Friday, October 16, 2026
Students from Hewlett High School, Lawrence High School and Lynbrook High School gathered at Rabbi Meir and Hadassah Geisinsky’s home in Cedarhurst on Oct. 7 for a Chabad Five Towns CTeen community service program honoring the victims of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel three years ago and supporting Israeli soldiers.
The evening combined remembrance, prayer and action, with students decorating bedazzled claw clips and engraving keychains for Israel Defense Forces soldiers. They also heard from Yehonatan Asayag, 24, a former IDF special forces soldier and machine gunner who shared his experiences on Oct. 7, 2023, and his subsequent service fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Organized by CTeen, a Jewish youth organization, the program encouraged students to honor those who were killed and taken hostage while showing support for the soldiers who continue to defend Israel.
Romy Fruman and Harley Moritz, sophomores at Hewlett High School who helped lead the evening, opened with reflections on the attacks, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and hundreds were taken hostage.
“Three years later, we still carry that with us, and we know so many of you do, too,” Fruman said.
She spoke of the families, children, grandparents and babies whose lives were changed that morning, and of the responsibility to remember those who were killed and the families who waited for loved ones to return.
Moritz said the students’ study of the Kindertransport, the rescue of about 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi-controlled Europe before World War II, had taught them that remembrance must be accompanied by action.
“The lesson we learned from the survivors we interviewed is that remembering is not enough,” she said. “Someone has to act.”
Asayag, who was born and raised in Queens and grew up traveling between New York and Israel, said he began thinking about military service as a child. He remembered asking his mother why soldiers patrolled Israeli streets but were not visible in the same way when he returned to New York.
After graduating high school in 2019, he enlisted in the IDF, joining the Givati Brigade and earning a place in its special forces unit after a demanding selection process.
His training prepared him for counterterrorism operations and dangerous missions in the West Bank. He said repeated raids and exposure to violence took a toll on his mental health after years of service.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Asayag was in New York with his family for Shabbat dinner when he began receiving calls and messages about the attacks. Within two hours, members of his former unit were being called back to duty.
Three days later, he was in Israel, reuniting with his teammates and preparing to enter Gaza.
Asayag described the fear and uncertainty of entering the territory, the fighting he witnessed and the physical and emotional toll of combat.
“I am a living testimony of what actually happened here,” he said. “I know what happened there. No one’s going to convince me otherwise.”
Asayag urged the students not to be intimidated by accusations they may encounter in high school, college or online, encouraging them to seek reliable information and speak up for Israel.
“Do not let them fool you, do not let them trick you,” he said, warning that social media can spread misleading claims about the war.
He closed by encouraging the students to continue attending community gatherings, praying for soldiers and advocating for Israel, emphasizing that their support makes a difference to those serving.
“Keep on doing the things that you’re doing,” Asayag said. “Keep on coming to events like this. Keep on advocating for Israel.”
