Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband

um I can't remember the word but you. know the kind of funy funy connection. between trees in a. forest how do you call. itum. melum melium you know we just I just. somehow feel that we are connected by. this kind of infinite wave of. mycelium we are so bound together and.

and I don't think we really realized. that. until all this. happened it's it's quite hard to explain. to me in a sense because you know some. people would say oh I'm so hoping your. father will come and then everything. will be. okay and it's very hard to explain that. really this group of people decided to. you know bring us up together share all.

their resources over 75 years grow into. each other fight endlessly with each. other love and hate each other but. somehow stay together and their children. will then meet and marry and make. grandchildren and there's so many levels. of. connection and I'm sitting here in the. room and I see their faces some of them. you know.

and we are. incredibly um it's hard to explain how. much these people are missing from our. kind of forest. [Music]. ground from The New York Times I'm. Sabrina Tavern see and this is the. daily it's been new near 6 months since.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th and. took more than 200 people into. Gaza one of the hardest hit places was a. village called near o near the border. with. Gaza one quarter of its residents were. either killed or taken. hostage yev leitz was one of those. hostages and so was her husband OD Dead. Leaf. shits yavid was eventually released odad.

was. not today the story of one family at the. center of the. war it's Friday March. [Music]. 29th okay here we go okay.

okay good morning yav good morning. shiron good morning good. morning yavid could you identify. yourself for me please tell me your name. your age and where you're. from.

[Music]. okay I'll translate um my name is y. lifshitz I'm 85 years old I was born in. 1938 when I was 18 I arrived at kibuts.

near o I came along with a group of. people who decided to come and form and. build a. community on a very Sandy territory. which was close to the Gaza. Strip. and my name is shiron leitz I am 52 year. old I was raised in kibuts n o by my mom. and dad so I lived there until I was 20. and I live for the last 30 something.

years in London and Shon what do you. have next to you next to me I have a. poster of my dad in both English and. Hebrew and it says dead LIF sheets 83. and below that it says bring him home. now and it's a photo where I always feel. the love because he's looking at me and. there's a lot of love in it in his.

eyes and why did you want to bring him. here today. Shon because he should be talking. himself he should be here and able to. tell his. story and instead I'm doing it on his. behalf you know it should have been a. story of my mom and dad sitting here and. telling their. [Music]. story the story of aded and yev began.

before they ever met in Poland in the. 1930s anti-Semitism was surging in. Europe and their families decided to. flee to. Palestine youits in 1933 the year Hitler. came to power and aads a year. later yav remembers a Time near the end. of the war when her father received news. from back home in Poland he was deeply. religious a kentor in a synagogue and he. gathered GED his family around him to.

share what he. learned and he said we don't have a. family anymore they've all been murdered. and he explained to us why there is no. God if there was a God he would have. protected my family and this means that. there is no. God.

and suddenly we stopped going to. synagogue we used to go every. Saturday so it was a deep crisis for him. the shock and the trauma were very deep. Argentina abion Soviet Union Yes United. Kingdom y's father lived long enough to. see a state established for his children.

the UN resolution of 1947 paved the way. for a new country for Jews and the next. spring Israel declared its. independence you remembers listening to. the news on the radio with her parents. is the general assembly of the United. Nations has made its decision on. Palestine the. map we had a. country so now we'll have somebody who's. protecting us it's a country for the. people to rebuild the people this was.

the feeling we. had in other words if God could not. protect you this nation maybe. [Music]. could. yes but the next day it was already. sad Israel was immediately forced to. defend itself when its Arab neighbors.

attacked Israel won that war but its. Victory came at a great cost to the. Palestinian Arabs living there more than. 700,000 either fled or were expelled. from their. homes many became refugees in Gaza in. the. South suddenly yev and ODed saw. themselves differently from their. parents not as minorities in someone. else's country but as pioneers in a. country of their own ready to build it.

and defend it they moved to the South. near the borderline with. Gaza it was there in a kabut where they. met for the first. [Music]. time the first time I met him um he was. 16 and I was. 17 and we didn't really have this. connection happening but when we arrived.

at near o That's where some sort of a. connection started to happen and he was. younger than I am um about a year and a. half so at first I thought he's a kid. but for some reason he insisted odad. really insisted and later it turned out. he was. right what was it about him that made. you fall in love with him.

