Pain. Loss. An endless internal war. One choice that changed my destiny forever.

I grew up in Gaza, in a world where Jews were seen as demons - enemies with no right to exist. I was raised to hate them, but deep inside, something in me screamed. From the age of four, when I first watched a Jewish soldier putting on Tefillin, I realized I didn’t belong there. I wasn’t one of them.

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My father and grandfather beat me to 'bring me back to my senses.' Neighbors called me a traitor, children chased me through the streets, and educators warned that if I didn't stop talking nonsense, I would end up underground. I was just a little boy, but I was determined.

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At 13, with my soul torn apart, I fled to Israel. I crossed the border alone, not knowing what would happen to me. There, in the place I thought would be my home, I discovered a new world of pain: welfare institutions, exploitative employers, and a conversion system that rejected me time and again. Everyone tried to push me out.

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At 19, Israeli immigration officials handed me back to the Gaza Strip - to the very people who wanted me dead. There, in the hell of Gaza, they bound me upside down, hanging me by my head. They beat me until my skin cracked and blood covered my body. Day after day, I was tortured in the dark basements of Gaza. They wanted me to confess to being a spy, to say I was an Israeli agent. But I only screamed back:
'I am a Jew! I was born a Jew! And if this is the price - I will die as a proud Jew!'

I was there for six months, in a place no one leaves alive. And then - open miracles. Miraculously, I was released and managed to reach the Land of Israel once again, against all odds.

But my story doesn't end there.

After everything I endured, I fought again to convert, to reclaim the identity that was mine from the very beginning. I completed my conversion and chose a new name: Dor Shachar. A generation (Dor) of love, a dawn (Shachar) of a new day.

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And today?
Today, I am a lecturer, author, digital creator, and advocate. I stand before audiences across Israel and the world, telling my story - not because it is mine, but because it is the story of every person who seeks truth, who seeks freedom, and who chooses their own path even when the whole world stands against them.

'From Khan Yunis to Tel Aviv' is not just a lecture. It is a soul-shaking experience. It is pain, it is faith, it is inspiration. It is a journey that no one can remain indifferent to.