Bearing Witness | Why We Went to Israel
Wendy Earle explains that after the profound experiences of our trip to Israel, we felt that more people should visit Israel too; they will learn that Israel is not just fighting for itself, but for the freedom and democracy that underpins the civilisation that we too easily take for granted.
On Wednesday June 4th, at 7pm, some of the group who attended the solidarity trip will be sharing photos and reports of their experiences in Israel at an event in London and online. The event is free to join. You can book tickets for the live stream here:
If you would like to attend the London event in person, please contact us directly for details.
The first Our Fight tour to Israel took place in late April 2025 with a core group of 12, nearly all of whom had never been to Israel before–a mix of Jews, Christians and atheists.
Full details of the trip can be found in the press release:
Our Fight
Bearing Witness
A key element of the trip was to ‘bear witness’. We wanted to hear accounts from survivors, visit sites such as Nova and Kibbutz Nirim, talk with soldiers and citizens, and most importantly, bring those stories back and share them.
To this end each group member has written personal reports responding to their experience of the tour, and as each one is published it will be included below.
For Civilisation
We were all surprised and impressed by how ‘normal’ Israel seemed—how easy it was to get around, how safe we felt, how open people were to talking to us (and pleased that we were visiting), how easy it was to feel at home (or on holiday), how historically interesting and demographically diverse the country is.
In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem we could hardly believe we were in a country at war with its neighbours (and increasingly, its supposed friends). But in what we saw and learned about the country in the nine packed days that we were there, we discovered a palpable sense among Israelis of being under siege and not only fighting for their lives and their own future, but for the future of Western civilisation too.
Israel clearly has a very strong sense of itself and why it exists. As the only state in the world committed single-mindedly to the protection of Jewish people after the horrors of the Holocaust, ‘next time we will be able to fight back’ was a common refrain. But Israel is also aware of its fragility, surrounded as it is by states that refuse to recognise its right to exist–a problem to some extent compounded by its own internal divisions.
Resilience
The memory of the Holocaust is–unsurprisingly–deeply ingrained. Joining the Yom HaShoah commemorations forced us to remember how low humanity can sink. But the commemorations also reminded us how courageous and resilient people can be in refusing to accept their fates–a theme that we heard repeated many times in many contexts.
The fear that it could happen again, under the conditions of Jew-hating barbarism exposed by Hamas's invasion, underlies the actions of the government and the support it gets from most of the population. This fear is interlaced with a popular determination that Israel will not give way and will survive this and future trials, because the sense of nationhood is born of a belief that its traditions and aspirations are rooted in a love of the best that human civilisation can achieve.
In what follows, each of the tour participants offers their personal highlights and reflections on a tour that affected us all profoundly. The reports represent our attempts to witness what Israelis are dealing with as they defend their country. We all came away thinking that more people should visit Israel, more often, and learn for themselves what the country is and what it is fighting for.
In particular non-Jews may learn that Israel is not just fighting for its own way of life, but for the belief in freedom and democracy that underpins the civilisation that we too easily take for granted.
Videos
We have an incredible collection of videos from the trip, which we are in the process of editing and adding to our YouTube channel. If you'd like to be notified when new videos come online then please subscribe to our channel through this link.
Reports
We are putting all of the reports online, and you will be able to read about the experiences of our group and see some of their incredible photos. Here are some of those that we have added so far, with the rest to follow soon.
From the Shoah to Nova
Wendy Earle writes that what struck her most was the commitment to remembering the dead, while deeply valuing life.
Our Fight
A Deep Responsibility
Suzy Gold says she returned from Israel with a deep sense of responsibility to be an ambassador for truth.
Our Fight
Each Name Remembered
After visiting Israel, Elisabetta Gasperoni now believes that you cannot understand 'Never Again' without understanding the Jewish state.
Our Fight
We Laughed. We Cried
Lesley Chisick writes of the strong emotions the group experienced.
Our Fight
A Responsibility to Defend
Brid Hehir was struck by the strong sense of duty amongst the young IDF soldiers she saw during our solidarity trip, and the sense of gratitude to them from most Israeli citizens.
Our Fight
