Lili Deri: "There are no words for this pain"
Lili Deri, the bereaved mother of Saadia Deri and a member of the "Amcha Israel" party, was interviewed on the podcast "Let's Get Out of Our Minds" hosted by Merav Leshem Gonen. Deri shared the moment she received the news of her son's fall in battle in Gaza in June 2024, and the personal change she has undergone since October 7, emphasizing a shift from public disputes to volunteer work and a search for connections.
Lili Deri, the bereaved mother of Staff Sergeant Saadia Deri and a member of the "Amcha Israel" party, was a guest for an intimate conversation on the podcast "Let's Get Out of Our Minds" hosted by Merav Leshem Gonen, the mother of Romi Gonen who was kidnapped to Gaza and returned. Deri recounted the moment she received the news of her son's fall in battle in the Gaza Strip on June 20, 2024, alongside his friend Omer Smadja. She described how she fainted twice and then went out to inform her brothers and mother. Contrary to expectations, Deri said that nothing was broken in her, but rather "a new Lili was built in me." She spoke about the change she has undergone since October 7: from "being terribly right" and dealing with the judicial reform, to going down to Sderot with a suitcase to volunteer at the municipal emergency headquarters, where she met people from different camps and saw their "charm." Deri called for adopting a "maternal perspective" that sees the fear and pain behind the anger and protests, and reminded that the nation grows from trauma.