![Canada in the Middle](https://cdn.magzter.com/1470409556/1700766840/articles/MgR7eItZ-1707903395647/CANADA-IN-THE-MIDDLE.jpg)
RESIDENTS OF the Gaza envelope, as they call the roughly fifty communities encompassing 70,000 people living in towns and villages on the Israeli side of the Gaza-Israel border, are used to middle-of-the-night sirens alerting them to Hamas-launched Qassam rockets. They have a well-established routine. If there's time, they go to their secure room. If not, they await impact, hoping the rockets won't hit their homes.
On the morning of October 7, close friends of mine were holed up in their secure room. While they normally wait for the rockets to land before resuming their routines, this time they heard a terrifyingly unfamiliar sound: militants, who they rightly assumed were Hamas, roaming outside their front door. While the Israeli military and police would take many hours to arrive, their own kibbutz volunteer readiness force engaged the militants in a firefight. Soon, the two Hamas operatives lay dead on the sidewalk in front of their house, in the exact spot where I have stood many times. My friends narrowly escaped being murdered or taken hostage. Another friend of mine, Canadian-Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver, who lived in nearby Kibbutz Be'eri, wasn't so lucky. Originally thought abducted by Hamas operatives along with over 240 other hostages, a number that includes at least thirty children, she was later confirmed killed in the attack.
Watching the news unfold, of over 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, being gunned down that day, Jews worldwide experienced intergenerational Holocaust trauma, the unconscious terror always lurking in our DNA. Our worst nightmare is intruders coming into our house and seeking to kill or kidnap us as we place our bodies between murderers and our own children. October 7 was the bloodiest day for Jews since the Nazis concluded their extermination campaign.
Bu hikaye The Walrus dergisinin JanFeb 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Walrus dergisinin JanFeb 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/ZjBpzYG4o1719492279999/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
![The Upside-Down Book](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/69rONulnf1719492018954/THE-UPSIDEDOWN-BOOK.jpg)
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
![Pick a Colour](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/gfjRqDBPR1719491028118/PICK-A-COLOUR.jpg)
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
![Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/Va0q3epMo1719490712561/QUEBECS-CRUSHING-IMMIGRATION-POLICY.jpg)
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
![The Briefcase](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/F9k8iWEzU1719490185232/THE-BRIEFCASE.jpg)
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
![In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mgurf-_Dv1719487984600/IN-THE-FOOTSTEPS-OF-MIGRANTS-WHO-NEVER-MADE-IT.jpg)
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
![Blood Language](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/XYrsQ_vA81719486997059/BLOOD-LANGUAGE.jpg)
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
![Dream Machines](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mpkA9pAuF1719486535433/DREAM-MACHINES.jpg)
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
![Invisible Lives](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1514951/2Hy-_fagA1707905048505/crp_INVISIBLE-LIVES.jpg)
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
![My Guilty Pleasure](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1514951/290c5p7DA1707905886467/crp_MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"