An Israeli Story of Facing Terror: Leadership with a Thousand Faces
Leadership, like heroism, can appear with a thousand faces. In this account by my friend and colleague Aryeh Tepper, leadership arises via a father’s protection of his daughters, a wise woman’s decision to play the role of mother with terrorists to survive, and a young son and soldier’s decision to act decisively against an evil incursion despite the genuine possibility of death.
Aryeh, my fellow co-director of the Omni-American Future Project, lives in Ofaqim in Israel—a half hour from the Gaza Strip. Early morning on Saturday, October 7th, he began hearing big booms outside, which awakened his daughters. Because of the long-standing conflict with Hamas, who has ruled in the occupied Gaza Strip since 2006, they are used to hearing missile attacks and seeing the Iron Dome intercepting them. Then they began hearing what sounded like firecrackers, Aryeh thought it was just some teens outside in the celebratory spirit of the conclusion of the Jewish High Holidays.
No.
“But then the fireworks don't stop. They just keep going,” Aryeh explained to me during a special episode of the podcast we co-host taped early last week. “And you realize pretty quickly those aren't fireworks those are gunshots.”
Aryeh takes his daughters to the bomb shelter in the apartment building’s basement, walking slowly and carefully, making sure that no Hamas members are waiting to pick them off. He expected to see the police or army in response, but none appeared, which was harrowing. Looking out of the bomb shelter’s windows, they could see that civilians had taken arms to fight.
Both of Aryeh’s sons serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. His oldest, Micha’el, called to say that there were terrorists outside wearing IDF uniforms, so to not open the door for anyone, and to make sure all windows were closed. Later, Aryeh heard a story that will likely become legendary in the annals of Jewish lore, a story that extends the accounts of “Jewish mothers” to a heroic dimension. One block away, Hamas terrorists were in the house of neighbors.
A Jewish Mother’s Wise Heroine’s Journey
Rachel and David Edri
“Terrorists commandeered the house of David and Rachel, five terrorists; they took them as hostages. Rachel says that when she saw them, [she and her husband] knew they were going to die. When you're dealing with Jihadi radicals,” Aryeh explains, “they are not just embracing death—they are sometimes pursuing it from a religious motivation.”
He continues: “Rachel said, ‘I saw at this moment they are missing their mothers.’ It's just a basic humanity. We respond to motherly love. So, she plied them with coffee and cookies. And she assumed the motherly role. This is so amazing. This is wisdom of a different order, staying calm under pressure.”
Rachel and her husband David played games with the young men, likely in their early 20s. They would teach the wife and husband a word in Arabic, and they would teach them a word in Hebrew.
“Now another dimension to the story is that her son was one of the policemen outside. At one point, Rachel communicated to the police the number of terrorists with a gesture, placing her hand on her face, signaling five. So, after she managed to reach their humanity, and save herself and her husband, she created the context for justice to be done in this situation.”
The police stormed the house and killed the Hamas terrorists.
A Young Soldier Rises to the Occasion
Micha’el later told his father his own story.
“That morning, Micha’el was at home at his mother's. He received news there was shooting by a house in our neighborhood. Without hesitating, Micha’el took his weapon and joined with a few friends to see what was going on. He quickly understood, when he got to the neighborhood, that terrorists were running rampant around the neighborhood killing people. And he and friends—this is all extemporaneous and improvised, mind you—engaged the terrorists.
“They were in an armored, protected vehicle. They would hear reports of a terrorist in an area; they would drive there to provoke the terrorists into firing, so they would know where they are. It turns out that he was fighting near the building where we live. [While] driving in Ofaqim, they receive reports of a very serious situation in Kibbutz Re’im, where the rave party that we've all heard about was taking place. He heard that there were people there, defenseless and that we didn't have any forces there.
“Again, without thinking twice, he and two friends said: ‘Let's go.’ They were among the first on the scene to engage the Hamas fighters. When they first got there, they thought that an Army Jeep was an IDF, Israeli Defense Forces, vehicle. But it turned out it was terrorists. So, they got fired on when they arrived, including RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades].”
“Micha’el estimated seeing 50 dead bodies. There was a bomb shelter full of burnt bodies, apparently into which the Hamas members had thrown a Molotov cocktail or a grenade. Their vehicle is hit. He takes cover in an open field. To say the least, it's a frightening situation. They continued to engage the terrorists. He's firing at the terrorists, the other friend is bandaging and taking care of the wounded. They take turns. This went on until the late afternoon.
“He and a few friends pushed back a force of 20 fighters.”
“I don't have words to express the pride that I feel in my heart when I think of how my son responded at the moment of truth. I also don't have words to express my gratitude that he returned unharmed. His story is one of many. There are many people, thank God, like Micha’el Tepper, who went out and put their lives on the line to protect all of us.”
I invite you to view the special episode of Straight Ahead: The Omni-American Podcast, where in addition to Aryeh sharing stories of real-time heroism from his family and community, he provides essential context for understanding how the attack fits into the larger regional war between the forces of Islamic tolerance and Islamist intolerance.