Surreal in Israel (Guest: Chava Kleinman)

Where Trauma is Routine and Silence Feels Suspicious

Since the horrors of October 7, 2023, Israel has not known peace—not even for a moment. But while headlines focus on geopolitics, airstrikes, and ceasefires, Chava Kleinman, Vice President of the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, sees the war through a different lens: that of children gripped by trauma, families living under the constant threat of rocket fire, and soldiers cycling in and out of battle with visible and invisible scars.

For Kleinman, this isn’t theoretical. It’s daily life. As someone who works hands-on with terror survivors—many of them young children—she can speak to the emotional cost that doesn’t show up in military briefings. “Since October 7, it’s been a different world,” she says. “Not just for those on the frontlines, but for every mother, every child, every teacher trying to keep a sense of normal.”

With sirens blaring constantly across Israeli communities, IDF soldiers mobilized and remobilized without rest, and a weary public facing a drawn-out war with no clear end, Kleinman offers an urgent human perspective on what resilience—and survival—looks like in a nation under siege.

Her voice is especially timely as Israel faces renewed international scrutiny amid the latest developments in Rafah and growing calls for restraint. Kleinman doesn’t speak as a politician or analyst. She speaks for the people—traumatized but unbroken.

Chava Kleinman is available for interviews to discuss what she’s seeing on the ground, how Israel’s children are coping with trauma, and why the work of emotional healing must go hand-in-hand with national defense. Her insight is raw, powerful, and necessary.

David Rubin is the founder of the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund and maintains the website www.IsraelChildren.org

Rubin is also the author of Trump and The Jews.

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Optional Q&A:

1. Since October 7, how has the trauma landscape changed for Israeli children and families living near conflict zones?
2. What are some of the emotional or psychological symptoms you’re seeing most frequently in the children you work with?
3. Can you describe a moment or interaction since the war began that really crystallized the human toll for you?
4. How are repeated sirens, rocket attacks, and military mobilizations affecting the sense of safety and stability for children and parents?
5. Many soldiers are being rotated in and out of combat zones. How is that impacting their families emotionally—and are the children getting the support they need?
6. What role does the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund play in long-term healing, and how does that differ from emergency psychological aid?
7. Israelis are exhausted—but resilient. What are you hearing from the people you work with about what keeps them going amid the constant threat of war?
8. As international headlines focus on politics and ceasefires, what do you want the world to understand about the emotional battlefield Israeli families are fighting on every day?
9. Where can we learn more about you and the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund?
   1. www.IsraelChildren.org (treating the victims of terror)
      www.DavidRubinIsrael.com (to find out more about David’s many books)
      www.ConfrontingRadicals.com (the movie)

ABOUT CHAVA KLEINMAN (HAVE-ah)…

Chava Kleinman, M.S.W., is a social worker with over 25 years of experience in Israel, now serving as vice-president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund (SICF). Chava is in charge of coordinating SICF’s vast array of crisis intervention initiatives. Especially since the October 7th massacre of Israeli civilians, but also during previous waves of terrorism, she has been on the front lines, offering critical expertise to support affected individuals and communities.

Chava’s professional expertise is complemented by a personal connection to the challenges of war and terrorism faced by Israeli families. She is a mother and wife of IDF soldiers. This experience has further fueled her compassionate leadership and unwavering commitment to resilience and healing.

In addition to her hands-on work in the field, Chava is also an accomplished author, educator, and international presenter. For more information, www.israelchildren.org

ABOUT DAVID RUBIN…
David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of seven books, including his latest, Confronting Radicals: What America Can Learn from Israel, which has recently been made into a movie. Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack.
Websites:
www.IsraelChildren.org (treating the victims of terror)
www.DavidRubinIsrael.com (to find out more about David’s many books)
www.ConfrontingRadicals.com (the movie)

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