ASHKELON, Israel - Holocaust survivor Gad Partok, now 93 years old, has witnessed the horrors of persecution and displacement firsthand. After experiencing the Nazi occupation in his hometown of Nabeul, Tunisia, he believed that moving to Israel would provide him safety and freedom from such atrocities. However, an event on October 7, 2023, shattered his belief in Israel as a haven.
On that fateful day, Hamas militants committed the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, sending shockwaves throughout the Israeli population. Gad Partok, residing in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, watched in disbelief from his living room as news programs displayed videos of Hamas militants wreaking havoc on communities merely kilometers away. These horrifying scenes, reminiscent of the Nazis' actions, left Partok questioning the country's defenses and feeling a sense of abandonment.