he was. cute he was a cute kid he was a cute. boy what what's so. [Music]. funny. philos he was a philosopher he wrote a. lot he worked in. agriculture he was the cute boy he was.

only 20 think about. it and then I married him and he brought. two things with him he brought a dog and. he brought a cactus and since then we've. been growing a huge field of cacti for. over 64. [Music]. years.

what did it feel like to be starting a. new life together in this new country. what was the feeling of that. boria we were. euphoric and what did you think you were. Building. [Music]. Together. we thought we were building kibuts we.

were building a family we were having. babies that was the vision and we were. thinking that we were building a. socialist State an equal. State and at first it was a very. isolated place there were only two. houses and shacks and a lot of sand and. little by little we turn that place into. a. heaven building the new state meant. cultivating the land aded plowed the.

fields planting potatoes and carrots. wheat and cotton yv was in charge of the. turkeys and worked in the kitchen. cooking meals for the. kabut they believed that the best way to. live was communally so they shared. everything money food even child. rearing after long days in the fields a. dead would venture outside the Kuts to. the boundary line with Gaza and drink. beer with Brazilian peacekeepers from.

the UN and talk with Palestinians from. The Villages nearby they talked about. politics and life in Arabic a language a. dead spoke. fluently these were not just Idol. conversations a dead knew that for. Israel to succeed it would have to. figure out how to live side by side with. its Arab neighbors he really did not. believe in black and white that somebody. is the bad guy and somebody is the good. guy but that there is uh humanistic.

values that you can live. [Music]. in Shon what was your father. like tell tell. her. um my father was a tall man and a skinny. man and he was.

was he is first of all he is he is a a. man. who had very strong. opinion um and very well-formed opinion. he read extensively he thought deeply. about matters um. and he studied the piano but as he said. was never that great or fast enough or.

classical but he always played the. piano he would play a lot of Israeli. songs he will play Russian songs he. would play French sh. [Music]. songs and he had this way of just moving.

from one song to the. next making it into a kind of pattern. and it was it's really the soundtrack of. our life my father playing the. [Music]. piano.

so one side of him was the piano another. side was he was a peace. activist he was not somebody who just. had ideas about Building Bridges between. nations he was always on the left side. of the political map and he actioned it. [Music].

I remember growing up and going very. regularly almost weekly to. demonstrations I will go regularly with. my father on Saturday night to. demonstrations in Tel Aviv I will sit on. his. shoulders um he will be talking to all. his activist. friends um the smoke will rise from the. cigarettes and I will sit up.

there um but. somehow we really grew up in that fight. for. peace yourid and aed's formal Fight For. Peace began after the Arab Israeli War. of. 1967 Israel had captured new territory. including the West Bank the Sinai. Peninsula and the Gaza Strip that. brought more than a million Palestinians.

under Israeli. occupation adad immediately began to. speak against it Israel already had its. land inside borders that much of the. world had agreed to in his view taking. more was wrong it was no longer about. Jewish. survival so when Israeli authorities. began quietly pushing beduan Arabs off. their land in the Sinai Peninsula a dead. took up the. cause he helped file a case in the.

Israeli courts to try to stop it and he. and Y worked together to draw attention. to what was going on yavid was a. photographer so she took pictures. showing destroyed buildings and. bulldozed. land adad then put her photographs on. cardboard and drove around the country. showing them to people. everywhere they became part of a growing. peace movement that was becoming a force. helping shape Israeli. politics Israel eventually returned the.

Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in. 1982 Whenever there is a movement. towards reconciliation with our. neighbors it's almost like your your. ability to live here you know your life. force get stronger and in a way you can. think of their kind of the the arch of. their activism as being a response to. that and why did he and your mother take.

up that fight the cause of the land why. do you think that was what he fought. for my father he had a very developed. sense of. justice and he always felt that had we. returned those lands at that point we. could have reached long-term agreement. at that point then we would have been in. a very different space now we know that. in 2019 for example he wrote a column.

where he said that when the Palestinians. of Gaza have nothing to lose we lose big. time he believed that the way of living. in this part of the world is to share. the place to reach. agreement um to work with the other side. towards agreements and uh he was not. somebody who just had IDE deals about. Building Bridges between nations he two.

