Sarit Zussman, mother of Ben Zussman who was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip, spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News at the launch of the Bereshit Treaty held at Kibbutz Be’eri.
The event was attended by the families of those killed in the massacre and war, and the families of the hostages held by Hamas.
According to Zussman, “Precisely in the place where such terrible events took place, we must grow and sprout something new, even if Israel is still fighting this war.”
“At this time,” she said, “we must insist on living.”
“Our insistence on life compels us to choose the good and signing the Bereshit Treaty is part of this process, choosing good, choosing a different route of discourse and a different level of mutual respect, to harness the Israeli spirit that pulsates through all of us."
On the impressive words Zussman said at her son's funeral, when expressing full confidence that the Israeli story will end well, she noted that we must be victorious because we have no other choice. When she mentioned the abysmal gap between the enemy's lust for death and the Jewish sanctity of life, building and prosperity of the people of Israel, and the reverberation of these ideas in Israeli society, she said that “These were just simple ideas and simple words, that obviously had an impact as we can see from the many reactions that these words received.”
"I echoed what I wanted to hear myself, and it seems that other people wanted to hear the same things. We must believe in ourselves and in our just path, in the hope that we will win, build and prosper, and that our story will have a happy ending. This is simple faith and simple words, that we just have to carry with us on our journey."
Sarit's son, Ben, captured the hearts of many in the sense of confidence he expressed in the just path that he chose when he went out to battle, and in his call not to be sad if he died in battle. Sarit finds the same faith and hope in his words that it will be better here.
"I'm sure Ben is happy with me. We speak the same language," she added. "It's a simple and unpretentious language that starts with me, with you and with all of us.”
“Everything,” she said, “begins with the decision made by each and every one of us to speak differently to those in our immediate environment, without being overly preoccupied with the question of what the next day's discourse will be, but simply to engage in the same conversations.” “
Just do it,” she urged, “in Ben’s memory and for the success of us all.”