Impressions from the 2025 Israel Ride

Day 1, Wednesday, October 29th

After 2 traumatic years for Israelis, Palestinians and many people around the world, the Israel Ride is back! The riders, the staff, the crew, the lead riders, the hotel team, the mechanics, and the medics. We just finished the first day’s ride from Jerusalem to Ashkelon. Alon Tal, founder of the Arava Institute, was our guest speaker at the rest stop. Despite it having been 3 years since we ran an Israel Ride, the first day went incredibly smoothly, muscle memory kicked in and the riders had a great time. I guess it’s just like riding a bike.

Day 2, Thursday, October 30th

In 2003 on the first Israel Ride, I did not ride. I was then Executive Director of the Arava Institute, and my job was to oversee the logistics of the ride – hotels, food, buses, bike company, crew, medics, etc. I drove alongside the riders and cheered them on up the hills. On the second day of the ride, we left Ashkelon and after some not so pleasant riding in traffic and along highways turned into Kibbutz Nir Am off Route 34. We visited the Water Museum and then headed into the heart of the Gaza Envelope, along quiet roads featuring pastoral landscapes. It was there, as I saw riders sweeping by me with so much joy and freedom that I decided that I would not sit in a car on next year’s ride but I would ride a bike. While it is exciting to start riding a bike in Jerusalem, riding through the forests heading south, the Gaza Envelope is the first opportunity for riders to feel the freedom of riding a bike across the land of Israel, entering the biblical desert and channeling Abraham’s wanderings in the Negev. When the Israel Ride turns onto route 232, we feel we are home. We know every turn, every traffic circle, every gas station and every park. These are our rest stops and pit stops as we pass Kfar Aza, Be’eri, we cross Nahal Gerar and stop for a break at Re’im.

On October 7th, 2023, I watched the news in horror as route 232, our Israel Ride home, become the “road of death”. As we planned for this year’s ride, the staff of the Arava Institute and the Friends of the Arava Institute knew we could not ride our usual route without bearing witness to the massacre that occurred on October 7th.
We left Ashkelon around 9:00 on the morning of the 2nd day of the ride. We gave the riders different options. Some chose to ride the whole day (mostly those who had been to the sites of the atrocities of October 7th already). Most, however, chose to bear witness with the ride. I went with the group called Shomrim (the guards). We rode for about 2 hours to Kibbutz Dorot, outside of Sderot. From there, we took a bus to our first stop, “the burnt cars” memorial, where hundreds of burnt-out or otherwise destroyed cars from the attack on October 7th had been gathered in order to retrieve human remains, personal items and other more prosaic reasons such as insurance claims. It is a powerful site. Many cars are arranged in a semicircle with a sign and a QR code you can scan to read the story of their owners. I was deeply moved by the story of Ben Shimoni, who after escaping the terrorist attack at the Nova Festival, picked up strangers, drove them to safety, then turned around and went back to rescue more. After saving 9 lives, he went back for a third attempt to save lives but was himself killed by terrorists along with his passengers.

