In a special lecture ahead of the elections, Rabbi Dudi Dudkevitch emphasized that voting is not merely a civic right, but a Torah obligation and a responsibility toward the future of the country.
In a special lecture ahead of the elections, Rabbi Dudi Dudkevitch, Rosh Yeshiva of the Ro'eh Yisrael Yeshiva and rabbi of the community of Yitzhar, emphasized that voting is not merely a civic right, but a Torah obligation and a responsibility toward the future of the country.
Drawing on the teachings of Rabbi Avraham Shapira, the Chafetz Chaim, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he stressed the importance of achieving practical results, warned against wasting votes, and explained why every ballot cast could constitute a contribution toward bringing merit to the public.
"Elections, on the one hand, are primarily, pri
marily, primarily practical. Of course, ultimately, a person has to decide what to do and whom to vote for," Rabbi Dudi Dudkevitch said at the beginning of his pre-election lecture.
Nevertheless, he explained, the decision at the ballot box is also an opportunity for deeper reflection: "Not only where and for whom we vote, but primarily how we evaluate matters involving such public and national questions."
At the center of the lecture was a letter written by Rabbi Avraham Shapira, former head of the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, containing an unequivocal ruling: "The entire matter of your participation in public elections is not optional, but rather an actual obligation under Jewish law."
Rabbi Dudkevitch elaborated on Rabbi Shapira's character and his role in continuing the tradition of halachic rulings established by the great rabbinic authorities of previous generations.
He explained that Rabbi Shapira's position was not a personal innovation, but rather an expression of a longstanding halachic tradition that regards participation in elections as a public obligation.
One of the central sources cited during the lecture was the teaching of the Chafetz Chaim, who compared those who evade participation in elections to the inhabitants of Meroz, who are condemned in the Song of Deborah: "Curse Meroz... because they did not come to the aid of the Lord against the mighty."
"It cannot be that a person stands on the sidelines as though this has nothing to do with him," Rabbi Dudkevitch emphasized.
According to the rabbi, public responsibility does not end with expressing an opinion or identifying with a particular ideology, but requires action that has a tangible impact.
The rabbi also addressed the security implications of political decisions.
He sharply criticized the Oslo Accords, which he said bear responsibility for bloodshed, and warned against diplomatic approaches that could endanger Israel's security.
"This is absolutely a matter of saving lives in the physical sense, and also of preserving life in the spiritual sense," he said, explaining that, in his view, the elections concern both the security of Israel's citizens and the preservation of the country's Jewish identity.
He subsequently quoted Rabbi Shapira: "We are obligated and commanded to participate and elect our representatives, who will defend these matters."
A significant portion of the lecture was devoted to the question of whom voters should trust to protect the values of the Torah and religion.
Rabbi Dudkevitch cited Rabbi Shapira's teaching that the protection of religious matters should not be entrusted to those who are not personally committed to observing them.
"Someone who is not careful about something cannot be trusted to protect it," the rabbi summarized the principle.
He illustrated the point by comparing it to someone who would not entrust his car to a driver whose caution he did not trust.
At the same time, he emphasized that declarations and good intentions are not enough.
The practical outcome of voting must also be considered, particularly the risk involved in voting for party lists that fail to cross the electoral threshold.
"You believe in something? Make sure it happens," he said, warning of a situation in which "hundreds of thousands of votes, tens of thousands of votes, could be lost."
Another argument presented by the rabbi concerned the mitzvah of zikui harabim, bringing spiritual merit to others.
To illustrate the concept, he recounted a sermon by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef describing a person who arrives in the World of Truth and discovers that he has been credited with establishing a mikveh, a Torah school, and a yeshiva, even though he never personally established any of them.
"Did you vote for Shas? You built the mikveh, you built the Torah school, you built the yeshiva," the rabbi quoted the message of the sermon.
"That is bringing merit to the public. What's the question? That is bringing merit to the public," he emphasized.
He explained that voting can influence the establishment of Torah institutions, synagogues, and mikvehs, as well as the strengthening of Jewish education.
Toward the end of the lecture, the rabbi also cited the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who called on people not only to vote themselves but also to encourage others to participate in elections.