weeks before he was taken hostage he. still drove Palestinian that are ill to. reach Hospital in Israel and in East. Jerusalem that's was something that. meant a lot to him I think he really. believed in shared humanity and in doing. what you. can do you remember the last. conversation you had with your.

father I don't have a clear memory which. one it. was it's funny a lot of things I forgot. since I a lot of things have gone so. [Music]. blad. [Music].

we actually didn't have a last. conversation the last thing he said was. y there's a. war and he was shot in the hand and he. was taken out and I was taken out I.

couldn't say goodbye to. him and what was done to us was. [Music]. done.

we'll be right. back yavid the last thing aded said was. there's a war tell me about what. happened that day from the. beginning.

that morning there was very heavy. shelling on your rose we could hear. gunfire and we looked outside and odad. told me there are a lot of terrorists. outside we didn't even have time to get. dressed I was still wearing my night. gown he was wearing very few. clothes I remember him trying to close. the door to the safe room but it didn't. work he wasn't successful in closing it. and then five terrorist walked in they.

shot him through the safe room door he. was bleeding from his arm he said to. me I'm injured and then he fainted he. was dragged out on the. floor and I didn't know if he was alive. I thought he was he was. dead after that I was taken in my night. gown I was L outside I was placed on a. small moped and I was taken to.

Gaza and we were driving over a bumpy. terrain that had been. plowed and it didn't break my ribs but. it was very. painful and I could see that the gate. that surrounds the Gaza Strip was broken. and we were driving right. through.

it and as we were heading in I could see. so many people they were. yelling kill the Jews Slaughter the. Jews and people were hitting me with. sticks and though the drivers on the. moped tried to protect me it didn't. help what were you thinking at the time. what was in your mind.

I was thinking I'm being taken I'm being. kidnapped I didn't know where to but. this decision I had in my head was that. I'm going to take photographs in my mind. and capture everything I'm seeing so. that when I or if and when I am released. I'll have what to. [Music]. tell.

and when I came to a stop we were in a. village that's near near O It's. called we came in on the moped but I was. transferred into a private car from. there and I was threatened that my hand. would be cut off unless I hand over my. watch and my ring and I didn't have a. choice so I took my watch off and I took. my ring off and I handed it to them. was it your wedding.

ring yes it was my wedding. ring after that they led me to a big. hanger where the entrance to the tunnel. was and I started walking and the. entrance was at ground level but as you. walk you're walking down a slope and. you're walking and walking about 40 m. deep.

underground and the walls are damp and. the soil is damp and at first I was. alone I didn't know that other people. had been taken too but then more more. hostages came and we were walking. together through the. tunnels many of whom were from kibuts. near o these were AR people they were. abducted but still.

alive and we spoke quietly and we spoke. very little but as we were walking. everybody started telling a story of. what happened to him and that created a. very painful. [Music]. picture there were appalling stories. about murder people had left behind a. partner.

a friend arrived who about an hour or. two hours before had her husband. murdered and he died in her. [Music]. hands it was a collection of broken up. people brought. together so you were piecing together. the story of your community and what had.

happened from these snapshots of. tragedies that you were looking at all. around you as you were. walking what's the photograph you'll. remember most from that. [Music]. day a. child it would be a girl a four-year-old. girl people kept telling her walk walk. walk. and we tried to calm her down and her.

mom tried to carry her on her arms it. was the most difficult site to see a. child inside those. tunnels what were you feeling at that. moment. y very. [Music]. difficult.

where did they lead you you and your. community from. near they led us to this chamber a room. that they had prepared in advance there. were mattresses there and that's where. we were told to. sit I saw people sitting on the. mattresses bent down their heads down. between their hands they were broken but.

we hardly spoke everybody was inside. their own world with themselves closed. inside his own personal. shock you havid was without her glasses. her hearing aids or even her shoes she. said she spent most days lying down on. one of the mattresses that had been put. out for the. hostages sometimes her captors would let. her and others walk up and down the. tunnels to their. [Music].

legs she said she was given a cucumber. spreading cheese and a piece of pea. bread every day to eat they had a little. bit of coffee in the morning and water. all day. long one day a Hamas leader came to the. room where she and others were being. held she said she believes it was yaka. senoir the leader of Hamas who is. believed to be the architect of the. October 7th attack two other hostages. who were held with you also identified. the man as senoir and an Israeli.