From the burnt-cars memorial, we travelled by bus to our next stop at Kibbutz Beeri. There is a bike and coffee shop just outside of the gates of Beeri, run by members of the kibbutz which has been a rest stop for the Israel Ride almost every year. This year, we came to hear from two kibbutz members, and a friend of the ride, Adele Riemer, from Kibbutz Nirim, who told us about their experiences on October 7th. Over 100 civilians were killed on Be’eri and 32 were taken hostage. One member of the kibbutz described his preparation that Saturday morning for a bike ride when he saw the rockets, heard the alarms and then the shots from the gate. He managed to get back to his safe room inside his house. He does not know why he survived, and others did not. The second witness was a member of the kibbutz Security Unit, which fought bravely to hold off the terrorists. The intention of such a Security Unit on a kibbutz is to hold of a terrorist attack of a few terrorists for a few minutes until IDF forces arrive. It was never meant to hold off an attack of 350 terrorists for 7 hours until the IDF forces arrived. Adele Reimer, a well known blogger and resident of Kibbutz Nirim, which sits about 1 mile away from the border with Gaza, told of the experience of Nirim, where 5 members were killed and 5 kidnapped. Adele told the story of the quick-thinking head of security at the kibbutz who ordered the electricity to remain cut off and prevent the electric gate from opening allowing terrorists in. Both the members of Be’eri and Adele expressed the lack of trust the people in the Gaza Envelope have for the government and for the army which failed to protect them on October 7th. One member of Be’eri said that there was an understood contract between the residents of the region and the Israeli government, “we work the land, and you protect us”. On October 7th, that trust was broken and cannot be fixed until we all understand what exactly happened. Adele talked about her work prior to the war, trying to build bridges between the people of the Gaza Envelope and the people of Gaza. She mentioned a parallel bike ride, organized by Palestinian youth in Gaza and Israeli youth in the Gaza Envelope, to symbolize a desire for peace. Adele said that she still believes there are people on the other side who want peace, and that she still has hope for an end to the conflict but that the people of Gaza have to prove that they really want peace.

Our final stop was at the site of the Nova Festival, which has become a memorial. This was the most emotional stop of the day. I visited the memorial last year with my 32-year-old daughter who had lost friends at the Nova massacre. Their pictures fluttering in the wind at the sight where hundreds of beautiful, hopeful, youth had gathered for music, dancing, and love and aspired to be part of humanity at large. These flowers of Israel were mowed down by hate which left hundreds of dead, wounded, and traumatized and left a nation in shock. At the end of the visit, the riders gathered in a circle to hear Rabbi Miller chant El Harachamim prayer as tears flowed down the faces of many.

This of course was not a usual day for the Israel Ride. That night, the riders gathered after dinner on Kibbutz Mashabei Sadeh, to process the day. The small room we had gathered in after the daily briefing was filled with sadness and anguish. Many shared their thoughts and emotions with the other riders. While some in the room were new to the Israel Ride and the Arava Institute many have supported the work of the Arava Institute for years. Several riders recalled the impact of the Institute and the encounters with the crew, especially Palestinian crew. They questioned whether the still had faith in such encounters, whether the Institute’s approach to cross-border environmental cooperation was realistic. Some asked if it was enough to make a difference. At one point, one of the riders ranted tearfully about the Hamas inhumanity and the lack of countering Palestinian voices. It was a moment of intense raw emotion and real honesty.

I added my own thoughts at the end. I described my own internal struggles with my daughter whose perspective on the possibility of peace with our neighbors has changed since October 7th. I also spoke of a vision I had during our visit to the Nova Memorial. I envision that someday, not now but some day soon, a mixed delegation of Palestinian and Israeli mothers will visit the Nova Memorial together. They will then go to a village in Gaza like Abasan Al Kabira, just opposite Kibbutz Nirim on the border and see the massive destruction of homes and lives. These mothers will look at each other, and they will say, “We must stop hating each other and killing our babies.”

Day 3, Friday, October 31st

On Friday morning, we road from the Negev Junction via Yeruham to Mitzpe Ramon, stopping at Sde Boker to hear tour guide and member of Kibbutz Ketura Bill Slott tell the tale of Ben-Gurion’s “crazy” decision to quit being Prime Minister and join a kibbutz in the desert. I never get tired of Bill telling the story of the country’s founder. As Ben-Gurion foresaw, we stood on the precipice overlooking Wadi Zin and were awed. After the delicious lunch prepared by a local resident of Midrashet Sde Boker, we climbed back on our bikes and once again headed up the hill to Napha Prison. This legendary hill has challenged generations of Israel Riders. I am happy to say that I got to the top by wheel and by foot, one last time. From the rest stop just past the prison, it was another 15 kilometers to Mitzpe Ramon. Within an hour we were joyfully riding through the town of Mitzpe Ramon, to the newly renovated Daroma Hotel (formerly the Pundak Ramon). We were greeted with cookies, juice, hot showers, and oddly small rooms but were thrilled to be off our bikes, celebrating a restful and well-deserved Shabbat.