Shalom Hartman Institute

Context

• Eliot Goldstein, Vice President of Development, Hartman Institute, was deeply affected by the October 7 events as a close family member of a hostage victim.

Personal Narrative and Family Impact

• Family Connection: Eliot’s cousin Hirsch was taken hostage and later killed after 330 days in captivity. The family led a global campaign (“Bring Hirsch Home”) to raise awareness and advocate for all hostages.
• Role: Eliot managed medical, humanitarian, financial, and family affairs during the campaign, often under intense and risky circumstances.
• Aftermath: Despite Hirsch’s death, the family finds some solace in having elevated the issue globally. The trauma, however, is ongoing and deeply personal.

Shattered Assumptions and Societal Reflections

• Loss of Security: Previous beliefs in Israel’s ability to protect its citizens have been fundamentally shaken. Even immense political, military, and financial resources proved insufficient.
• Nature of Evil: Firsthand experience of Hamas’s brutality led to a new, painful understanding of “pure evil” and its targeting of Jews.
• Generational Trauma: Children and families face repeated loss; young people attend numerous funerals and confront a reality where safety cannot be assured.

The Nature of Trauma: Sustained and Ubiquitous

• Sustained Trauma: The experience is described as “the truck is still on top of us”—not post-trauma, but enduring, collective suffering.
• Inability to Experience Joy: While Israelis can have “a nice time,” true joy or fun is elusive. Even celebrations and concerts are shadowed by reminders of loss and ongoing crisis.
• Collective Burden: This feeling is widespread across Israeli society, not limited to hostage families. Different communities experience and express this sustained trauma in unique ways.

Social, Political, and Communal Dynamics

• Resilience and Activity: Despite trauma, Israelis show resilience, continuing with life, activism, and communal support, though the emotional weight persists.
• Identity and Belonging: The events have intensified questions about trust—towards neighbors, political leaders, and even within the broader Jewish community (e.g., Haredim, Palestinian Israelis).
• Jewish Values and Zionism: The crisis has prompted deep reflection on the core values of Zionism and Jewish peoplehood, particularly the imperative to redeem captives and protect life.

The Role of Judaism and Culture in Healing

• Potential for Spiritual Resilience: There is hope that Jewish tradition, music, and communal rituals may become tools for healing and resilience.
• Music and Art: Artistic expression, especially music, has become a key outlet for processing grief and sustaining cultural identity.
• Evolving Jewish Identity: Israeli society is moving beyond binary religious-secular divides, potentially drawing more on Jewish tradition for meaning and support.

Diaspora Perspectives and Dialogue

• Contrast with American Jews: Diaspora Jews often retain an idealized vision of Israeli resilience and joy, which contrasts with the lived reality in Israel.
• Shared and Divergent Fears: Some feel safer in Israel despite the trauma, while others in the diaspora grapple with rising antisemitism and shifting political alliances.
• Complex Progressive Identity: The conflict has challenged liberal and progressive Jews, both in Israel and abroad, to reconcile their values with current realities.

Concluding Reflections

• Heroic Tragedy: Elliot frames modern Zionism and Israel as a story of “heroic tragedy”—pride in resilience and activism, but marked by recurring loss and disappointment.
• Future Hopes: There is cautious optimism that Israel will recover, dance, and thrive again, with the hope that lessons in trauma and resilience will shape a better future.
• Call to Action: Support for trauma care, societal investment, and ongoing dialogue is needed; visitors are encouraged to learn, engage, and remember the ongoing struggles.

Key Metaphors and Takeaways

• “The truck is still on top of us”: Captures the ongoing, crushing nature of trauma.
• Sustained Trauma: A more accurate term than PTSD for the current Israeli experience.
• Resilience Amid Pain: Israelis continue to act, support, and hope, even as joy remains elusive.

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Bios

Eliot Goldstein is Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He leads the effort to develop the strategic vision for bolstering philanthropic revenue and building strategic relationships with the funder community to deepen the Institute’s impact in Israel and across North America.

Prior to joining the Institute, Eliot was the Executive Director for Global Resource Development at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC or JOINT).

His professional background is in international development, serving in key leadership roles focused on strengthening Jewish life and providing humanitarian assistance in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Latin America and enhancing the social service innovation arena in Israel.

Eliot earned a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management at the Wagner School of Public Service of New York University as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Near Eastern Studies and Hebrew Literature from the University of Michigan.

Eliot’s community and educational background provided the foundation for his commitment to the Jewish community. He was raised in the Habonim Dror Labor Zionist youth movement and has been involved in a lay capacity with various Jewish educational and leadership initiatives including M2: Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, the LA Pincus Fund for Jewish Education and the Hand-in-Hand Bi-Lingual School in Jerusalem. Eliot lives in Jerusalem with his wife Rebecca Bardach and three children.

Adam Saville is Deputy Director of North American Programs in Israel at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He is responsible for the smooth logistical development and implementation of all the groups that visit the Institute from North America. In addition, Adam coordinates the flagship Community Leadership Program (CLP) and supports the work of the Development team that relates to donor missions and visits.

Adam has extensive experience in the design, development, and delivery of educational and private tourism in Israel. He spent more than a decade working at the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) in London, where his final position was Director of the Israel Experience Department overseeing a team who facilitated Israel trips for thousands of teens and students each year. After making Aliyah in 2007, Adam joined The Israel Experience Ltd, a subsidiary of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and continued to work in Educational Tourism for many more years. Before joining the team at Hartman, Adam spent several years working in the private sector in the field of Christian and VIP tourism.

Adam was born and raised in the UK and holds a BA in Humanities with a specialty in Art History. He is married to Shlomit, and they live in Jerusalem with their four sons; the three oldest attend the Hartman High School for Boys. The whole family are very proud and active members of the Klauzner Egalitarian Partnership Minyan.