NBC 7 Special Highlights Stories of Loss, Resilience, and Rising Resolve

It’s been two years since the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023 — a day that forever changed Israel and Jewish communities around the world. Yet, as the war rages on thousands of miles away in Israel, it remains difficult for many San Diegans to understand its true magnitude. 

NBC 7’s extended special gave San Diegans a chance to look back at that day through the eyes of someone who lived it and see the ways our local Jewish community has come together since.

“Remember October 7, 2023: Stories of Loss, Resilience, and Rising Resolve” features Ayelet Epstein, a survivor from Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in Sha’ar HaNegev — one of the hardest-hit communities near the Gaza border.

With heartbreaking clarity, Ayelet recounted some of the first moments of the attack: the rapid gunfire and explosions she heard from her safe room — and the final WhatsApp message she received from her son, Netta, from his own safe room in his nearby apartment:

“Mom, they’re here.”

Netta, who died that morning after jumping on a grenade to protect his fiancée, was one of five family members Ayelet lost on Oct. 7. 

It is a story of unimaginable loss, extraordinary courage — and one that hits closer to home than most realize, as Sha’ar HaNegev also happens to be San Diego’s sister city in Israel. 

Today, Ayelet’s husband is the Mayor of Sha’ar HaNegev. Her brother-in-law, Ofir Libstein, was the previous Mayor — and a close friend to many in San Diego’s Jewish community. He, too, was killed that day, defending his community. 

In the special, Heidi Gantwerk, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego, reflected on what she’s seen during several visits to Israel in the last two years: communities coping with unimaginable grief as they work to rebuild. But she also reflected on what the attack has meant beyond Israel's borders.

“The ground shifted under our feet on Oct. 7 for Jews worldwide. I think for a very brief time, we had some sympathy from the world,” Heidi said. “And then very quickly the tide turned.” 

Oct. 7 created a ripple effect felt around the world, and antisemitism surged. Here in San Diego, this led to increased security and strengthened community support — including the creation of this very Coalition — to ensure every Jewish San Diegan felt safe.

Though escalating rhetoric and divisiveness have led to fear and hypervigilance, San Diego’s Jewish community has shown remarkable resilience. 

But the two-year anniversary reminds us that healing takes time. Still, Heidi urged San Diegans to remember that just as we can have robust disagreements about politics and separate our government’s actions from our identities as Americans, we should separate Israel’s actions from Jewish people in the same way. 

“If we are to be ‘America's Finest City,’ then this needs to be a place that is welcoming, inclusive and creates opportunities for dialogue and differences for all of us,” Heidi said.

Watch the full segment here.