The Rebbe warned of the responsibility involved in abstaining from voting and asked who could bear the burden of the public harm that might result from such abstention.
Rabbi Dudkevitch concluded his lecture by emphasizing the responsibility incumbent upon every individual to participate actively in public decisions rather than simply standing on the sidelines.
"One must act not only on one's own behalf, but also encourage others to act," he said, connecting his remarks to the call to join in "the aid of the Lord against the mighty."
Israel to supply Cyprus with advanced naval patrol vessel
Israel signs defense deal to supply Cyprus with new patrol vessel equipped with advanced Rafael naval systems
And the systems on P61 will be upgraded
The Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus on Monday signed an agreement for the acquisition of a new offshore patrol vessel (OPV).
The ceremony was held in Cyprus.
The deal was led by the IMOD's International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) and the CyMOD’s Armaments & Defence Capabilities Development Directorate.
Under the agreement, signed by IMOD Director General Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram, and his Cypriot counterpart, Mr. Stelios Kountouris, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Cyprus Ministry of Defence, Israel will supply Cyprus with a new patrol vessel built by Israel Shipyards and fitted with a range of Rafael naval systems. In parallel, the systems aboard Cyprus' existing Israel Shipyards-built patrol vessel will be upgraded.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Head of SIBAT Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas. Also attending the ceremony were Israel's Ambassador to Cyprus, Shuli Davidovich; Israel Shipyards CEO, Eitan Zucker; head of Rafael's Naval Warfare Systems Directorate, Ran Tavor; and other senior officials.
This agreement marks another important step in strengthening the operational capabilities of the Cyprus Naval Command and enhancing its capacity to respond to maritime security challenges. The new OPV, alongside the upgraded OPV IOANNIDES, will support expanded patrol, surveillance, and search-and-rescue missions. By strengthening their capabilities and deepening their partnership, the two countries reaffirm their commitment to regional stability.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/435181
Israel to supply Cyprus with new offshore patrol vessel equipped with Rafael systems
Israel and Cyprus have expanded their defense cooperation in recent years, including naval security, military exercises, and defense procurement.
Israel and Cyprus signed an agreement on Monday for the acquisition of a new offshore patrol vessel (OPV) equipped with advanced Israeli naval systems, the Defense Ministry announced.
It was signed in Cyprus by Defense Ministry Director General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram and Stelios Kountouris, acting permanent secretary of the Cyprus Defense Ministry.
According to the Defense Ministry, the deal was led by its International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) and the Cypriot Defense Ministry's Armaments & Defense Capabilities Development Directorate.
"Israel will supply Cyprus with a new patrol vessel built by Israel Shipyards and fitted with a range of Rafael naval systems," the ministry said. "In parallel, the systems aboard Cyprus's existing Israel Shipyards-built patrol vessel will be upgraded.”
Cyprus
The signing ceremony was attended by Head of SIBAT Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yair Kulas, Ambassador to Cyprus Shuli Davidovich, Israel Shipyards CEO Eitan Zucker, and Rafael's Head of Naval Warfare Systems Directorate Ran Tavor.
"This agreement marks another important step in strengthening the operational capabilities of the Cyprus Naval Command and enhancing its capacity to respond to maritime security challenges," the ministry said.
"The new OPV, alongside the upgraded OPV IOANNIDES, will support expanded patrol, surveillance, and search-and-rescue missions."
The ministry added that the agreement reflected the two countries' commitment to regional stability.
Israel and Cyprus have expanded their defense cooperation in recent years, including naval security, military exercises, and defense procurement. Cyprus previously acquired the OPV Ioannides from Israel Shipyards, providing a foundation for the latest agreement, which includes upgrades to the existing vessel.
The two countries also cooperate with Greece on regional security matters, including exercises and military coordination in the eastern Mediterranean.
Cyprus received its first Israeli-built offshore patrol vessel, Commodore Andreas Ioannides, in 2018. The vessel was equipped with Rafael Typhoon naval weapon stations. Cyprus has also acquired Israeli defense equipment including the Barak MX air-defense system and Spike LR2 anti-tank missiles, according to a report by Cyprus Mail.
The value of the new naval agreement was not disclosed in the ministry's statement, although Calcalist previously reported that the proposed package was worth approximately $100 million.
