Apr 16, 2025

Healing Through Art and Music Post-October 7

“Resilience” is a word you hear repeatedly since the brutal October 7 terrorist attacks, and Federation leaders saw true resilience in action as part of their recent study trip to Israel. The group of 13 from Miami visited the Vertigo Dance Company and Eco Art Village, a Federation-funded contemporary dance company in an eco-art village in the Elah Valley. Through “resilience cultivation programs,” Vertigo is helping soldiers with PTSD, providing mind-body healing workshops with movement therapy, art therapy and other therapies. A special project for couples also helps soldiers and their families through weekly group work, meditation and other modalities. Participants met 30-year-old Sahar, who was injured during a gun fight on October 7 in Kfar Aza. The trauma of that day left him unable to leave home or speak for weeks. He has been at the Vertigo Resilience Farm for a year and said the program has helped him love music and life again. Watch this space for additional stories from the recent study trip.