So Close Yet Worlds Apart

Beyond and Behind the Walls

Meet Alaa and Emily.

Alaa — left, dci-palestine.org (Courtesy of the Qaddoum family); Emily — right, The Times of Israel (Courtesy of the Hand Family)

Rolling green hills, open expanses, avocado groves, and the fresh scent of eucalyptus trees; this is where Emily Kornberg Hand grew up. Idyllic — the most apt description for Kibbutz Be’eri — a place befitting the rearing of a child. Idyllic it was; idyllic it is no longer. Emily woke up on October 7th, probably thinking it was just another…