The secret Iraqi history of Kibbutz Be'eri (Harif, 15 October 2024)

Kibbutz Be’eri has gained notoriety as one of the Gaza border sites worst hit by the Hamas onslaught of 7 October 2023: the kibbutz lost 100 people on that fateful day, including Shahar Semach, who died defending the kibbutz. His grandfather Yaakov Semach was one of dozens of young Zionists who founded the kibbutz in the years following the 1941 Farhud massacre in Iraq.
The Iraqi kibbutzniks were unusual in adopting a socialist Zionist path. They played an important role liaising with the local Bedouin. The last Iraqi Jew to have lived on the kibbutz is 97 year -old Rachel Cohen Shazar. She was evacuated to Eilat but hopes to return to Be’eri with her son Arnon.
As Israel marks the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks, Professor Yitzchak Kerem of the Hebrew University will present the secret Iraqi history of Kibbutz Be’eri.