The exercise, attended by the commanders of both countries' navies, highlights the growing military cooperation between Jerusalem and Athens and could also be interpreted as a signal to Ankara.
Israel and Greece conducted a joint naval exercise in the Mediterranean Sea this week, practicing a series of operational scenarios, including sinking an enemy vessel with missile fire.
Israeli Navy missile boats and vessels from several units of the Greek Navy participated in the exercise.
The drill was led by Israeli Navy Commander Vice Adm. Eyal Harel and his Greek counterpart, Vice Adm. Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras, with the participation of the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, Gen. Dimitrios Choupis.
During the exercise, the naval units practiced a range of operational scenarios, including identifying and neutralizing maritime threats, sailing as a combined force, and sinking a hostile vessel using missile fire.
The two navies also practiced developing a shared maritime operational picture and improving coordination in defensive and offensive scenarios.
Greece, Turkey struggle in longstanding Mediterranean rivalry
The exercise comes amid the longstanding rivalry between Greece and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean, including disputes over maritime boundaries and territorial rights.
Although the IDF did not present the exercise as a message directed at Turkey, the joint offensive drill between Israel and Greece underscores their military capabilities and growing defense ties.
In December 2025, Israel, Greece, and Cyprus signed a trilateral military cooperation plan for 2026, covering joint exercises, training programs, working groups, and strategic military dialogue. The agreement was intended to deepen defense cooperation and strengthen regional security and stability.
The IDF described the exercise as a significant leap forward in military and naval cooperation between the two countries, aimed at strengthening joint readiness, addressing emerging threats, and preserving freedom of action and navigation in the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel, Greece, Cyprus discuss establishing joint rapid-response force
The growing partnership also follows discussions between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus about establishing a joint rapid-response force capable of operating on land, at sea, or in the air. The initiative, which was under preliminary consideration in December 2025, was intended to strengthen regional deterrence amid concerns about Turkey's expanding military and strategic presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
"The joint exercise with the Greek Navy represents a significant component in deepening operational cooperation between the two navies. We are constantly working to strengthen the readiness of our forces and expand our capabilities to address emerging threats in the maritime domain,” Harel said.
“The strategic partnership with Greece is a significant force multiplier, strengthening our ability to operate together, both defensively and offensively, to safeguard security and freedom of navigation in the Mediterranean Sea."
Bruce Blakeman’s campaign for governor of New York rests on a straightforward argument: The state has become too expensive, too dangerous, and too out of touch with common-sense values.
As Nassau County executive, Blakeman is trying to turn his experience governing Long Island’s most populous county into a statewide victory. His opponent, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, has defended her record on public safety, economic development, and support for religious communities while criticizing Blakeman’s close relationship with President Donald Trump. The contest has become a debate not only over policy but also over the direction of New York’s political culture.
For Jewish New Yorkers, the election is a chance to examine what each candidate proposes to do about the issues that affect their families, institutions, and communities.
From Long Island to Statewide Politics
Blakeman is a lifelong Long Island resident, born in Oceanside and raised in Valley Stream. An attorney by training, he graduated from Arizona State University and California Western Law School before building a career in public service and politics. He served on the Hempstead Town Council and the Nassau County Legislature and as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In November 2021, he was elected Nassau County executive, the first Jewish person to hold the office.
Throughout his career, Blakeman has paired local government experience with a longstanding emphasis on public safety, fiscal restraint, and opposition to policies he considers overly permissive toward criminal offenders. His administration points to police recruitment, investment in law enforcement, and efforts to contain spending as its central accomplishments. According to Nassau County’s official account, it eliminated $150 million in planned tax increases inherited from Blakeman’s predecessor, implemented fiscal restraints, and earned credit-rating upgrades. The county also reports that it added police officers and invested in law-enforcement infrastructure.
Before Blakeman was even sworn in as county executive, he hosted local rabbis and Jewish communal leaders to hang a mezuzah at his new office. For him, it was more than a ceremony. He says his faith is where he draws his strength, and he still thinks back to a serious talk his grandfather had with him in the kitchen when he was nine years old, a memory he says guides him in the job.
