October 7 survivor shares resilience story with Orange County Jews

Orange County Jews filled the Chabad Center in Monroe on Thursday, May 14, to hear Barak Morag, an October 7 survivor from Kibbutz Nir Oz, describe how one of Israel’s hardest-hit communities is trying to rebuild after the Hamas attacks.

Chabad of Orange County and the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County organized the evening around Morag’s presentation, From the Ashes of Kibbutz Nir Oz: A Journey from Loss to Light. The gathering drew Monroe residents, congregants and organizers who came to hear firsthand testimony from someone whose life was altered by the attack and who has continued speaking publicly about survival and recovery.

Morag said the large weeknight turnout and the reactions from attendees left him with renewed strength. The crowd’s response made the event more than a lecture. It became a shared moment of witness, with local residents listening to a man whose family life in Kibbutz Nir Oz had included his wife, Ziv, and their children, Gaya and Itamar before October 7.

Dr. Leslie Green of Chester also addressed the audience, speaking about the need to educate against antisemitism and the role of the Jewish Federation in strengthening Jewish identity, fostering unity and standing up for the community. Her remarks linked the evening’s emotional weight to a practical local mission that Orange County institutions continue to carry out through public programming and Jewish education.

The stakes behind Morag’s story are stark. Kibbutz Nir Oz was one of the hardest-hit communities on October 7, 2023. Of its 400 residents, 117 were killed or kidnapped, and only seven of 220 homes were untouched by the violence. In November 2024, the community voted to rebuild, making reconstruction and the return of members central to its future. That decision gave Morag’s appearance in Monroe a wider meaning: the audience was not only hearing about survival, but about what comes after it, including memory, solidarity and the hard work of rebuilding.

For Orange County Jews who turned out on a weeknight in Monroe, the evening showed how local institutions are answering trauma with gathering, listening and public support. The event tied a kibbutz in southern Israel to a county audience that chose to show up and stand with a survivor still carrying the aftermath of October 7.