Remembering Carmel – a Warrior of the Soul – on What Should be Her 41st Birthday

On these two days between arriving in Israel, on what was my second Aliyah on May 14th, and my own birthday on May 17th, I was aware that Carmel Gat of Kibbutz Be’eri would have and should have been celebrating her 41st birthday today.

It is hard not to be aware of this as I am spending this weekend with my new friends from Kibbutz Be’eri in Kibbutz Hazerim, one of whom is her friend Shir Gutentag, from her class, who talked to me about Carmel last year, only days after she had finally removed the Carmel necklace from around her neck - because she’d had to accept that her dear friend was not coming back.

She told me about how Carmel was a people person, and how she would only see the good in people until someone proved her wrong. She told me about how she was always positive and smiling, and free and happy, and said that she was extremely fair, and that if someone made fun of another person, that Carmel would always stand up for the person – even if she didn't know who they were – out of fairness and it being the right thing to do.

Her friend Shir said that she hoped Carmel had had hope until the last minute that everyone was trying so hard to save her, (because they were), and this resonated with me because I already knew the heroic stories about Carmel, having been in Israel when the hostage releases happened in November of 2023, and the children were released.

Many of the kids released from Gaza came out talking about how Carmel had taught them yoga and meditation inside of Gaza – to imagine mastering a practice with such grace, that you could be stolen by a terrorist group and manage to not just sustain your own light but spread it - teach it - bringing light into the darkest tunnels of horror - that is nothing short of holy work.

Carmel was raised on Kibbutz Be'eri but had lived in Tel Aviv and worked as an Occupational Therapist. She had been in Be'eri on the weekend of the attack visiting her parents, and had witnessed the murder of her mother Kinneret, before being taken captive by Hamas terrorists to Gaza.

"She was always looking for ways to treat others, and to take care of them during their most horrible phases and times of their lives," said her cousin Gil Dickmann on CNN back in August of 2024, following her murder. "We were so glad to hear [that she practiced yoga and meditation with the youngsters held in captivity with her], because this is exactly what Carmel was, and she managed to stay herself in captivity and to take care of others...that was such an amazing thing for us to hear."

In the days following her horrific and violent murder alongside Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Ori Danino and Almog Sarusi in the tunnels of Gaza, I was so disturbed that I had to pull over in Charlotte, North Carolina to catch my breath and to cry, and when I did, I made an audio message to myself. This is what came out, about a woman I will never get to meet, but hoped so badly to, once I moved back to Israel – a woman with a birthday just one day before mine.

May the memory of Carmel Gat forever be a blessing for all who knew and loved her.

Carmel - A Warrior of the Soul

Carmel…A May Baby

Were you a little loopy, too?

Was that why you found yoga?

And now the little kids you helped through – will have to remember your ghost

With your brown eyes and your calm…

You found ways to calm yourself

You found ways to escape

As your friend in the square said:

“Even in captivity, you found ways…the freedom of the mind…”

Did you use these freedoms at the very end?

When they did whatever they did to you?

Did you dissociate?

Did you meditate?

Did you levitate?

And why you, Carmel?

Did they envy your ability to NOT be where they put you?

Did they envy your ability to be free despite their torture?

Did they envy your ability to be who you were?

How I wanted to meet you

The world doesn’t understand us

Our light

Your light

Living miles above

We’re foreign to them

The world doesn’t understand

Our strength

Your strength

It’s beyond them

And now you’re forever 40

Forever Free

To look down with your Wisdom

And your Grace

What more did you learn in there?

That you’ll share with the rest of us?

(For Eternity)

You May Baby

Were you once a little flighty, too?

Bursting with energy?

Was there a reason you became so grounded and wise?

Did you have a need for that like I do?

You Girl with the Infectious Smile?

In Case You Want to Help:

Melanie Preston is a Jewish writer who took herself to Israel in the days following the October 7th attack to help the families of hostages in any way she could. Her writing about hostage Itay Svirsky led her to his friends and family in the community of Kibbutz Be'eri. This project of the heart has ultimately led her to move back to Israel, where she hopes to help rebuild the south and communities affected by the October 7th attack. Any help given will go directly toward helping her live cheaply so she can focus on writing while in Israel and getting set up. Link to her GoFundMe. Thank you and Shalom from Israel.