In memory of Shani Louk and Orion Hernandez Radoux

A lot has happened in the last few months. Rabid rioting students taking over campuses around the world. Israel being brought to the international court of justice on unfounded genocide charges fueled by hate. Arrest warrants being put out for Netanyahu, while none have been put out for Hamas. We see the left bowing down to Islamic antisemitism, afraid of being called bigots, racists and Islamophobes. And at the same time, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and even Iran keep firing insane numbers of missiles towards Israel. No news channel shows it, but this is our reality.

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Leftwing politicians, media, college professors and Islamists are united in their hatred for Israel. Being European, university-educated and a translator, I see more of this than many of my fellow Israelis do. I feel like I am drowning in a tidal wave of vicious international fury. Do we even have the right to exist anymore? Not according to many protesters. We should “go back to where we came from”.

They have no idea that for the majority of Israelis, this is an unhinged and impossible demand. Ethiopian Jews should go back to Africa, where they faced starvation and persecution? Mizrachi Jews should go back to Iraq, Iran and Yemen? The idea of millions of Jews marching back into the very states they had to flee from is absurd. None of them would be left alive. And even Ashkenazi Jews like my in-laws, who have lived here for four generations now after fleeing Nazi Germany. Do people really think my 79 year old father in law, who was born in Israel, has a Polish passport somewhere? It is all so ridiculous that it makes my blood boil.

And still, to many people around the world, this is a totally reasonable ask. We are evil colonizers genociding the indigenous population, and we should be wiped out. And these are the same people whining about the “trans genocide” and about being misgendered every second day. The absurdity of it all would be laughable, if it wasn’t so very bleak and worrying.

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“Keffiyeh Keren” Johanna King-Slutzky, with her Queers for Palestine sidekicks.

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All of this is fuelling my anxiety and my fury. How dare they. How DARE they. But the worst, the most evil stab in our collective heart, the lowest of low blows, was this:

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The “photojournalist” who took this sickening picture of Shani Louk’s body being abused and dragged to Gaza, was lauded and praised as a prizewinner. Oh yes, the very same Gazan journalists who rode along with Hamas and documented the massacre, probably enjoying the sight, are hailed as artists and professionals by the international community. Such professionalism! Such noble dedication! We must award these courageous freedom fighters with press prizes! Just to make it absolutely clear that we don’t care in the slightest about the violated, lifeless young woman in the back of that truck. We don’t give a damn about the agony of her family, about the pain of an entire nation. We don’t care about exposing her, exploiting her cruel death, and tainting her memory forever. All we care about is bowing down to the altar of the noble freedom fighting terrorists, I mean journalists.

Please excuse me for going slightly off the rails here. But you can see how strongly I feel about this disgrace, this injustice. So imagine how Shani’s family feels. I will show you what they said:

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Shani’s grandmother asks us to remember her granddaughter this way:

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And we will. We will forever remember Shani the way she was: vibrant, full of life, loving, dancing, happy and quirky. This beautiful, unique girl who we all got to know only after her death. She touches something deeply inside our hearts.

Shani was a tattoo artist. I decided to get this tattoo to honour her. And to remember not only Shani, but all the others we lost, who are all equally precious. I imagine them all rising up to heaven as butterflies, dancing free, all different and unique.

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You can find Shani Louk’s tattoo website here:

https://shaniloukink.com/

Her family memorialized the site and invite people to get one of Shani’s designs tattoed. They are beautiful and intricate and I intend to get one of them, too.

After many weeks of being held back by the international community who seems hell-bent on protecting Hamas, the IDF finally had enough. After many stalled and drawn-out agreement negotiations, it became clear once more that you cannot negatiate with terrorists. The IDF attacked and forced their way into Rafah. And what did they find? The dead bodies of hostages.

It seems that every few days, more hostages are found dead. Most of them seem to have been killed on October 7 and their bodies abducted to Gaza. They are found left behind in hospitals, buried beneath the floors of civilian houses and thrown in underground tunnels.

And so, at last, Shani Louk’s body has been found and returned to her family.

