Something was unusual about seeing a group of Swedish Christians in southern Israel working with welding machines, saws, and building materials during the first week of October. Across the country, and particularly in the communities surrounding Gaza, the third anniversary of the October 7 terror attack was being marked by memorial ceremonies throughout the week, visits to the many graves and gatherings remembering those who were murdered or taken hostage. At Moshav Ein HaBesor, however, a group of volunteers from Sweden came to spend the week building.
The contrast wasn’t planned as a symbolic gesture, but it was hard to miss. Three years after Hamas terrorists crossed the border and attacked communities across the western Negev, the Swedish group had chosen to spend this week doing something very practical: helping one of those communities develop for the future. By building pergolas, animal fences, and more, they helped prepare a therapy centre for traumatized families.
Swedish Volunteers in Israel Put Faith into Action
The volunteers were taking part in an ICEJ work trip organized through our Swedish branch. The concept targets tradespeople and others with practical skills who want to do more than visit Israel. Instead, participants spend much of their time working on projects where they can put their experience to use.
This year’s team included several participants who had been on previous work trips, alongside newcomers. Their backgrounds ranged from pastors to construction workers, but they shared a willingness to give a week of their time and cover the cost of coming to Israel to serve.
Their destination, Moshav Ein HaBesor, lies in the Eshkol region close to the Gaza border. The moshav was evacuated after October 7, although terrorists did not succeed in entering the community itself. That distinction proved crucial on the day of the attack but has also created an unusual situation ever since.
While cutting a metal beam for the animal fence, carpenter Bjarne explained his motivation simply: “I am here to fix things and work because I love Israel.”
Why Ein HaBesor Still Needs Support
During the visit, Kate explained that Ein HaBesor falls outside the seven-kilometre geographical boundary used for some of the government’s rehabilitation programmes. Although the community was evacuated and continues to provide services within the affected region, it does not qualify for all the assistance available to communities slightly closer to Gaza.
The technical distinctions between different government programmes are complicated, but on the ground the issue is straightforward: communities throughout the region need to rebuild confidence, infrastructure and normal life after several years dominated by war.
This is where a volunteer team can make a tangible difference.
Building Spaces for Healing at Ein HaBesor
Much of the work has little glamour. Construction involves moving materials, measuring, cutting, fitting, and repeating the same task until the job is finished. But that is also part of the point. The purpose of an ICEJ work trip is not primarily to observe Israel’s challenges from the outside but to become useful.
Asked why he had come to Israel to volunteer, Åke Carlson, a former pastor, said: “Faith without works is dead! That is why I am here.”
For the Swedish volunteers, the anniversary inevitably became the week’s backdrop. Kate, the center’s organizer, repeatedly expressed her gratitude and enthusiasm for the work being done, especially given what was happening throughout Israel that week.
This has been an important element of ICEJ’s volunteer work trips over the years. Solidarity with Israel can be expressed politically, spiritually, and financially, but it also matters to show up with practical help.
Remembering October 7 While Building for the Future
The timing of this particular visit made that especially visible.
Throughout the week, ceremonies across Israel focused, rightly, on the lives that were lost three years earlier. The Swedish team did not come to answer that grief, and their construction project should not be presented as one. Instead, they could contribute to what comes next.
Following the war, the western Negev is increasingly entering a new phase. Emergency assistance and evacuation have gradually given way to returning families, restoring communities and creating conditions in which people once again want to build their lives.
By the end of the week, the Swedish volunteers’ efforts could be measured in the work completed at Ein HaBesor. Yet its wider significance was perhaps best understood in the context in which that work took place. So, in the midst of remembering the destruction of October 7, a group of Christians from Sweden had travelled to the same region, rolled up their sleeves and helped build something intended to remain long after they had gone home.
