By Benji Sharp, Boger of HDOZ and Rakaz of Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed’s Snif Bat Yam
Between the sixth and seventh nights of Chanukkah, I participated in the national Moatza Chinuchit of Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed - the Israeli movement's equivalent of a veida. While democracy happens by the actualised decisions of chanichim and madrichim on a regular basis, holding a national congress happens much less frequently, presumably due to the size and logistical nature of an event of this scale, as well as hoping to implement resolutions with a much longer-lasting impact. For reference, the last national veida was held in 2015, and Rabin addressed the one before that in the 90s.
With this movement memory, I was excited to attend an event like this that has the potential to erect another stepping stone in the pathway of the movement... less so were parents from Bat Yam. With the Moatza being held two months and one week after the breakout of the war, sirens blaring every few days in the centre of the country, and a continued shadow of uncertainty looming overhead, I could understand parents' reluctance to send their children to an event like this. While I could say that the congress was being held in Dimona, which has barely witnessed any rockets since the beginning of the war, and that I believed that their kids would be fantastic representatives for the snif at this event, the question still returned: "Why do this in the middle of a war? Is this really the time to do something like this?"
It's a good question, but my answer always returned to this: davka achshav, it's more important than ever for the Moatza Chinuchit to happen.
