As Israel marked the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, Justine Zwerling, a business and community leader and public speaker on the Abraham Accords, shared a personal remembrance on LinkedIn titled “Hugs and mourning,” recalling the first hours of the attack and the friends who reached out to her across borders and faiths.

JZ

Justine Zwerling

Mother of the Middle East · Infinita Club · Voice of the People · God’s Gang · UAE-Israel Business Council · Gulf Israel Women’s Forum · Top Teff · New Market Entry & Growth · Public Speaker on Abraham Accords 2.0

The first calls from the bomb shelter

Zwerling wrote that as they were running into the bomb shelter, and her husband left to fight, the first calls she received came from friends in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Iranian, Lebanese, Moroccan and Indian friends. She described them as her Abraham Accords family and beyond.

“Our Abraham Accords family and beyond. This I will never forget.”Justine Zwerling

Remembering the lost, honoring the fallen

She wrote that she remembers and honors the innocent lives stolen by Hamas terrorists and the people who were kidnapped, and honors the heroes and heroines who fell defending them. “We carry the deep scars,” she wrote, and yet, she added, Israelis stand, rebuild and live.

A closing message

Zwerling ended her post with a simple appeal: “Hug all your friends and family that much closer.”