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She has now been laid to rest. I hope her soul is now finally free and at peace. 🦋

Shani is not the only one whose body was found. They all deserve their stories to be told, so I will do that in later posts. Until now, the people who were found are:

Amit Buskila, 28.

Itzik Gelernter, 58.

Ron Benjamin, 53.

Sonthaya Oakkharasri.

Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Hanan Yablonka, 42.

Michel Nisenbaum, 59.

And Orion Hernandez Radoux, 30.

Yes, that’s right. The body of Shani’s Mexican boyfriend Orion was found. He was thought to stil be alive. Apparently, he was killed on October 7 along with Shani and so many others. What a terrible blow for his family. And what a cruel, cruel thing to do by Hamas, to have kept them in the dark for seven months, not knowing wether he was alive or dead.

Orion leaves behind a three year old daughter. We will keep his memory alive, just like Shani’s. We will remember them the way they were: full of life and energy. 🦋🦋

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The Nahal Oz Five

During the Hamas attack on October 7 2023, twenty-two young female soldiers hid inside the bomb shelter of the Nahal Oz army base. Fifteen of them were killed when Hamas entered the shelter. Seven were taken hostage. One of those seven, Noa Marciano (19), was murdered in captivity. Another, Ori Megidish (18) was found and rescued from the tunnels by the IDF early on in the war.

The other five are Naama Levy (19), Liri Albag (18), Agam Berger (19), Karina Ariev (19) and Daniela Gilboa (20). These young girls, almost all of them teenagers, were dragged out of the shelter, thrown into trucks, wounded, bleeding and terrified, and taken to Gaza. Like cattle. Worse, like slaves. Like loot, like war trophies.

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Footage of their abduction has now been made public by the families of these girls, in a desperate attempt to sway the government and the international community, to pressure Hamas more, to put more effort into an agreement that brings the hostages back.

This footage is absolutely heart-shattering and horrific. It shows the girls sitting, dazed and bloodied, in the shelter, with the dead bodies of their friends all around them. You can hear gunshots and shouting, and terrorists talking about the girls and to them. What they are saying is bone-chilling.

The video has been edited to remove the most graphic content, but it is still terrible to watch. This is the video. It is on YouTube, but it has been banned from Facebook for being too graphic. Facebook winces and looks the other way, while the blatant threats and vicious hatred spewed towards Israel and Jews from the Pro-Palestine faction go unchecked.

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Among the screaming, the shooting and the choas, one of the men says to Daniela: “You are so beautiful.” Someone else says: “They are worthless, they are Zionists.” At the very end when the girls are being pushed into the truck, you can hear someone saying: “These are the girls that can get pregnant.”

It is blatantly obvious what they are planning to do with these girls. Sexual violence is a given. But forced pregnancy? That terrifying thought had not even entered my head until now. But now, I can see the girls clearly, in my mind. Being held in the quarters of these men. Being subjected to assault, violence and sadism. In the eyes of these monsters, these girls are worthless and subhuman. They are objects to be violated and abused. And to be used for breeding.

I feel sickened to my core. These girls, our girls, are not playthings for depraved men. They are not worthless trash, only fit to be used and discarded. They are beautiful and unique human beings. They are precious souls, sparks of the divine. They are daughters, sisters, friends and fellow women. They are everything to their parents and family. They are everything to us.

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Naama Levy

Naama Levy is 19 years old. I wrote a post about her before. The shocking footage of her being roughly dragged by her hair and shoved into a car, hurt and bleeding, her hands tied behind her back, was released shortly after October 7.

This is from the website Bring Naama Levy Home:

“Naama Levy was born in Israel, and raised in India where she was educated in an American school. She graduated with a diplomacy major in high school. She was raised on values of tolerance, acceptance, equality, freedom, social justice…

As a young girl, Naama participated in the “Hands of Peace” delegation, which brings together young Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians and nurtures young leaders to promote values of mutual understanding and the pursuit of peace as a lever for creating social-global change.”

