Pre-Oct 7th - love and partnership have always been my top priority in everything I do, and I understood early on that this approach works in all aspects of life, though many people found it rather unconventional. I’ve always been an oddball. And I’m proud of it.

October 7^th has shattered us all; it has changed everyone we know in so many ways, all of our realities, our lives and souls will never be the same. We have shed so called “friends” whom we helped along the way without a second thought. But when it came to our time, they turned their backs, and you know the rest.

My brave lion of a husband left to defend our beloved country Israel and save lives on the morning of 7^th October. I have no words to express just how incredible he is and all the sacrifices we made for our country, and continue to make every day, minute by minute, for our people. Proudly and steadfastly, we still do it day after day over and over again.  

Love אַהֲבָה حب

Instead of being paralyzed by this new horror of a reality for us all. I had no choice but to ‘growth hack’ it in a million different ways.

Gulf-Israel Women’s Forum: "Mothers of the Middle East" – A heartfelt moment on the King David rooftop, celebrating our love for the Abraham Accords.

My main support systems come from the Gulf, the Emiratis, Bahrainis, Moroccans, Lebanese, Saudis, Muslims, Christian and Druze at home; and many other countries Israel doesn’t yet have formal relations with like Pakistan and Iran. The bonds we have built with them are strong and demonstrate our shared values: 

• Imagine the power of humanity: hearing a siren, rushing to the bomb shelter with your kids, and then your phone flooding with calls from the Gulf: “Sister, how are you? We are praying for you, we are with you.” Children from the Gulf zooming with my darling children to try to distract them and keep them calm and tell them they are loved.
• Imagine the collaboration: after discovering portable toilet seats in the UAE, I called a friend, and before long, we found a way to deliver them to Israel’s brave soldiers fighting in the north and south “Sister, it is my pleasure to support my brothers and sisters and all of Israel in a small way”
• Imagine the thoughtfulness: “Sister I know your husband is away my wife baked you a cake, please come to the checkpoint, I will give it to you.”
• Imagine the generosity: “Sister you have always done so much for our village, we are honored to give you vegetables and fruits.”
• Imagine this spirit: “Sister, you are my light, please take these flowers for always protecting us all with your love.”
• Imagine the love: “Sister, you protected me and my family during missile attacks in your bomb shelter. My heart is your heart, and we are stronger together always.”

We’ve had to shed people we supported, believed in, and thought were friends, but we’ve moved on. So, what did we gain? Our new family—our true friends and family. Some may call them our 'war family,' but I call them our family and friends for life.

Justine with Israel’s blind runner Avi Solomon (center), who placed 62nd out of 12,000 participants in the Abu Dhabi Marathon, celebrating the spirit of the Abraham Accords.

Since that dreadful day, I had to fight and build on so many different fronts. While my husband saved our world and protected us, I worked to save it in other ways - reverse engineering on every level.

I wrote love letters and songs of love to my precious husband, though I lost track of how many days he was serving. I was inspired by my great Auntie Eleanor (my middle name) OBE. Born in 1900, she met the love of her life, only to be told, 'If you marry, you’re fired.' What did she do? She lived apart from her beloved for 35 years, writing daily love letters to each other. They finally married when the laws changed, but by then, it was too late for children. They shared five years of marriage before he passed away. She was, and still is, my inspiration—chic, sassy, a timeless beauty with the strength of a lioness. I continue to heal us all with love, teaching other wives and mothers along the way. It’s a privilege.

Someone recently talked to me about growth through prolonged trauma – which is what we are all experiencing. And we are remarkably good at it, Baruch Hashem – Thank G-d. Everyday day we rise out of the ashes and rebuild together.

What is clear is we have the collective ability to build a better, brighter and kinder world. As my Emirati family have taught me, ‘Nothing is impossible’ لا شيء مستحيل - La shay' mustaheel.

I’m proud to be part of Ride for Unity, Gods Gang, and President Herzog’s Voice of the People initiative. Join us in rebuilding our new world and keep strong, spread light and love. AM ISRAEL HAI