Efrat Kobi was already past her due date and showed no signs of progress, but one phone call from her brother announcing his return home from months of fighting in Gaza hastened the birth, and within a few hours, the baby arrived.
L) Rafi active in the field. R) Efrat Rubin with her husband and their newborn son. Photography: Courtesy of the family.
Nearly three months had passed since Kiryat Motzkin resident, Efrat Kobi, saw her younger brother Rafi*, a paratrooper sniper who is currently serving in Gaza. Rafi had been staying on his army base over Sukkot; a week later he was in the field when the events of October 7 unfolded. Finally, only a few days ago, he was released to return home for a few hours, and the timing could not have been more perfect. He came straight to the maternity ward at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, to meet his parents, sister, grandparents, and, of course, his new nephew. As the only one missing, he arrived to an eagerly waiting family.
“I had already passed my due date and nothing happened,” explains Kobi who, at the time, was over 40 weeks pregnant. “We were sitting down to eat with the whole family and suddenly my brother called to say he was coming home. Within three hours, I was in the delivery room. A few hours later, the baby was born just in time to meet my brother. We couldn’t stop laughing over the fact that my extended pregnancy was all so that my son would arrive right on time to meet his uncle.”
Kobi reflects on the happy and unusually moving moment when the men of the family met. “We had not seen each other for such a long time. There were weeks of stress, anxiety, tension, and concerns. At a time when you want to be surrounded by family and celebrate the experience of your first birth with the ones you love,” she says, “my heart and head were pulled in all directions.” She continues, “My brother was so excited to meet the baby and I was thrilled to see them together. It was too short and he returned to his base. This is our reality. I have every hope that he will be able to return for the brit [circumcision].”
This emotional family gathering took place in the shadow of a complex reality. Kobi, herself an army personnel says “For weeks we have been following my brother with concern. He was in the field when it all started, helped evacuate Kibbutz Be’eri, and fought in every battle he faced. There are days when we don’t hear from him and don’t know what’s going on with him. It’s not easy. We are here in a situation where everything is mixed – the personal with the national, the joy with the sadness and worry. Who would have thought that my first child would grow up in the shadow of a war from the South and a front that threatens to open from the North?” But Kobi declares with determination, “We are a family of fighters and a country of heroes. I’m sure we will win and come out of this with a better future.”
*Name changed for security reasons.
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