The Israeli family who hosted fallen soldier Sgt. Rose Lubin during her time in the Israel Defense Forces has been brought to Atlanta in a locally organized project to support families traumatized by the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
Tamar and Idan James, with their four children, are being hosted by Lubin’s father, David, and stepmother, Stephanie Keating Lubin, in Dunwoody. Idan will speak at the Chabad Israeli Center Atlanta on Friday, March 8.
Rose Lubin, 20, a Dunwoody High School graduate who had fulfilled her childhood dream of moving to Israel and serving in the IDF, was stabbed to death while on duty on Nov. 6 in the Old City of Jerusalem. Just weeks earlier, Lubin was visiting the James family, her hosts as a lone soldier.
On Oct. 7 near the Gaza Strip, Hamas killed some 1,200 people and the kidnapped another 250, mostly civilians. As many as 130 of those kidnapped are still being held captive.
Mission: Embrace Israel, a project supported by Chabad Israeli Center Atlanta, has brought to Atlanta about 100 Israelis for several weeks of rest and recuperation. Its initial goal to bring as many as 300 families is facing financial challenges.
Project founder and coordinator Meir Matana said there is no shortage of Israelis wanting and needing rehabilitation time away from Israel.
“We are getting so many applications. The people are really suffering; even if they’ve been relocated to another temporary city, they’re not going to recover for 10 years. They need this breather,” said Matana.
With a tagline of “healing and rebuilding Israeli families attacked by Hamas with psychological and financial relief,” the project can already measure some success, Matana said. Families who returned to Israel after a few weeks in Atlanta are reporting that they feel like they had a chance to recuperate.
As Adi Rozen and her children were leaving Atlanta to return to Israel, she wrote a thank you note. She…
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