Kaminka is the mother of Lieutenant Yannai Kaminka, age 20, who was killed defending the soldiers under his command and neighboring communities in the Gaza envelope on October 7, 2023. During the week of mourning for her son, she reached out to neighboring Palestinian communities in a plea to recognize each other’s pain and stop the cycle of violence. She is now an active member of the Palestinian Israeli Bereaved Families Forum, through which she regularly speaks with groups in Israel and overseas. She believes that empathy is a muscle and developing it is a critical component of any solution to the conflict in the Middle East.