top of page
THE ATTACK ON ISRAEL
October 7th, 2023
BROKE ME
The SILENCE of my “Friends”
Devastated Me
The World’s Protests and Celebrations
Horrified Me
And So I Came Back
To Tell the Stories of Who They Were
and Who We Are
This Lonely but Sacred Mission - it is our Heart, it is our Soul
Our hearts break and bleed blood orange, yet our screams are heard and scrolled past.
Melanie Preston
Mar 413 min read
249 views
0 comments
A 500-Minute Fast on Day 500; Prayers for Tal Shoham and Kibbutz Be'eri; Remembering Itay Svirsky on his 40th Birthday - Feb 17th, 2025
Out of 250 faces of strangers all over Tel Aviv, Itay's was the one that leaped off the page and straight into my heart.
Melanie Preston
Feb 179 min read
346 views
0 comments
Shock and Horror Linger as an Uneasy yet Resilient Nation Braces for Future Releases
"So much for 'Never Again,'" said Lena Kosinovsky in a text to me last Saturday, as we shared the thoughts so many of us did about how...
Melanie Preston
Feb 1511 min read
430 views
0 comments
A Daughter's Birthday Shines with Light on this First Shabbat with American Dad Keith Siegel Back in Israel After 482 Days of Hell
It must take a minute to digest that he is home – that after 16 months of horror and agony – that her father came back to her family alive.
Melanie Preston
Feb 812 min read
232 views
1 comment
What Does That Press Conference Mean for Our HOSTAGES and this Weekend's RELEASES?!
I imagined IRAN listening to this, and my blood went cold. My heart stopped beating.
Melanie Preston
Feb 55 min read
433 views
0 comments
Listen to Her Voice - on Bringing Home the Girls who Warned of the October 7th Attack
These girls were the eyes of Israel. They were tasked with watching the border with Gaza - that's it - and they saw this attack was coming.
Melanie Preston
Jan 258 min read
1,611 views
0 comments
Imagine Your First Shower in 470 Days.
It is difficult for me to contemplate what could be going through these women's minds as I write this at 7:23am in Charlotte, North...
Melanie Preston
Jan 195 min read
197 views
0 comments
Not Just Names - Not Just Faces - on Day 400
It's puzzling. Even the few people who come to Israel now take the moving walkway to the right of the rows of hostage pictures, instead...
Melanie Preston
Nov 9, 202411 min read
376 views
0 comments
Rising From the Ashes, the Light from Kibbutz Be'eri Leads its Residents Home
I fell in love with Israel because I fell in love with its people.
Melanie Preston
Sep 30, 20248 min read
465 views
0 comments
As Kibbutz Be'eri Residents Shift from a Hotel to Kibbutz Hazerim, I Departed America to Join Them in Israel as the War Only Gets Worse
I made it back to Israel, despite the constant warnings on my phone of escalations with Hezbollah, and now a declaration of a Third...
Melanie Preston
Sep 21, 20247 min read
331 views
0 comments
Hersh - Carmel - Alex - Almog - Eden - Ori
The cursor has been blinking below these six names and faces. I haven't known where to begin because there are so many emotions swirling,...
Melanie Preston
Sep 3, 202411 min read
673 views
0 comments
In Her Own Words: Mother of Piano Player Alon Ohel Describes Her Reality as a 'Hostage Mom' and Calls on World Jewry to Keep Israel What it Was Meant to Be and Must Continue to Be
This is the story of Alon Ohel, based on my interview with his mother in Israel in February. I heard Alon's piano playing on the news...
Melanie Preston
Jun 7, 202415 min read
1,741 views
0 comments
Be'eri Seder in Hostage Square, Hersh Hostage Video Release and the Twisting Tunnels of my Mind on this Passover Like no Other
We are bound in our love for each other and our rich past, entwined in our current struggles and standing as one in a vow for our future.
Melanie Preston
Apr 25, 20248 min read
763 views
0 comments
As Their Posters Fade, Our Resolve Does Not
Six months ago yesterday, 133 people woke up on a fairly normal Thursday. Some were up with the sun practicing yoga, while others made...
Melanie Preston
Apr 7, 20244 min read
656 views
0 comments
Shani Louk: A Legacy of Compassion, Love and Art
On February 7th, Shani Louk would have celebrated her 23rd birthday. Instead, her family and friends gathered at a reception for the...
Melanie Preston
Feb 14, 20246 min read
488 views
0 comments
Inside Israel's Hostage Crisis: Michael Levy’s Heroic Battle to Rescue his Brother from Hamas Captivity
“I have one mission in life. To bring my brother back for his two-year old son," Michael said. "That's my goal." It was 6:45pm on January...
Melanie Preston
Jan 30, 202414 min read
1,414 views
1 comment
How my Heart has Been Breaking Through this Project of Mine, into 136 Families' Worlds
It had seemed like such a good idea, after 37 days of tears by myself in Charlotte. The families of the hostages had been on every...
Melanie Preston
Jan 16, 202412 min read
866 views
0 comments
Letter from a Fallen Soldier to his Parents; Murder of American-Israeli Hostage Judy Weinstein Confirmed
"Dear Mom and Dad, I love you very much. I chose this path myself. I've lived a good and interesting life. Nevertheless, I have never...
Melanie Preston
Dec 28, 20236 min read
101 views
1 comment
Day 68 of a War that is Now Clearly on Multiple Fronts
Something unknown by many abroad but well-known in Israel is that as horrific as the October 7th terror attack on Israel was, with 1400...
Melanie Preston
Dec 13, 202310 min read
43 views
0 comments
An Unplanned Tale as Day One of Hanukkah Lands on Two Months Since October 7th
I feel the weight of the old man's story, which is really the story of Israel, and the weight we all feel, as the tension won't relent and t
Melanie Preston
Dec 8, 20234 min read
193 views
2 comments
bottom of page