He attends Shabbat morning services at the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, a Modern Orthodox synagogue. At home, he and his wife, Segal Magori Blakeman, who is Israeli-American, keep a kosher kitchen, and he credits her with deepening his observance. He doesn’t claim to have fully arrived: He has called himself “AOB,” or “Almost Orthodox Blakeman.”
(Credit: Benny Polatchek/Blakeman Campaign)
Blakeman has also cultivated ties with Jewish organizations and political leaders. His administration organized a large pro-Israel rally and established a bipartisan task force on antisemitism on Long Island. Those initiatives now anchor his broader argument that Nassau County offers a model for protecting Jewish communities throughout New York.
Public Safety and Cost of Living
Public safety and affordability are the two most prominent themes of Blakeman’s campaign. He has criticized Hochul’s approach to criminal justice, arguing that state policies have made it harder to hold offenders accountable, and has challenged her on taxes, utility costs, and the broader expenses of living in New York. At the candidates’ October 13 debate, the two clashed over criminal justice, immigration, energy prices, and the state’s economic direction.
For Jewish families, these concerns often reach beyond the issues dominating statewide campaign advertisements. Many Orthodox households face substantial costs for housing, food, transportation, and Jewish day-school tuition. In neighborhoods where families depend on nearby synagogues, yeshivas, and kosher businesses, the cost of living can influence whether younger generations stay in New York or move elsewhere.
Blakeman’s emphasis on tax relief may resonate with families worried about their financial future. Its practical effect, however, will depend on the details: which taxes he would reduce, how much households would save, how he would pay for the changes, and whether a Democratic-controlled legislature would approve his plans.
Public safety matters just as much. Families want to feel secure traveling to synagogue, attending communal events, and sending their children to school, and Blakeman argues that stronger policing and consistent enforcement are essential to that goal.
“My approach to law enforcement is no-nonsense: Enforce the law, fund the police, and back the police. The whole culture, tone, and tenor of the criminal justice system will be different with me as governor, and we will no longer be a sanctuary state,” Blakeman said in a meeting with the editorial board of The Jewish Press.
The question is how his proposals would translate into measurable improvements, particularly in New York City, where crime patterns, police operations, and public transportation differ from those in Nassau County.
Fighting Antisemitism
Blakeman has made combating antisemitism a central part of his political identity. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and the ensuing war, Jewish communities across the United States have faced heightened concerns about threats, harassment, and hostility connected to debates over Israel. Jewish New Yorkers have also confronted questions about security at synagogues, schools, and communal institutions.
For many in the Orthodox community, those concerns are part of daily life. Leon Goldenberg, a board member of Agudath Israel of America and a Brooklyn business owner, put it bluntly. “Antisemitism is the number one issue for our community,” he said. “[In] the Orthodox community, where we are wearing yarmulkes and hats, everyone is looking behind their back when they go outside their own community. There is a fear factor in our children too. And I have one question: Is your church locked? No. My shul is. Why?”
In his meeting with The Jewish Press, Blakeman also described the stakes in personal terms. “I’m not doing this because I want to be governor – I’m doing this because I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to my kids and my grandkids if I don’t do it,” he said. “This is a carbon copy – or a mirror image – of 1938, whether people want to see it or not.”
He argues that his approach in Nassau County shows how government can respond through law enforcement and restrictions meant to prevent disorder. He has defended policies addressing protester face coverings and stressed the importance of holding people accountable when demonstrations cross legal boundaries. His campaign presents these measures as part of a broader commitment to protecting Jewish residents, while critics of some of his policies have raised concerns about civil liberties and the effect of restrictions on lawful expression.
Both considerations matter. A governor must protect religious communities from threats and violence while respecting constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. Blakeman would have several avenues for doing so, including coordination among law-enforcement agencies, support for security funding, enforcement of existing civil-rights protections, and engagement with Jewish communal organizations. What voters still need to know is which specific measures he would implement, how much funding they would require, and how his administration would measure their effectiveness.
Israel Support
Support for Israel is also a prominent part of Blakeman’s public messaging. He has criticized politicians whose statements or policies he considers hostile to Israel and has emphasized his own commitment to the Jewish state’s security, a message reinforced by his appearances before Jewish organizations and his administration’s pro-Israel initiatives. The issue has taken on added weight in New York’s political debate as disagreements over Israel, Zionism, and the war in Gaza have intensified.
