Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploration into one key issue shaping Israel and the Jewish World — right now.

No one knew what to expect on October 7 when the initial rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip began pounding Israel.

But veteran, war-hardened residents of the Gaza envelope sensed immediately that something was different this time. They had no idea what was to come.

Adele Raemer has lived on Kibbutz Nirim since 1975. Just 2 kilometers from the Gaza border, on the morning of October 7 she hosted several Facebook live sessions, beginning at the start of the Hamas barrage, and her social media posts document the evolution of the Israeli awareness of the horrifically brutal invasion.

Five Israelis were murdered at Kibbutz Nirim on October 7 and another five are missing.

Today, Raemer and the rest of Kibbutz Nirim are now in a hotel in Eilat. The former teacher is a cherished Times of Israel blogger -- and a trained medical clown who always has a red nose in her bag. She has now made it her life’s mission to tell the world about what happened on October 7.

This week on What Matters Now, we speak with Kibbutz Nirim member Adele Raemer about the events of October 7 and how she and her community are faring now.

Blogs written by Adele Raemer on and since October 7:

I hear massive shooting. I have never been this scared in my life

Painful homecoming

PHOTO ESSAY: My people of Kibbutz Nirim, in black and white

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on iTunes, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, PlayerFM or wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out the previous What Matters Now episode:

https://omny.fm/shows/times-will-tell/what-matters-now-to-israel-storys-mishy-harman-war

IMAGE: Kibbutz Nirim member Adele Raemer in a self-portrait taken in the Kibbutz Nir Oz pomegranate orchard, September 2023. (courtesy)

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