Pictured: Erez Moses, Yair Moses, Raz Rozenberg, and Ella Ben Ami
On Friday, December 8, we had the honor to listen to two Israeli hostage families who came to Detroit to share their stories. Jewish and non-Jewish professionals, lay leaders, clergy, and politicians were present. Some of the audience members have lost family members, and others have relatives fighting in the IDF.
Ella Ben Ami—the 23-year-old daughter of Ohad and Raz Ben Ami—and her boyfriend Raz Rozenberg were asleep in bed on Kibbutz Be’eri that black Shabbat morning of October 7. They were awakened to the nightmare of sirens and rockets, followed by gunshots and Arabic right outside the mamad door (safe room). Ella and her boyfriend Raz were held up in Ella’s safe room for 12 hours with no food, water, or bathroom provisions.
For a period of time, Ella had communication over WhatsApp with her parents, who are also residents of Be’eri. Shortly after losing communication with her parents, Ella saw a picture on social media of her barefoot 57-year-old father Ohad in his underwear being kidnapped by Hamas. She did not know if her mother, 57-year-old Raz Ben Ami, was alive. Later she found out that her mother, who requires regular medical attention for a brain tumor and spinal tumors, was taken hostage too. Raz Ben Ami was released with the sixth wave of hostages on November 29.
When IDF soldiers finally reached Ella and her boyfriend, she would not evacuate the kibbutz without first looking for her sister. She ran from home to home protected by the soldiers and described that she dropped to the ground to dodge bullets, and soldiers used their armored bodies as a human shield for her. She eventually found her sister and evacuated after bearing witness to horrific murder, mutilation, and homes set on fire. She stated that she did not even recognize her kibbutz, it was so devastated. Ella said she did not want to go into great detail, as she did not want to horrify the audience. She relayed these stories deadpan––traumatized by her experiences, her mother’s captivity, and her father’s captivity and unknown fate, not even having had time to grieve and mourn for her numerous friends, relatives, and the community members who were murdered. Ella kept reiterating how she feels like a child who just wants her family back and wants peace.
Ella was born on Kibbutz Be’eri and grew up with sirens, rocket fire, and the 15 seconds at best that she has to sprint to her mamad. She always believed, and still believes, peace is possible with her Gaza neighbors, but the realities of the last two months have left her traumatized, homeless, and fearing for her father’s life and all of the hostages’ lives. When Ella was asked about a ceasefire, she relayed that, “if we have a ceasefire, it means Hamas is still around and we cannot go back home. If there isn’t a ceasefire, what are the implications for the hostages?” Faced with this impossible dilemma, Ella reiterated, “I am just a child, I want my parents back.” According to Ella, until now, she knows nothing about her father’s whereabouts or health since he was kidnapped, and none of the released hostages saw him. When asked about her mother’s experience in captivity, Ella said her mother barely shared anything, but she noted that upon release, her mother commented, “it’s so great to be able to have a bottle of water.”
Yair Moses and his son Erez, the grandson of 77-year-old Margalit and 79-year-old Gadi Moses, began by stating that this tragedy did not happen two months ago, this tragedy is still happening every day. Every day families are living through the nightmare of not knowing anything about their loved ones. No one, not even released hostages, has seen Yair’s father Gadi, nor have they heard anything about him since he was kidnapped from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Yair said the family celebrated for one day when his mother Margalit was released with the first wave of hostages on November 24, and then it was back to applying pressure for the release of his father and the rest of the hostages who are being held by Hamas. He did not talk about things that he learned from his mother upon release from captivity, “as they are personal, about others, and pose a security risk for the hostages held.” He called on humanitarian agencies, specifically the Red Cross, to do more––referring to the Red Cross as a “taxi service.” According to him and as we know, the Red Cross has not visited the hostages nor brought them medications. He said his mother relies on a cpap machine to sleep and she did not sleep for 50 days. Jokingly, he said now she is like a teenager and has to be awakened by 11 o’clock. He recalled writing to the International Red Cross saying, “my parents have been taken hostage,” their email reply was, “contact the local Red Cross.”
The Ben Ami and Moses families are calling out to the world for help, and they are calling out to the Israeli government with the ongoing message to keep the hostages’ release front and center and in the media 24/7. They want everyone to fight to Bring the Hostages Home Now!
Although we have heard and watched the message of the hostage families in the media, hearing their stories in person has been so much more heartfelt and impactful. We appreciate that we had the opportunity to listen to their painful stories, meet them in person, and give them a hug.
We pray that all of the hostages will be released expeditiously, and that peace will be possible in our day.