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Pregnant Israeli War Widows Carry New Life while Processing Death of Fallen Husbands
(Times of Israel) Renee Ghert-Zand - On Oct. 2, 2023, Shahar Naim and her husband Amir celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Five days later, Amir, a member of Kibbutz Erez's emergency response team, was killed defending their kibbutz against invading Hamas terrorists. Shahar, 27, 11 weeks pregnant, was suddenly a war widow. "As soon as Amir understood that something unusual was happening, he jumped up, got ready in two minutes, and went out to handle things. We didn't even have a chance to say a proper goodbye." Since Oct. 7, more than 220 spouses of IDF regular and reserve soldiers have been widowed and more than 500 children orphaned. Of the widows, some 30 are currently pregnant or have recently given birth. The IDF Widows and Orphans (IDFWO) organization recently launched a new program called "By Your Side" to support dozens of pregnant war widows. "There were obviously war widows before in Israel's history, but not in these kind of numbers since our organization was established in the early 1990s," said IDFWO chair Tami Shelach, whose husband, pilot Lt.-Col. Ehud Shelach, was shot down and killed over Egypt during the first days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. "I have visited every widow in her home," Shelach said. "I even met some women who had been doing fertility treatments for years and only discovered after Oct. 7 that they were pregnant. Their husbands died without even knowing." Naim said, "Amir left me and the whole family a huge gift and that makes me take good care of myself and the baby, who is a pinpoint of light I am waiting to meet."