to work, and despite all these difficulties, I decided to use my studio to host families who managed to flee the massacre of the Gaza belt communities and to treat them and lift their spirits as much as possible.
With the little remaining time I have, I use it for volunteering because that is the order of the day. In the night I join the community support groups to help where needed.
The best form of support I can give - is support itself! Be with us! Speak about what is happening in Israel to the world! You are our ambassadors in your hometowns! Pray for the success of Israel! And if you really want to help and support us, especially in these difficult times, to really give us some breathing space and energy, you are invited to purchase our quality organic products. It would really help us.
Hi, My name is Shlomit Cohen,
the owner of an organic cosmetics company called ‘Gifts of Nature', based in Bay Ayin in Gush Ezion.
the owner of an organic cosmetics company called ‘Gifts of Nature', based in Bay Ayin in Gush Ezion.
Hi, My name is Shlomit Cohen, the owner of an organic cosmetics company called ‘Gifts of Nature', based in Bay Ayin in Gush Ezion.