Blakeman has also used Hochul’s relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to challenge the governor’s judgment and political alliances. At a private meeting with hasidic leaders in October, he raised concerns about whether city leadership would adequately protect Jewish neighborhoods during potential unrest. Political opponents criticized his remarks as irresponsible, fear-based rhetoric. The controversy illustrates how intense the debate has become over who can best protect Jewish communities.
Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School professor emeritus, made the case for Blakeman in starker terms. “The best reason Jews and others who love America should vote for Blakeman is Hochul,” he told The Jewish Press. “She is a Mamdani-El-Sayed Democrat. That party under its current leadership endangers America in general and Jews in particular.”
For Jewish voters, though, support for Israel is only one consideration among several. Voters may share concerns about antisemitism and Israel’s security while disagreeing about taxation, abortion, immigration, education, or the role of government. A meaningful evaluation of Blakeman’s candidacy therefore means looking past his statements of support for Israel to the policies he would pursue as governor and how they would affect New York’s Jewish population.
Yeshivas & Affordability
Tuition at day schools and yeshivas can place a heavy financial burden on families, and parents also care deeply about school security, access to legally required educational services, and the ability of religious institutions to operate in keeping with their missions. Blakeman’s emphasis on parental rights and his opposition to certain state education policies may appeal to voters concerned about government regulation of religious schools.
Whatever concerns are specific to Jewish voters, the issue driving the race is one nearly every New Yorker shares: According to a poll released by Quinnipiac University on September 23, the cost of living is the most important issue for 28% of likely voters. The economy follows at 21%, and health care comes next at 11%. Both candidates have built their campaigns around these priorities.
Energy has become the sharpest flashpoint, because it ties directly to rising electricity rates. Hochul advocates a mixed energy strategy and a moratorium on new data centers. Blakeman blames clean-energy mandates for the increases and proposes a return to fracking.
Immigration is a different kind of issue, with a narrower but more intense constituency. It is the top concern for 20% of Republican voters, and it centers on whether the state should cooperate with federal ICE enforcement, a question on which the candidates sharply disagree.
Taxes may be the most direct test of each candidate’s pitch, and the issue carries particular weight among upstate and suburban voters. Blakeman proposes eliminating the income tax for individuals earning under $50,000. Hochul counters by pointing to her record of passing tax cuts for middle-income New Yorkers.
The Challenge of Winning Statewide
Despite his profile on Long Island and his support among conservative voters, Blakeman faces a state with a substantial Democratic registration advantage. His campaign must appeal to Republicans while also drawing independents, suburban voters, and Democrats dissatisfied with the incumbent. His positions on taxes and public safety may help define that appeal, but his association with Trump could complicate efforts to reach voters who oppose the president.
Hochul has repeatedly tied Blakeman to President Trump, noting that Trump himself called him “100% MAGA” – and her campaign has portrayed him as a puppet of the president. She has applied that argument to affordability, blaming Republicans in Washington, including Trump, for rising costs, and cited tariffs, the conflict with Iran, and what she describes as politically motivated efforts to withhold federal disaster aid. She points to her record of passing tax cuts for middle-income New Yorkers as her answer to the squeeze on household budgets. On immigration, she called federal enforcement “out of control” and stressed her opponent’s broad support for it.
Blakeman answers that the problem lies in Albany, not Washington. He blames Hochul for the state’s high taxes and for repeated utility-rate increases, and he says she brings up Trump because she does not want to discuss her own record. He offers his own remedies: eliminating the income tax for individuals earning under $50,000, and, on energy, blaming clean-energy mandates and proposing a return to fracking. On immigration, he argues that Hochul’s sanctuary policies have made the state less safe. At the October 13 debate, during which Trump was mentioned at least 42 times, he sought to show he is not beholden to the president and at times distanced himself from Trump.
The outcome will depend on turnout, the candidates’ ability to persuade undecided voters, regional voting patterns, and the extent to which voters prioritize state issues over national political divisions.