“Always looking to find common ground between people, Naama chose to practice a sport that she loves very much and that, in itself, embodies the convergence of various sports – Triathlon. The strong connection to sports runs in her family – her mother is the doctor of the Israeli women’s soccer team, so Naama has lived and breathed soccer since childhood.

She is also the connecting force at home. The second child out of four, Naama is a role model to her two younger siblings and is adored by her older brother.”.

Naama had just arrived at the Nahal Oz base when she was violently abducted. She has been a hostage ever since.

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Liri Albag

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Israel Hayom writes the following about Liri:

“Liri Albag celebrated her 19th birthday in captivity. Her sisters Roni (25) and Shay (22) say birthdays have always been among her favorite occasions. She is a joyful girl who always pays attention to every little detail: “She always gets the whole house going a month in advance for a big event with all her friends. She always makes sure everything is beautifully decorated and also has the food she loves prepared for the event.” Her sisters still hope to celebrate her 20th birthday together with her in Thailand.

Liri is an optimistic and strong girl. People who returned from the first prisoner exchange deal and met Liri in captivity told her family about the conditions she is held in. They noted: “She told us she loves us, that she’s okay and misses us. We understood it was important for her that we know she’s alive. She knows our family and knows we won’t stop fighting for her. She asked us not to forget her and the other captives, to not stop fighting.” “

According to other sources, Liri is being held in civilian houses and frequently moved. She is made to cook and clean and look after children. In other words: She is a slave.

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Agam Berger

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From Israel Hayom:

“Agam Berger, aged 19, is the twin sister of Li-Yam, born two minutes before her. She’s a gifted violinist, playing since she was 8. She had only been in the position for one day when she was kidnapped from Nahal Oz base.Her mother Mirav said in March, “Agam was supposed to be stationed at the Kerem Shalom crossing. At the last minute, they changed her posting to Nahal Oz. On Thursday, she went to the base. I sent her a video of us wishing her well. The very next day, just one day into being a field observer at Nahal Oz, she was brutally kidnapped.”

Agam sent messages to her parents from captivity through the released hostage Agam Goldshtein, who was with her for a time. Goldshtein told the parents that their daughter observes Shabbat even in captivity. She described how Hamas terrorists ordered Agam to cook food, but she firmly refused to desecrate Shabbat. She even asked to wish her father a happy birthday, awaiting her return to him. Two months ago, the family celebrated a bar mitzvah for Agam’s younger brother, Ilay. He then told Israel Hayom: “It’s very hard for me to celebrate without my older sister Agam. Even in the worst scenarios, I never imagined this important day would look like this. It’s very difficult for me, I’m very sad. We miss her, it’s just not the same without her.” “

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Daniela Gilboa

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From Israel Hayom:

Daniella Gilboa was also kidnapped from Nahal Oz, and her family and partner of seven years, Roey Dadon, await her return home. Recently, while Daniella was held captive by Hamas, he proposed to her. Orly, her mother, later said: “Daniella and Roey have been together as a couple since 7th grade, both studying music at school. Just a week after that dreadful Saturday, they were supposed to celebrate their 7-year anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend. She was really looking forward to celebrating that weekend. A few weeks ago, we had a Torah scroll welcomed into our home, and the rabbi who led the ceremony understood that Roey had been her boyfriend for 7 years. He asked him if he had proposed yet and suggested Roey propose – and he did. Now he’s waiting for her to return.”

Daniella graduated with excellence from high school, majoring in music, and even recorded some songs awaiting release when she returns. Since her abduction, Orly has been fighting to bring her daughter home, wavering between great hope and despair. She admits not expecting to need so much strength for this long struggle: “In the first few days after the kidnapping, I told myself there’s no way an event of this magnitude would go on for more than a few days, and I didn’t think we’d reach months in captivity. I ask the decision-makers – think of your own daughters, as if they were there now, and make your decision accordingly. Do what needs to be done to return the captives because they don’t have much time left.” “

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Karina Ariev

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From Israel Hayom:

“Karina Ariev, from Jerusalem, called her sister Sasha on the morning of Oct. 7 and said she was entering the shelter with her friends. “Slowly, as the minutes passed, she said there were terrorists in the area, and then you could really hear their voices and the shooting – as we’re talking on the phone. Then she started saying goodbye to me, telling me she loves me, that I should go on living, take care of our parents, and that’s where the conversation ended.”

