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‘He never gives up’: How one Israeli’s miraculous Oct. 7 survival inspired support for soldiers’ families

OneFamily, which was established in 2001 in response to the Second Intifada, organized the day at the amusement park, sponsoring and staffing the event.

By Debbie Weiss, The Algemeiner

On Oct. 7, Amichay Shindler saved his family’s life by absorbing a bomb planted by Hamas terrorists outside the door to their safe room.

Ten months and one prosthetic hand later, it is still not clear how he is alive today.

No one understands the challenges of being thrust into raising children and managing a household alone more than Avital Shindler, Amichay’s wife.

She faced these difficulties under extraordinary circumstances, having been evacuated from her home in Kerem Shalom kibbutz along with other Israeli communities in the Gaza periphery.

Avital leveraged her own experience to help manage a newly formed support group for the wives of injured Israeli reserve soldiers, including those like her husband who were injured during Hamas’ massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Shindler’s group, Haverot Barzel (Friends of Iron), named after the ongoing war in Gaza, joined forces with OneFamily, Israel’s largest organization supporting victims of terror and their families, to host a trip to Magic Kass, an indoor amusement park near Jerusalem, for 160 families of injured reservists and the reservists themselves.

Haverot Barzel holds regular support meetings with various professionals, providing a safe space for the women to share what they’re going through with others in a similar position.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’re with other women who are experiencing what you’re experiencing. You say one word and everyone immediately understands you,” Shindler told The Algemeiner.

The women are overwhelmed with practical, logistical, bureaucratic, and emotional responsibilities, leaving no time for any non-essential activities.

“Many of them barely have time for their children as they juggle household duties and, in some cases, shuttle between the hospital where their husband is hospitalized and home. Organizing a fun outing during the summer vacation is simply not possible,” she explained.

Even those whose husbands are well enough to return home face significant physical and emotional challenges.

These men are often unable to help around the house as they used to, leading to frustration for both partners and, in many cases, depression.

For Shindler, her husband’s injury is an evolving journey where new steps keep cropping up.

“Just when you think it’s over, something new happens. Complications, or more surgeries, it can be anything.”

But Shindler doesn’t wallow. She credits her husband’s fortitude. “He never gives up,” she said.

The Shindler’s home was the only one in the kibbutz, which is a stone’s throw away from Hamas-ruled Gaza, to sustain damage on Oct. 7.

Terrorists barged into the home and demanded, in Hebrew, that Amichay open the safe door, saying they were Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.

Shindler refused, shouting, “I know who you are; get out or I’ll kill you.” Amichay clung onto the handle of the door to stop them from entering.

Seconds later, an explosive device detonated. Shindler’s body absorbed a lot of shrapnel, and part of the wall collapsed onto his head.

The door to the safe room was breached, but for reasons still unknown, the terrorists chose not to enter and exited the house.

Avital and the couple’s six young children were hunkering down at the other end of the safe room and were not harmed in the blast.

Convinced her husband was dead, Avital instructed her children not to look at him and to recite psalms instead.

Two members of the kibbutz’s civil defense squad, Amichai Yisrael Witzen and Yedidia Raziel, entered the house and approached Amichay with the intention of transferring him onto a tourniquet, away from the children and into the living room.

But incredulously, Amichay opened his mouth and said, “Don’t, I can walk alone.”

But when they reached the living room, another terrorist came, shooting dead both responders.

More terrorists and soldiers arrived, until eventually the soldiers gained the upper hand, saving the kibbutz.

Amichay’s life was in mortal danger. He suffered severe burns, multiple shrapnel wounds, and crushing injuries to his hands, jaw, and parts of his face.

Bleeding profusely, he was rushed to a field hospital.

There, a paramedic recognized him as the brother of Avishai Shindler, who had been killed in a Palestinian terror attack in 2010.

This same paramedic had been unable to save Avishai’s life but was now determined not to let history repeat itself.

According to Avital, this encounter was no coincidence; she believes it was the hand of God that brought this paramedic to save Amichay.

Amichay was subsequently transferred to Sheba medical center where he spent several weeks in the intensive care unit.

It would be another five months before he was released home.

Today, Amichay writes, cuts salad, and is taking out a driver’s license for someone with a prosthetic.

OneFamily, which was established in 2001 in response to the Second Intifada, organized the day at the amusement park, sponsoring and staffing the event.

The outing provided a much needed relief for many of the injured as well.

“Some of them find it hard to be with the kids at home. They can’t play with them. But a lot of them, being [combat soldiers], are naturally attracted to adrenaline-inducing activities so being on a rollercoaster with their children was a perfect opportunity to rebuild that connection,” Avital said.

One mother, Shachar Moss, said her family’s experience at the amusement park “moved her to tears.”

“When you go through such a journey, or injury and then rehabilitation, every small thing takes on new meaning,” Moss said.

“Every experience that the children are able to have with their father takes on new meaning. It’s felt differently now.”