On the Border of Hope - Softcover

Keidar, Roni

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9655794504 ISBN 13: 9789655794502

Publisher: Niv Publishing, 2025

Synopsis

Roni Keidar, a resident of Moshav Netiv HaAsara, has been lecturing to diverse audiences in Israel and abroad for many years – sharing her story!
Roni, who was born in England, explains in her lectures what had brought her to Israel, specifically to the border with the Gaza Strip, while at the same time becoming a peace activist who believes in the right of another people to live in this land alongside us.
For years, Roni’s listeners had asked her why she had not written her story until the eve of October 7, 2023, when she finally completed the task.
In her book, she recounts her childhood and youth with her family in London, her marriage and motherhood, and the formative experiences that have shaped her worldview and unique beliefs. These range from settling in the Rafah Region following her husband, through the traumatic evacuation as part of the peace agreement with Egypt, to the move to the dunes of Zikim north of the Gaza Strip, and finally to establish the new Netiv HaAsara.
An important part of her story is dedicated to the five years she lived with her family in Egypt, when her husband, Ovadia, was appointed the Israeli Agricultural Attaché in Cairo. It was during these formative years that she was first exposed to the Palestinian narrative and came to the realization that it was only dialogue with the other side that could overcome violence.
Since 2008, Roni has been working to change the reality in the country for the benefit of both peoples living on either side of the border, through organizations such as Other Voice, Road to Recovery, and Women Wage Peace.
In the epilogue, Roni recounts the October 7 attack, which occurred after the book was completed, and everything that has happened to her, her family, and her community since then. It is a chilling account that leaves no eye dry. Although the attack shook her soul, body, life, and the lives of her family, disrupting her community and deeply held beliefs, her stance remains steadfast:
Despite everything we have experienced in the recent, most challenging months of my life, it is clear to me now that ‘I have no other land, even if my land is burning.’ It is also still clear to me that the road to peace is the only road on which we can continue to live and exist in our country.
In these difficult and fateful hours, it seems to me that the message I carry with me – of dialogue, listening, and collaboration between people – is more important, necessary, and essential than ever before.
Roni Keidar is an educator and lecturer, married to Ovadia Keidar, a farmer and artist. She is the mother of Michal, Yoel, Einat, Adi, and Inbal (three of whom live in Netiv HaAsara), a grandmother to 17 grandchildren, and a great-grandmother to two great-grandchildren.

Edition details

• Publisher: Niv Publishing
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9655794504
• ISBN 13: 9789655794502
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 303