Sigal Shachar said sometimes it seems like she does a lot of talking, but not a lot changes. The Rockville resident grew up in a tight-knit community in a kibbutz less than a mile from Gaza, so she knows hundreds of Israelis who were killed on Oct. 7.
“That’s what makes Oct. 7 so devastating,” Shachar said. “Other than my immediate family, my extended family, people I’ve grown [up] with my whole life [were killed]. They were my teachers, my parents’ friends, my friends’ parents and just all those communities around the area. I pretty much know everybody.”
Shachar’s elderly aunt and uncle were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and held 60 feet underground. Her aunt, Nurit Cooper, 79, was released after two weeks, but her uncle, Amiram Cooper, 84, was killed in Hamas captivity.
Shachar travels the East Coast to tell her relatives’ story — she recently spoke at Washington Hebrew Congregation for part of the synagogue’s commemoration of Oct. 7 series. She has shared her family’s story with Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders and at synagogues, churches and Israeli events.
She has also spoken to elected officials to demand the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and push for a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Shachar, whose mother, sister, niece and cousin all survived the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, emphasized the importance of continuing to share their stories to spread the word.
“They were all there,” she said of her surviving relatives. “They all went through the trauma. They all had terrorists in their homes, outside their windows, shooting, and [were] in fear, not knowing what’s going to happen for many, many hours before they were rescued.”
Though Shachar regularly shows up for her community — she spoke at two synagogues in one day shortly before publication — she said this constant sharing of her family’s Oct. 7 story takes its toll.
“It’s always very emotional and emotionally draining,” Shachar said. “I want to crawl in bed and go to sleep, but I try to think how important it is to convey this message.”
Something that helps is avoiding seeing video footage of the Israel-Hamas war the night before her speaking engagements.
Sharing her relatives’ story is not her only responsibility. She has worked as a scientist for the past two decades and is currently searching for a cure for cancer at Arcellx, a biotechnology company in Rockville.
She originally came to the United States to pursue a postdoctoral degree at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.
“I was only supposed to stay [in the U.S.] for a couple years, but we loved it here so much,” Shachar said. “It’s very calm here. We came here and found a very peaceful way of living.”
She said Maryland’s calm atmosphere starkly contrasted life in a kibbutz, where there are many people and not as much space: “Israel was a very stressful country to live in, not even in times of war like right now, but just on a day-to-day, [it’s] very small, very crowded.”
Shachar, who lives in Rockville with her two children, ages 19 and 15, said science has always been an interest of hers.
“Since I was a kid, I really loved science books and doing experiments without even understanding I’m doing an experiment,” Shachar said. “As I grew up, I started liking it more and more. That became my passion and what I do now, and I love it.”
Her current work at Arcellx involves developing new therapeutic genetic mutations, running clinical trials and analyzing clinical trials. Every day on the job is slightly different.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to do something that I enjoy,” Shachar said of her career. “I feel motivated.”
Her company’s upper management is flexible when it comes to Shachar’s speaking opportunities — although most of her events take place in the afternoon or evening, at times, she is allowed to miss a day of work or leave early.
“A lot of people at work know how close I was to this event, especially my direct supervisor, and how badly it affects me and how committed I am in this fight to bring them back, so they’re being very understanding,” Shachar said.
In the weeks immediately after Oct. 7, Shachar was asked to speak at many local events on behalf of those killed during the attack and the Israeli hostages in Gaza, but the interest died down over time.
“It really varies,” Shachar said. “In the beginning, there were a lot more [speaking opportunities for me]. And then now, lately, people kind of unfortunately forgot about [the hostages]. Yesterday, I was at an event; there were like 100 people … compared to in the beginning, it would be thousands everywhere … People talk about it less.”
She said though the public has normalized the fact that 101 hostages are still being held in Gaza as of Oct. 1 — “it became the status quo in a way, right?” — she is not giving up any time soon.
“Unfortunately, we still have to fight for them,” Shachar said of the hostages.
