At the Jerusalem Post Women's Leadership Summit on March 25, 2025, Michal Magen, Community Manager of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, delivered a heartfelt speech about the traumatic events of October 7, 2023, and the community's ongoing healing journey reconstruction.
Magen recounted the terrifying day when she and her family were confined to their safe room, surrounded by relentless gunfire and explosions. "The sounds, the fear, the desperate messages flying between neighbors—these are memories that will stay with me forever," she recalled.
Michal Magen, Community Manager of Kibbutz Nahal Oz (credit: Mark Israel Salem)
Following their evacuation to a military base, Magen took on the role of community manager. She worked tirelessly to account for all residents, noting that "we worked through the night, calling every number we had, checking every shelter, desperately trying to account for everyone." The aftermath was devastating: 16 community members were killed, and eight were taken hostage. "Two of them are still in the tunnels of Gaza as we speak," Magen noted, referring to Omri Miran and Joshua Mollel.
The return to Nahal Oz
Magen's primary mission is to bring the community back to Nahal Oz by the upcoming summer. "We now have a challenge upon us: Return our broken but recovering community… to a kibbutz 800 meters from the Gaza border that is not only healed but better than it was," she asserted. This endeavor includes constructing new educational facilities and revitalizing agricultural initiatives. However, added, no rebuilding effort would be complete until every hostage is brought back – the living to their homes and families, and those who died to proper burial.
In the face of overwhelming grief, Magen emphasized the community's determination to rebuild. "We were broken, grieving, refugees, and we had to rebuild ourselves as a community at the same time," she stated. A small group of women spearheaded efforts to reconstruct the community's infrastructure, establish educational systems, and provide ongoing support to affected families.
She also discusses the challenges leaders face during crises, especially the need to prioritize and effectively direct external support. "I learned to be grateful but direct, to channel the enormous goodwill of the Israeli public and the Jewish communities worldwide in ways that would truly help us rebuild," she explained.
Magen concluded by honoring four women whose bravery and resilience have been sources of inspiration. Among them was 18-year-old Maayan Idan, who assisted her father in holding the safe room door and was tragically killed by Hamas terrorists. She also paid tribute to her daughter, Na'ama, who, despite personal loss, enlisted in the Intelligence Corps shortly after the attack. "You are an example and inspiration of the power to continue living together with longing and pain," Magen expressed.
The article was written in cooperation with Bazan.
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