military spokesman said he found the. accounts. reliable he came accompanied with a. group of other. men he just made rounds between the. hostages I. suppose and he spoke in Hebrew and he. told us not to worry and soon there's. going to be a deal you will be out and. and others told me don't speak and I.

said what is there for me to be afraid. of the worst already happened worst. thing I'll be killed I want to say. something and I spoke my mind I told. senoir why have you done what you just. did to all of the same people who have. always helped you he didn't answer me he. just turned around and they walked. off were you afraid to ask him why Hamas. did what it did to challenge.

him I wasn't. afraid I was angry about the whole. situation it was against. every thought and thinking we ever had. it was against our desire to reach peace. to be attentive and help our neighbors. the way we always wanted to help our. neighbors I was very very angry but he. ignored what I said and he just turned.

his back and walked. away and this entire time you had no. answers about. aad. nothing what was the hardest day for you. the hardest moment in. captivity.

it's when I got sick I got sick with. diarrhea and vomiting for about 4 days. and I had no idea how this will end it. was a few very rough days and probably. because of that they decided to free. me they didn't tell me they were going. to release me they just told me and. another girl come follow us they gave. with galabia gowns to wear and scarves.

to wear over our heads so maybe they'll. think that we are Arab. women and only as we were walking and we. started going through Carters and. ladders and climbing up we were told. that we're going. home I was very happy to be going. out uh but my heart achd so hard. for those who were staying behind I was.

hoping that many others would follow. me name it's okay let's go it's okay. let's. go you go with this. swom there was a video that was made of. the moment you left your captain. and it seemed to show that you were.

shaking a hand saying Shalom to them do. you remember doing. [Music]. that I said goodbye to him it was a. friendly man he was a medic so when we. said goodbye I shook his hand for peace. Le Shalom to. goodbye what did you mean when you said.

that I meant for. peace shalom in the sense of. [Music]. Peace an extraordinary moment as a freed. Israeli hostage shakes hands with a. Hamas terrorist who held her captive I. literally saw my mom on CNN on my phone. on the way to the airport. and it was the day before I was talking.

to my aunt and she said I just want to. go to Gaza and pull them out of the. earth I just want to pull them out of. the earth and take them and it it really. felt like that that she came out of the. earth and when she shook the hand of. theas person it just it just made me. smile because it was so her to see the. human in that. person and to acknowledge him as a human.

being I arrived in the hospital at about. 5:30. a.m. my mom was asleep in the bed and um. she was just my mom sleep really. peacefully she has a really quiet way of. sleeping and I just sat there and it was. just like a miracle to have her back. with us. it was just incredible because not only.

was she back but it was her I don't know. how to explain it but while they were. away we knew so little we were pretty. sure she didn't survive it the whole. house burned down totally so other homes. we could see if there was blood on the. walls or blood on the floor but in my. parents' home everything was gone. everything and we just didn't know.

anything and out of that. nothingness came my mom. [Music]. back it was only when she got to the. hospital that y had learned the full. story of what happened on October. 7th near o had been mostly destroyed. many of her friends had been. murdered no one knew what had happened.

to adad Y believed he was. dead but there wasn't time to grieve the. photograph she had taken in her mind. needed to be shared yev knew who was. still alive in the. tunnels so she and her son called as. many families as they could the family. of the kabuta history teacher of one of. its nurses of the person who ran its art. gallery to tell them that they were. still alive. captive in. [Music].

Gaza and then in November came a hostage. release more than 100 people came out. the family was certain that a dead was. gone but Chiron decided to make some. calls anyway she spoke to one former. neighbor then another and finally almost. by chance she found someone who'd seen. her father they shared a room together. in Gaza before he'd gotten ill and was. taken away. Chiron and her brothers went to where.

yav was staying to tell her the. news she just couldn't believe it. actually it was as if uh in this great. telen Nolla of our life at one season he. was left unconscious on the floor and. the second season open and he is in a is. in a little room in Gaza with another. woman that we. know she couldn't believe it she was. very very very um excited also really.

worried you know for my father was a. very active and strong man and if it. happened 10 years ago I would say of. course he would survive it he would talk. to them in Arabic he will manage the. situation he would have. agency but we know he was injured and it. makes us very very worried about the. condition in which he was uh uh is. surviving there and I think that.

um the fear of how much suffering the. hostages are going through it really. makes you unable to function at. moment yavid the government has been. doing a military. operation since October in. Gaza you have been fighting very hard. since October to free the hostages.

including a dead I wonder how you see. the government's military operation is. it something that harms your cause or. potentially helps. it the only thing that will bring them. back are agreements and what is. happening is that there are many. soldiers who have been killed and there.

is an ongoing War and the hostages are. still in captivity so it's only by. reaching an agreement that all of the. hostages will be. released do you believe that Israel is. close to reaching an. agreement I don't. know you told us that after the.