The family describes her as an innocent and gentle child who always looks out for her family and parents. “For her, family and friends come first.” Her sister also said: “The longer we see the fighting drag on, the more we worry. Karina is creative and talented, loves to paint, sing, and dance, and wants to pursue a career in the beauty industry. She loves helping people and dreams of studying psychology and sociology. She has the ability to truly listen to people, she’s a shoulder to lean on.” “

On January 26, both Karina Ariev and Daniela Gilboa were shown in a hostage video by Hamas, together with another hostage, Doron Steinbrecher. What they said was not remarkable, it followed the same script as all the other hostage videos, the message being: Stop the war, or we will die. But, as with the other hostages, the look in their eyes was haunting. Doron’s scream echoed in our heads for a long, long time. What are these women going through, off-camera?

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When is this slow and agonizing mental torture going to end? When will we be able to mourn and bury our dead, embrace and heal our survivors, and look to the future? We are stuck in the past. One never-ending day in October. We cannot heal and move on, as long as our precious daughters, sons, fathers, grandfathers and friends are still held hostage. We have been waiting and holding our breath for seven months. When will we be able to breathe out?Liri, Naama, Agam, Daniela and Karina. We love you. We will bring you home.

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This is my YouTube video about the Nahal Oz Five:

🎗️🎗️🎗️🎗️ #bringthemhome

Update 26/04/2024: Hersh Goldberg-Polin

On Wednesday April 24, 2024, more than 200 days after October 7, 2023, Hamas released a video of one of the hostages: 23-year old American Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

It was the first sign of life from Hersh since the horrific video of October 7, when we had to watch him climb into the back of a pickup truck, covered in blood and missing his left hand.

The video released last Wednesday shows Hersh looking pale, thin and frightened. He blames the Israeli government for not securing a deal with Hamas, for letting many of the hostages die and for making them suffer. He tells Netanyahu to go home and hand over the keys of the government. He shows his amputated left hand, which was blown off by a hand grenade on October 7.

It is hard to put to words what I felt when I saw this video. I cannot imagine how his parents, Rachel and John Goldberg-Polin, are feeling. Relief, because he is alive. Pain, because he is very clearly suffering. Hope, because he might come home. And fear, because he might not.

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Rachel, who has been fighting tirelessly for the release of her son and the other hostages, told the Israeli media:

“We were extremely overwhelmed. We were both crying. And just seeing him, I think I kept saying, poor boy, poor boy, poor boy.”

This is the video released by Hamas. The only full screening I could find was on the Times of India YouTube channel:

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It is important to realize that Hersh is not saying his own thoughts, he is reading off a rehearsed script that Hamas had given him. It is easy to see in his eyes that he is terrified.

The reason there is no hostage deal is because Hamas refuses to accept any offer. They have turned down four offers up until now, the last time was on April 14. It is not because of Netanyahu that there is no hostage deal.

The main problem is that Hamas demands an immediate, permanent end to the war. The Israeli government is not willing to leave Gaza without conquering the last remaining Hamas stronghold: Rafah. This is where the hostages are thought to be held.

Hamas also demands the release of all Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli prisons. Many of these are dangerous criminals and terrorists.

I don’t know what the right thing to do is. On the one hand, we all desperately want to see the hostages return home to their families. But to give up on eradicating Hamas? This sounds terrifying. They will just resume their reign of terror in Gaza. The Gazan people are traumatized and hate Israel a thousand times more than before. The entire world hates Israel a thousand times more than before. They will attack again one day, and again, and again. We must make sure a massacre like October 7 can NEVER happen again.

So, I don’t have the answers. I don’t make the decisions. I wait and hope, as I did before. And I pray that Hersh and the others will make it home.

#bring_hersh_home

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