In his words…
Dear friends,
They have finally arrived.
For the past two years, I have ended every email, letter, and column with the same words , In hope for better days to come.
The realization that this day has truly arrived came slowly.
I started my morning like any other, brewing my coffee, sitting on my favorite sofa by the window overlooking the garden, and opening the news on my phone.
The headline read: “Hamas and Israel have signed the deal.”
I froze. My mind could hardly process the words.
And then the sky opened, and rain began to pour down.
I started to cry, all the pressure, the pain, everything that had been building for so long, finally broke free.
Moments later, a smile came through the tears.
The war is about to end.
The hostages are coming home.
The reservists will lay down their weapons.
Palestinians will return to their homes.
The day we have all hoped for, prayed for, and dreamed of has finally arrived. Better days have come.
My morning continued as usual, but nothing felt normal. As I walked Dubi down to the beach for our morning walk, I listened to the radio. I heard the mother of Matan Angast and Nimrod Cohen, the two soldiers held by Hamas, who will soon come home. I heard Ali Sharabi, who was held with Alon and released after 450 days, speaking about his friend, waiting for the moment when Alon too will come home.
I couldn’t stop the joy bursting out of me, mixed with tears that wouldn’t stop flowing.
A wave of happiness, sorrow, and release washed over me.
May the end of this war pave the path toward peace.
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
We have walked this difficult path together.
You were there for me and my family in the darkest times.
We shared the hardest moments, when hope seemed almost lost, and we shared the few bright days when hope began to rise again.
We waited together for this day, always believing it would come, that better days would arrive.
As I wrote to you just yesterday, that day has finally come to an end.
October 7 is coming to an end, and Israel can finally begin to heal.
There is a long road ahead, filled with challenges and uncertainties, but if we continue to carry hope within us, I have no doubt that we will rise again and build a better future.
And with the words of King David, who described the joy of the return to Zion, the moment when our people came back to their land after exile, so today we, as a people and a nation, are returning to our home:
“We were as dreamers”
Psalms, chapter 126, verse 1