On Wednesday, December 4th, we gathered for the "We Are the Keepers of Memory " conference to mark the one year of the "Testimonies at First-Hand" project. Over the past year, survivors of the October 7th terrorist attack from the western Negev communities and the parties held in the area shared their stories with Jewish communities, audiences, and organizations in the Diaspora. These gatherings provided a platform for participants to share their experiences and foster personal connections. The encounters and relationships formed with thousands of people in the Diaspora offered strength, comfort, and deeply touched countless people.
Now, after more than a year of testimony delegations, we met again for a conference focused on the preservation of memory through documentation, discussions on community resilience, and hope for the future. We heard from various projects dedicated to preserving memory, learned about community resilience in Israel and the Diaspora, and explored tools for resilience from the Jewish tradition. We opened a bridge to the hearts with an emotional musical performance, witnessed the role of art as a unifying tool, and discussed how we can grow from the challenges posed by the events of October 7th. We left with the questions: where do we go from here? And who embraces whom?
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the partners who helped bring the conference to life, the speakers and workshop facilitators, the participants who attended and took part, and, of course, those who traveled and shared their stories. While the conference has come to an end, we are confident that the connections formed during this event and throughout the past year will continue to thrive and grow.
