October 7 may have been the worst of times for the State of Israel, but it brought out some of the best in Israeli society. The selfless acts of Israel’s first responders on the nation’s most dangerous day portray the true spirit of the Jewish people, who are willing to sacrifice their own well-being in pursuit of the safety of others.
Most of that day’s heroes were individuals who ran into the line of fire. And these heroes made no distinctions between different kinds of Jews.
For Elchanan Kalmanson, putting the safety of others first was second nature. He could not hide from the pinging of his phone on the morning of Simhat Torah, telling his parents and his wife that the day did not look good, and that it was his calling to help.
How Elchanan Kalmanson saved lives at Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7
Dozens of Kibbutz Be’eri survivors owe their lives to the “Elchanan Team.” The late Elchanan Kalmanson and survivors Menachem Kalmanson and Itiel Zohar were awarded the Israel Prize for Civic Heroism, Education Minister Yoav Kirsch announced last month.
The three drove 100 km. from Otniel, a small Religious Zionist community in Judea and Samaria, to Be’eri, the secular kibbutz close to the Gaza border that was under attack – in the hope of rescuing whoever they possibly could.
Menachem and Ithiel joined Elchanan on his 100 km. journey from Otniel, a small Religious Zionist community in Judea and Samaria, to Be’eri, the secular kibbutz in the Gaza border area in the hope of rescuing whoever they possibly could.
They sprang into action on the morning of October 7 and over the course of 16 hours rescued over 100 people from the ongping massacre at Be’eri. Every step of the way, the three men were met with heavy fire.
Elchanan, a father of five and a veteran of Israel’s security services, served as his community’s head of security. Even after his death, Kalmanson’s role remains classified. His grave is the first to be marked with symbols of both the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad. His clearance gave him more information than the average citizen, allowing him to learn more than the public and in real time.
After learning that Kibbutz Be’eri, the largest kibbutz of the Gaza border communities, needed them the most, Elchanan and his group headed to the heat of the action. Thousands of rockets were being fired into Israel, but the three continued to drive fearlessly toward the border. They knew there were risks, but they could not have imagined what was waiting for them.
The 1,100 residents of Kibbutz Be’eri were under siege. If they were not already murdered, they were taken hostage into Gaza, or trapped in their homes and safe rooms. They were being held captive in the kibbutz dining hall until they were rescued. The homes were burning, the screams echoing throughout the unimaginable scene taking place in the once tranquil community. The sounds of gunshots echoed, explosions abound. They were under attack, and the Elchanan team made it their mission to save anyone they could.
AS ELCHANAN and his family members arrived for battle, he took his extensive anti-terror training to the ultimate test.
“Elchanan had trained extensively in anti-terror security operations,” said his father, Rabbi Beni Kalmanson, in an interview with Makor Rishon. “When he arrived, the army had many special forces in Be’eri, but the terrorists had already overtaken tens of homes. The only way to help people was to go house to house, without knowing what you were going to find in each one.”
From there, Elchanan went from safe room to safe room as one of the IDF’s special forces units worked on securing the perimeter. The trio took an armored truck from soldiers onsite before going from home to home, sometimes saving entire families, and sometimes finding entire families slaughtered. When they arrived at a safe room and found that there was no one left to save, they were crushed, but they had to soldier on as best as they could.
World Mizrachi wrote that Elchanan, Menachem, and Itiel packed 10 to 12 people into the armored vehicles that were built to hold only four people. They comforted and saved children who had seen their parents murdered or kidnapped in front of them, they neutralized terrorists who crossed their paths, and scooped people from their safe rooms as their homes were being engulfed in flames. The organization also wrote that the group did not want to return after every round of rescues but they knew they absolutely must do so.
Families needed convincing by the trio that they were not actually Hamas operatives trying to convince them to let down their guard. When families asked what unit of the IDF they were in, they simply said, “Otniel – we are not from the army.” In order to prove themselves as genuinely Israeli, Elchanan recited festive songs and even the Shema.
Though rescue operations began around 8:30 a.m., it would take groups of military personnel and additional assistants nearly 48 hours to neutralize the terrorists all around. The village was ravaged, with terrorists using residents as human shields. The Elchanan team aimed to close out their rescue operations before they were met with the worst of the worst – a terrorist hiding inside a dark house aiming again and again at the selfless crew. Both Elchanan and his brother Menachem, were hit.
In the worst of nightmares, Elchanan died in his brother’s arms.
Along with 85 kibbutz residents, 26 policemen, and IDF soldiers, Kalmanson fell in battle trying to defend those around him.
HIS DEATH is the pure example of how the primary heroes of October 7 were the civilians and average people who stepped up to help. The off-duty officers who knew something was wrong and went straight to the belly of the beast; the bus driver who shuttled the injured and trapped away from the scene; the neighbor who tracked down a Nova festival survivor and saved her from the grip of terrorists.
In an address to the Knesset, Elchanan’s widow Shlomit spoke on behalf of those who had suffered loss at the hands of terrorists who were among the 1,027 released in the hostage deal that freed Gilad Shalit in 2011.
While pleading on behalf of those murdered by terrorists freed in the deal, Jewish News Syndicate quoted the widow’s remarks on her husband’s need to spring into action, with protecting Jewish people as a priority.
“Elchanan left home out of love for all Jews, out of unity, out of a clear understanding that action must be taken. He was ready to give his life for our dear people and beloved country,” she said at the Knesset.
Elchanan Kalmanson swore to protect his country by any means necessary, regardless of political or religious identity. At the end of the day, he wanted to protect Jews and their ability to continue being that – the continuance of the Jewish people.
He died a hero, and will forever be remembered as a person who put the safety of others over his own needs. He will be remembered for his actions which unified a nation that was divided.■