The couple tattooed the map of the Land of Israel on their bodies • a symbol of the love of the land and the righteousness of the way

During the difficult period that the Raz family is going through, from Kirit Bialik, the couple Mittal and Shmi Raz chose to tattoo the map of the Land of Israel on their bodies as a symbol of love for the land and the righteousness of the way. Mittal Raz, a banker at Bank Hapoalim, stayed at home with her three daughters and talks about the difficult situation.

Mittal and Shami Raz have been happily married for 17 years and have three daughters, Shaked (16 years old), Shovel (almost 13 years old) and Shay (8 years old). Their two daughters Shaked and Shay are diagnosed with the autistic spectrum.

Mittal tells Lahi Here: "I have been working at Bank Hapoalim for 20 years, during which time I have worked in a variety of roles, from telephone operator, from banker to team management, currently working in the retail division in the customer experience and direct banking department. My name (43), self-employed, works as an event photographer and since the beginning of the war his business has been shut down. In his military service he served as an officer in armor and rescue and after liberation he was the commander of an alert platoon in the settlement of Shlomi in the Western Galilee on the border of Lebanon, where he lived until we moved to live together in Kiryat.'

This is how she continues to tell: "3 days after the outbreak of the Iron Swords War, my name was drafted into the reserves. I can testify that he was quite waiting for the phone call with the order 8 and to this day he feels guilty for not going to the south on 7/10. At first he was stationed at a base in the north, and he hardly came home at all, currently he comes on weekends, unless he closes on Shabbat. During the reserve he even received a rank and was transferred to a more senior position. Meanwhile at home we deal with the complexity mainly with a lot of optimism and joie de vivre.'

"My position at the bank requires managing projects and maintaining accurate and organized work while managing many tasks at the same time. In light of my name's departure to the reserves and along with the family challenges, I often had to find solutions on how to manipulate everything and stay focused at work despite all the burdens in my personal life as well. Luckily, I work in a workplace that includes and embraces and with sensitive and caring managers, the possibility of working from home on certain days makes it very easy and helps me to juggle between the girls and work and to give my 150% everywhere.

I can say that my little daughter underwent surgery during this time and the older one was hospitalized and I received the full support of my managers. Because of this attitude, I also wanted to give of myself and went to the meetings even from the hospital when I could and when we returned home I worked full time remotely. In addition, my mother is recruited to help with the girls and with the housework and without her probably none of this would have been possible. The girls receive emotional therapy in private and try to give them the whole envelope around them.'

The example and values ​​we want our girls to absorb and experience

"Despite all the challenges of this period, I know how important and significant it is for my name to perform his role to the best of his ability at this time. For him personally, for us as a family and for the country. In the end, this is the example and values ​​we want our girls to absorb and experience. I think that the values ​​we grew up with at home have become a part of who we are, out of faith in the way, love of the land, gratitude and looking at the positive side. All this helps us to continue to conduct ourselves on the best side that we can even in complex situations. During this period we even got a joint tattoo of the map of the Land of Israel.

There is no doubt that this is a challenging time, not only for us, but for all residents of the State of Israel. At the same time, it was a period that also strengthened us, taught me that I am strong and can manage and in the end, everything will be fine. I believe this is part of the story - knowing how to find the strength and look at the good even when it feels impossible. I am sure that we as a people and as a country will come out of this stronger and more united. I hope that soon we will see the abductees back in their home healthy and whole in body and mind.