Sigal, the widow of Arie Kraunik, the head of Kibbutz Be’eri’s security squad, was invited to speak at the Hartman High School for girls in Jerusalem, one of the institutions associated with the liberal Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Arie was murdered on October 7th after single-handedly killing eight Hamas terrorists.
During Sigal’s speech on Monday, she quoted Avida Bachar of Kibbutz Be’eri, who lost his wife, his 15-year-old son, and one of his legs on October 7. Bachar, a former pro-Palestinian leftist, said in interviews from his hospital bed that if he could, he would wipe out the entire Gaza Strip.
“I’m going to say something difficult. It’s fortunate that the October 7 massacre happened at Be’eri,” Bachar said to Channel 12. “I think that if it had happened in Gush Etzion, what would I have said at that moment? I would have said, ‘Why do they live there?’ I might have said, ‘They deserve it.’ I would have said all the worst things in the world.”
“It’s fortunate that it happened in my home, it’s mazal that I paid a very high price for this lesson. It’s mazal that I learned this lesson.”
Sigal Kraunik quoted Bachar, saying that she also had learned a painful lesson about the true nature of the Palestinians. But the left-wing school did not appreciate her perspective and tried to stop her speech.
“When there were about 400 students in the hall, I began my speech, which I had already delivered about 250 times,” Sigal wrote on social media. “In the middle, the student who invited me approached me and signaled me to stop for a moment and whispered something in my ear: ‘The principal says that this isn’t the school’s message, and if it’s possible, skip ahead and go directly to your personal story.’”
Kraunik recounts how, at that moment, she gathered strength from what ex-IDF general Ofir Winter once said about humility. “I stopped, I took a breath, and then Ofir Winter’s spirit stood before me and reminded me of the new meaning of humility that I learned from him.”
She gave her answer to the young woman tasked with stopping her.
“This is the speech, this is my truth, and if it doesn’t suit the principal, I can leave and go home,” Sigal told her. “I hadn’t even finished the sentence when suddenly there was thunderous applause in the hall. The students were applauding loudly.”
“That’s how a victory of the spirit is born!” she stated. “Education should allow students the power of choice. A democracy holds space for every opinion and free choice. I continued my speech only for those pure faces and hands that expressed what their hearts wanted.”
The parents of students at Hartman School published an apology letter that was sent to Sigal.
“The parents of Hartman High School for Girls write you this letter with a heavy heart and a desire to express a clear position regarding what occurred yesterday at the school. We wish to express honest and deep apologies following the incident that does not reflect our position as parents,” the letter stated.
“We, as parents, were not present at the lecture, but we heard from the girls about the honest, simple, and powerful words that you said. Your words touched our daughters; they made them think and act, and left a mark. Because of that, it is difficult and painful for us to learn that at the most important moment, you were insulted,” the parents added.
They emphasized, “This incident does not reflect us. This is not the educational spirit that we believe in, this is not the way we want to raise our children. We are hurt by what happened to you, we ask forgiveness with our whole heart, and express full solidarity and support for you. We would be happy to partake in any way you ask – in commemoration, memorializing, and healing. This is not a matter of political opinion, but a humane, democratic, and Jewish approach that gives space for every opinion and every person.”
