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Shavuot has always occupied a special place in the Jewish calendar for Kibbutz Nir Oz. Each year, residents and friends gathered at the Kibbutz for a week of games, music, sports and activities for all ages to celebrate the new harvest year.
In late April, a group of young families from Nir Oz reached out to express a desire to travel to the U.S. for this Shavuot.
Many of them felt that this holiday—so intertwined in their minds with Nir Oz—would simply be too painful to celebrate at their temporary home in Kiryat Gat or anywhere else in Israel.
What they really needed was a week with their children in a peaceful environment and away from the pain of missing friends and family members.
Over the course of the following 7 weeks, a group of volunteers in the U.S., Israel and Ireland comprising leaders of Kesher Nir Oz, former residents of the Kibbutz and Kibbutz staff conceived of and executed a week-long retreat in rural Montgomery County, Maryland for 44 parents and children from 11 Nir Oz families.
Shavuot 2024
Kesher Nir Oz is a project of three synagogues in Montgomery County Maryland — Beth El (Bethesda), Bnai Israel (Rockville) and Ohr Khodesh (Chevy Chase) and MoEd (afterschool program)—to support and build relationships with Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community that was devastated by the Hamas terrorists on October 7th, 2023.
The program will harness the resources of the dedicated and caring congregations of these synagogues to provide tangible support to this devastated Israeli community and build lasting personal connections.
Kesher Nir Oz is modeled after the U.S.-Israel “sister city” partnership program.
For decades, Jewish communities across the United States have developed “sister city” relationships with cities and towns in Israel. These relationships have fostered mutual support, friendships and connections with activities ranging from delegations traveling back and forth to school-to-school projects.
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