Trigger Warning – Discussion of sexual assault, murder, kidnapping and torture
I’ll never forget October 7th. I woke up to a call from Shai DeLuca, a design expert, TV personality, and a close friend of mine who happened to be in Israel that day. He was on his way back to Canada from a wedding when he called me at 7am that fateful Saturday. “I’m just letting you know that I’m ok.” he said. “Why wouldn’t you be?” I laughed, but taken aback by his tone. “Don’t you know? Israel is under attack.” I immediately ran to the TV, hand covering my mouth in shock. “It’s unbelievable Jill. They are shooting people in the streets. They are sending Telegram videos to our What’s App accounts. I’ve never seen anything like this. People are being butchered. We are at the airport in a bomb shelter.”
I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say. I saw image after horrifying image. There were videos of people being kidnapped at a number of Kibbutzim. Places that I never heard of before, now burned into my consciousness. Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Nahal Oz and Be’eri. They are always with me. The statistics were shocking. Nir Oz alone had one quarter of their residents murdered in the most horrible ways or taken hostage.
Images like Shiri Bibas looking terrified as she clung to her children, Ariel and Kfir; Naama Levy being dragged out of the back of a car, pants bloodied; Shani Louk, her limp body in the back of a truck, surrounded by terrorists, being spit on as she was paraded around like a prize. I’ll never forget the women of October 7th. There are too many stories to tell for one article, but I’ll share a few of these heroines who survived or died, show remarkable bravery and resilience.
As I watched the images unfold, I couldn’t help but focus on the women—those who endured unthinkable horrors, those who survived, and those who fought to bring the hostages home. International Women’s Day is the ideal time to focus on the women of October 7th,
Shiri Bibas
The images of her are unforgettable, as are those of her beautiful boys. Ariel, four years old cradled in his mother’s arms, a pacifier in his mouth, likely to soothe him as monsters became real for this little boy. Kfir, a baby, just nine months old with red hair like his brother, also cradled in his mother’s arms. There was a look of stark terror in Shiri’s eyes – a desperation to protect her babies. Although she couldn’t escape, she was still heroic. You can see that she would, and did, lay down her life for her children.
Her husband, Yarden, the sole survivor of their little family (even their dog Tonto was murdered) said that their final decision together was for him to fight to try to save their family. He apologized for not being able to, but, he was outnumbered. Shiri and her two boys are now buried in a single casket in Nir Oz.
Emily Damari
Emily Damari is a British-Israeli woman who was captured from her home in Kfar Aza and spent 15 months, 471 days as a prisoner. The 28-year old was shot in the hand and her leg as she was dragged out. Damari was denied medical treatment for her wounds on two occasions. Her wounds were only treated with out of date iodine while she was in captivity taking months to heal in unsanitary conditions while losing two fingers in the process.
Emily was freed after months in unimaginable conditions. The heroic young woman offered to stay behind if her neighbour, Keith Siegal could be freed in her place. Her request was denied, but the brave young woman has fought for the remaining hostages every day since her release. She went back to her home in Kfar Aza to see the damage. She has undergone a number of surgeries and sees her scars as symbols of “freedom, hope and strength”.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin
Rachel Goldberg-Polin wasn’t one of the hostages. Her only son, Hersh, 23, was kidnapped from the Nova Festival turning the mother into an unlikely activist. She and her husband, John traveled tirelessly from place to place meeting with world leaders, attending political conventions and even meeting with the Pope, all to bring her son home from the tunnels in Gaza. Unfortunately, after 329 days, after a particular moving day when the hostage families went to the Gazan border to call out for their loved ones, Goldberg-Polin found out her son was murdered, along with five other hostages.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin has been a light in the movement to free the hostages. At her son’s funeral, she said the following:
“I also pray that your death will be a turning point in this horrible situation in which we are all entangled. I take such comfort knowing you were with Carmel, Ori, Eden, Almog and Alex. From what I have been told, they each were delightful in different ways, and I think that is how the 6 of you managed to stay alive in unimaginable circumstances for so very long. You each did every single thing right to survive 329 days in what I can only call Hell.”
To this very day, despite the grief that this woman went through, she continues to advocate for the release of the 59 remaining hostages, 24 of which are believed to be alive.
The Silent Screams
I visited Kfar Aza in early December of 2023. I felt the silent screams of those that can no longer cry out for themselves. Each woman speaks her truth now to me, without words. Walking through each home, destroyed, some burned, some looted, some riddled with grenades, it was a wonder that anyone survived. One day, each of these women will be able to be back home, wherever that is and whatever that looks like. For now, even though there are so many more stories to tell, the women of October 7th will always speak to me.
