My name is Orit Mark, and I am from Otniel.
I grew up in a large and happy family. I am the middle child among nine siblings.
On July 1, 2016, the unimaginable happened.
My parents, together with two of my younger siblings, were driving. Terrorists opened fire on the car. 27 bullets penetrated the vehicle.
My father, Rabbi Michael “Micky” Mark, was murdered on the spot, my mother, Chavi, was seriously injured, and my brother and sister were also injured.
My parents met when they were 13. They were such a perfect, special, and pure couple. They completed each other in the most precise way. All of that was lost. Forever.
My parents raised and educated us with values of respect, love, and compassion for others. My father was a rabbi and the director of the Otniel Yeshiva. He was a special man with an open mind. He welcomed everyone with a big smile and accepted everyone exactly as they were.
I still find it hard to believe that it’s true, that my father is no longer with us. The shiva days were intense and I felt like they would never end. We were fortunate to have so many special people visit our home, while my father watched over us from above among the clouds. He was so special. So many people offered to help, many supported and strengthened us, and among all these good people were “OneFamily.”
This amazing organization stood by our side, taught us how to move forward, how to continue on the path our father paved for us. They taught us about the hidden strengths within us.
The attack changed everything. Our lives were not the same since then. My father is no longer with us, and my mother was so badly injured that she can’t take care of us like she used to.
My father completed her, and now she’s learning, slowly, to live without him. My mother was hospitalized in Israel for three long months. She lost an eye in the attack and underwent many surgeries on her head and neck. She later went to the USA with one of my brothers for further surgeries, including brain surgeries. She is a true hero.
Since the attack, my older sister, her husband, and their children moved to live in my parents’ house. They did this to take care of the younger siblings who still live at home. While our mother has returned home, she can’t take care of us as before.
We make sure to be together during Sabbath because when we are together, we feel that each one of us has a part of our father with us, and his spirit lives through us. We are different from each other, but our father taught us to embrace the differences and respect one another.
The love and respect we have for each other, despite our differences, is what our father wanted. It’s about supporting one another despite our differences.
Here at “OneFamily,” I met people from various places, young and old, religious and non-religious, people who grew up in small towns and people who grew up in big cities like Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, tech workers or women who chose to stay at home to raise their children and are now widows, like my mother. Despite all the differences, it gives me strength because in “OneFamily,” I am normal.
It’s the only place where I can truly be myself. It’s a place where I can cry and laugh at the same time. It’s a place where they truly understand me and accept me just as I am. This experience taught me that we never know what will happen from one day to the next.
Life is unpredictable, but despite all the difficulties that are part of my life now, I learned to accept the good in my life. There is so much good. I love my family, I am happily married, and I am happy to see the beauty in the world around me.
I can smile and laugh. I chose to have an optimistic perspective on the world, and I know that’s what my father wanted. He wanted us to continue being happy.
For me, when I choose to be happy and see the good in the world, I win the battle against terror every day. It gives me the strength to know that there are people all over the world who care and support terror victims and show their support for them. I draw great strength from the fact that I can continue my father’s path, illuminate the world just as he would.