“We Are Unbroken”: Snapshots of Resilience in Post-Oct. 7 Israel

Since the October 7 Hamas attacks and ensuing war, many of us have etched into our memory harrowing images of Israelis living through the unimaginable — bereaved mothers, wounded soldiers, evacuee families, and so many others in need. 

UNBROKEN, a collection of some of the most moving photos taken by JDC since the attacks, leads us right into these moments of grief and hope. It shows how, step by step, a fractured society began to organize itself again — not by waiting for normal to return, but by building something new. 

Many of these images were gathered by Adi Kenan, a master storyteller who serves as JDC’s content team manager in Israel. In this reflection, Kenan walks us through this historic collection, telling us not only about the photos themselves, but the human lives that exist beyond their frame. 

After three years of war in Israel, certain images are now seared into our collective memory. I suppose you’ve seen many of them — missile strikes, displaced families, houses blackened by fire. These snapshots are now a part of our story. 

When we began UNBROKEN, we assumed that these scenes of destruction and despair would define the project simply because these were the images that surrounded us. But that wasn’t the case. 

We reviewed thousands of photographs, and the more we looked, the more we saw pictures that carried sparks of light — images that show how, from the depths of pain, hope can emerge. Many of them depict individual people, but each one represents a world entire. 

I’ve worked for JDC for eight years now, but since October 7, 2023, my office hasn’t just been a desk in Jerusalem. It’s been in the fields of Hatzav, the crowded evacuee hotels in Eilat, and the battered communities on the northern border. I’ve been to moshavim, kibbutzim, Bedouin villages, Arab cities, the North, the South, all across Israel, documenting the stories of people whose lives have been touched by JDC. 

I was there in the field, listening to the voices of those for whom everything was broken. I was also there to witness the hands at work as they began the process of repair. 

I think of Jenny Aloni in Ofakim. On the morning of October 7, 2023, her husband left home to rescue their eldest son from the Nova music festival and was wounded on the way. Only a few months later, she lost her other son, Eran — a Golani soldier — who fell in battle in Gaza. 

I sat there interviewing her, listening to her story about her struggle to function again, to get back to everyday life and her work with children. Her pain was so deep that, for a moment, I felt I was carrying a small part of it, too. 

But halfway through our interview, when she told me about Hadas — her mentor through JDC’s Back on Track initiative, a program that provides trauma-informed career coaching to vulnerable Israelis — I saw a spark of hope. Here was a woman who realized she had to keep going for her family and for herself. 

Today, Jenny creates jewelry dedicated to her son’s memory. You can look at her photo and see a bereaved mother. But in the very same breath, you can also see her fortitude — a mother who did not give up. 

If you turn the pages, you will see Adi Timor, a soldier who was critically wounded and left fighting for his life. When he lost his right leg, JDC was there to support him, helping to make his home more accessible so that he could live with dignity through our Tech for Heroes program. 

I visited him and watched as he patiently adapted to all the new technology installed in his house. It wasn’t easy. At first glance, seeing such a remarkable young man who lost his leg is painful and heartbreaking. 

But you can also see here a miracle — a soldier who came back to life, and who is receiving the tools he needs to adapt to a new reality. 

If you flip to another page, you will see the Edry family. When they evacuated from their home in Sderot, the family left with almost nothing. Deeply affected by what they’d experienced, their young children — Dolev and Roei — each received from JDC a Hibuki doll — a therapeutic toy distributed to children living with trauma. 

“Listen, Adi,” Shani, the children’s mother, told me. “You won’t believe it, but 20 years ago I also received a Hibuki doll.”

She said it’s painful to realize her children need the same support she once did. Yet she feels comforted knowing JDC is still there, wrapping them in the emotional support they need. 

Turn to yet another page and you will see Eyal Giller, the farmer from Netiv HaAsara who chose to stay behind when the entire kibbutz was evacuated. Tending to his fields is his life’s purpose, and so JDC stood by his side, providing him guidance and support through our program for farmers.

But what this image doesn’t show you is the proximity of his farm to the border with Gaza. During the photoshoot, every sudden noise made me jump. When I look at this image now, knowing all the chaos unfolding in the area at the time it was taken, I also see an incredible sense of resilience — we see, quite literally, growth and rebirth. 

We chose to call this book UNBROKEN becausethat word represents the tough, unflagging spirit of Israelis at this time. It signifies the resilience of a people who carry unbearable loss and still take one collective step forward. 

It also stands for the spirit that guides us at JDC — even as the challenges continue to grow, and even as many of us JDC staff carry the impact of this war within our own homes and families, our bond with Israelis and Jews everywhere remains steadfast.  

Bringing these moments together into this one book has created more than just a collection of images. It is a historical document. It is a living testimony to JDC’s life-saving, tireless work during Israel’s darkest hours. And I feel so lucky that I was able to see it with my own eyes and be a part of it, too. 

For 112 years, JDC has answered the call when Jewish communities faced crises, displacement, poverty, trauma, and uncertainty. This is who we are: a bedrock source of help and hope for Israelis and Jews worldwide. 

UNBROKEN leads us on that journey. It begins in trauma and loss. Then, as you flip through the pages, you arrive at moments of recovery and healing.

The book is itself a product of that journey. We chose to print UNBROKEN in Kibbutz Be’eri, a place where 101 people were murdered and 35 others were taken hostage on October 7. Only now are the members of the kibbutz beginning to return home. The decision to print this book in Kibbutz Be’eri was an act of choosing life, continuity, and renewal, even and especially in the face of unbearable pain. 

I know that for Jews around the globe, these years have been painful. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in producing this book, it’s that we are all part of the same story. 

We have faced a great fracture. There were moments when we feared we might truly break. But because of the people in this book, because of our teams in the field, and because of the extraordinary generosity of our supporters — particularly JDC President Annie Sandler and her husband Art — we held on.

We knew we were not alone. And we’re still standing strong — unbroken. 

Adi Kenan is the head of JDC’s content team in Israel, where she leads the creation of videos, stories, and visual content documenting JDC’s work across the country. She brings nearly two decades of experience in journalism, storytelling, and strategic communications. Her work focuses on capturing human stories from the field and translating complex social impact into compelling content for Israeli and global audiences.

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