Holocaust your father gathered your. family. together to tell you that God did not. save you it was a crisis for. him I'm wondering if this. experience October. 7th your. captivity challenged your faith in a. similar. way.

I don't think it changed me I'm still. the same person with the same beliefs. and. opinions but how should I say it what. the Kamas did was to. ruin a certain belief in human beings I. didn't think that what can reach that. level that isn't that much higher than a.

beast but my opinion and my view of. their still being peace and reaching an. arrangement stayed the. same you still believe in. peace Shalom. yes why do you believe. that I'm hoping that a a new generation. of leaders will rise people who act in.

transparency who speak the truth people. who are honest the way Israel used to be. and that will return to. be like we once. [Music]. were.

I go to many rallies and demonstrations. and I meet many people in many places. and a large part of those people still. believe in reaching an arrangement in. peace and for there to be no war and I. still hope that this is what we're going. to be able to have. [Music]. here. bring them up now bring them home now.

bring them up now bring. theming. them. theming. [Music]. theming you have it is now living in a. retirement home in the suburbs of Tel. Aviv five other people around her age.

from near o live there too one is also a. released. hostage she hasn't been able to bring. herself to go back to the kots the life. she built there with a dead is gone her. photographs his records the. piano and the kabut has become something. else now a symbol instead of a home it. is now buzzing with journalists and. politicians for for now y doesn't know. if she'll ever go back and when Chiron.

asked her she said let's wait for. Dad so I'm today sitting in this uh. Assisted. Living surrounded by the same company. just expecting a dead waiting for a dead. to come back and then each and every one. of us will be rebuilding his own life. together and renewing.

it what are you doing to make it a home. for a. dead we have a piano we were given a. piano a very old one was a beautiful. sound and it's good odad is very. sensitive to the sound he has absolute. hearing and I'm just hoping for him to. come home and start playing the. piano do you believe that I did will. come. [Music].

home I'd like to believe but there's a. difference. between believing and wanting I want to. believe that he'll be back and playing. music I don't think his opinions are. going to change he's going to be. disappointed by what happened but I hope. he's going to hold on to the same. beliefs his music is missing from our. [Music].

home I know that my father always felt. that we haven't given peace a chance. that was his opinion and I think it's. very hard to speak for my father because. maybe he had has changed like my mom. said she said I hope he hasn't changed I.

haven't changed but the truth is we. don't know and we don't know the story. we don't know how the story uh my father. is ending or just. beginning. um but I think you have to hold on to. humanistic values at this point you have. to know that what you don't want I don't. want more of this this is hell this is. hell for everybody so this is no you.

know and then I believe that peace is. also gray and it's not glorious and it's. not. simple it's kind of a lot of hard work. you have to reconcile and give up a. lot and it's only worth doing that for. peace. [Music].

after weeks of negotiations talks over. another hostage release and ceasefire.

have reached an impass the sticking. points include the length of the. ceasefire and the identity and number of. Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged. for the. [Music]. hostages.

[Music]. fore. [Music].

[Music]. risk that this man will be in a position. to do something very bad in the.

[Music]. future today's episode was produced by. Lindsay Garrison and mo zadii with help. from Ricky nety and Shannon Lynn it was. edited by Michael benois fact checked by. Susan Lee contains original music by. Marian Lozano Dan Powell Diane Wong. Alicia bitu and odad leaf shits it was. engineered by Alyssa Moxley the.

translation was by Gabby soan special. thanks to mahim Rosenberg gam gorenberg. Gabby soan yotam shabai and Patrick. Kingsley our theme music is by Jim. brunberg and Ben Lanser of. [Music]. wonderly. [Music].

that's it for the daily I'm Sabrina. Tavern see you on. Monday.