Avida Bachar lost his wife, his 15-year-old son, and one of his legs in the Hamas October 7 assault. The 50-year-old farmer was born on Kibbutz Be’eri and raised his kids there. On October 7, he saw his wife and son bleed to death before his eyes. He was close to death himself when he was rescued that evening but he miraculously survived after undergoing emergency surgery. The doctors had to amputate his leg to save his life and he underwent six months of grueling recovery and rehabilitation to learn to walk again. Along with a new prosthesis, Bachar’s formerly left-wing views about his Arab neighbors took a 180-degree turn. On October 7, he saw “innocent” Gazan civilians ranging in age from young children to elderly people invading his kibbutz and looting whatever they could. He said during interviews from his hospital bed after the massacre that if he could, he would wipe out the entire Gaza Strip. In a recent interview with Channel 12, Bachar said something surprising: “I’m going to say something difficult. It’s mazal that the October 7 massacre happened at Be’eri.” He continued by explaining: “I think that if it had happened in Gush Etzion, what would I have said at that moment? I would have said, ‘Why do they live there?’ I might have said, ‘They deserve it.’ I would have said all the worst things in the world.” “It’s mazal that it happened in my home, it’s mazal that I paid a very high price for this lesson. It’s mazal that I learned this lesson.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)