Rabbi Dr. Hank Sheinkopf, one of New York’s leading political consultants, told The Jewish Press that it is crucial at this stage for the Blakeman campaign to generate direct voter contact to increase its chances of victory – street campaigning, door-knocking, phone banks. He also sees a need, and a strong rationale, for Jewish community support. “Jewish voters must feel fully invested,” he said. “Those who understand what the Democrat[ic] Socialists of America represents have only one choice. And that’s not the Democrats.”
Blakeman made clear in his editorial board interview that he sees turnout as central to the effort, saying, “You should put it on the front page of your newspaper every week: that it is a disgrace not to vote when your property rights, your religious rights, and your freedom are at stake.”
The campaign is a test of whether Blakeman can broaden his appeal beyond his core supporters. Jewish voters across the state should also be asked directly what they want most from their next governor – whether that’s action on antisemitism, a clear stance on Israel, affordable housing, or continued support for yeshiva education.
What’s ultimately at stake goes beyond the question of whether a Jewish Republican can win New York. Blakeman’s candidacy is a moment of reckoning for the state: How seriously will its leaders take the concerns of Jewish communities, and what specific, concrete commitments will candidates make to address them?
See next week’s JP, for an exclusive interview with Blakeman.
A visitor at the Bound in Memory exhibit at the National Library in Jerusalem. Photo by Dor Pazuelo/National Library of Israel.
The last WhatsApp messages that Hersh Goldberg-Polin sent his mother, Rachel, and father, Jon, before Hamas gunmen took him hostage are searing in their brevity. “I love you,” read the first one as he hid in a roadside bomb shelter near the Supernova festival, and his best friend Aner Shapira caught and threw back hand grenade after hand grenade before he was killed.
“I’m sorry,” read the second one, just before Hersh, then 23, was severely wounded and taken captive.
“They caught me,” she wrote, followed soon afterwards by “Find me, OK?”
Hersh and Eden were held captive in Hamas tunnels for 11 months before their Hamas captors brutally murdered them. Their last WhatsApp messages are part of the Bearing Witness project at the National Library of Israel, which has become the repository for many of the physical and digital artifacts of Oct. 7, 2023.
Maya Gan Tzvi, the director of the Bearing Witness Project at the National Library in Jerusalem, says the library is working with partners—in this case Memorial 7/10—to collect all of the messages. She said that so far they have 8,375 chats from people who survived Oct. 7 and many who were killed on Oct. 7. It is the first time in Israel’s history that WhatsApp has played such an important role.
“From an archival perspective you can compare it to letters written during past wars,” she said. “The big difference is that because this correspondence is digital it captures the events while they are still unfolding and documented it in real time. People who wrote these messages didn’t think about them becoming a historical document.”
She said that even if the messages had been previously published in news reports, they are hesitant to publish personal details because of privacy issue.
In a separate project, the library has also received hundreds of GoPro cameras worn by Hamas gunmen who were captured or killed on Oct. 7. Staff are still trying to process the huge amount of information they have recovered, which Gan Tzvi says holds more than 16 million files.
The books in the Bound in Memory display offer a look at the lives of those killed on or after Oct. 7, 2023. Photo by Dor Pazuelo/The National Library of Israel.
Another project you can actually see at the library is an exhibit called Bound in Memory, a display of books, booklets, pamphlets and e-books written by family members of those killed on or after Oct. 7.
Nachum Zitter, the head of Reference Services at the National Library of Israel, says they have already received 250 books, most of them in Hebrew.
“This adds to the general understanding that each person has an entire life story,” he said. “In some cases, they even tried to look at what the future of this person’s life would have looked like. This display is hands-on. You can go into the reading room and flip through the books themselves.”
Quite a few of them are children’s books.
“In the past memorial children’s memorial books were very rare,” he said. “But this war was very much in the public eye and every child knows about it. In addition, many of those killed were married soldier with children, and these books were written for them.”
Some of the authors were people later killed who had left drafts of a book or collections of letters.
Zitter said that reading the books and curating the exhibition took a personal toll on him, and that he got sick just after the exhibit opened. Other staffers at the library say they have needed psychological help after working on the project.
Yet they say they believe the library is playing a crucial role in preserving the history of the events of Oct. 7.
