Every Friday morning I check to see which songs Zehu Ze performed in their weekly show the night before. They usually perform two songs - one with a guest and the other one on their own. The song they choose to perform on their own often feels like a barometer, a few minutes that capture the country's mood that week, and Thursday's choice was no exception. A chill went down my spine when I heard their version of the late Ofra Haza's timeless song, which has long been associated with Yitzhak Rabin's assassination after she performed it at his memorial service (I took the translation here from the description in the video). Obviously, there is no comparison to Ofra's singing, and Zehu Ze's performance was more of a tribute to her and the song's legacy. I couldn't help but gasp at the relevance of the line 'I will run into the fire if they return from there' and when Shlomo Baraba closed his eyes after singing the line 'And the one who disappeared, will he return, or is he already dead?'. I heard in an episode of the podcast 'One Song' that the song was written by Ayala Ashrov when she was just 19, and is about coping with her boyfriend's sudden loss of his sister, which happened very early in their relationship. The song reached Ofra and her producer, Bezalel Aloni, and they loved it but Bezalel made two significant changes to the lyrics. The dark line "So why try and continue now to live" became "So why try and continue now to cry" and in the original song, Ayala wrote the line "And the one who disappeared, he won't return because he's already dead". Bezalel told Ayala that the line must be changed because it's too pessimistic, he has to come back, there is no greater hope than for people who are gone to return.
It's been a difficult time lately with so much happening all at once. The ceasefire collapsed and Netanyahu decided to fire Ronen Bar, the Shin Bet chief due to a "lack of trust" at a very questionable time, to say the least. There is a severe possibility that the government will not abide the High Court's order preventing Bar's immediate dismissal and it's not clear at all where things are headed and what will happen with the hostages. One thing for certain is that as Bezalel said, there must always be hope.
Tell me how to stop the tears,
Tell me where there is another world to live in,
Tell me why there is no truth, only illusions
So why try and continue now to cry?
Along the length of the sea
There are no waves, there is a world
Broken into fragments on the pier
Along the length of the sea
There are no waves, there is a world
Broken into fragments on the pier
Tell me how to stop the tears
Tell me where there's another world to live in
When people run into an inferno as into the sea
I will run into the fire if they return from there
Along the length of the sea
There are no waves, there is a world
Broken into fragments on the pier
Along the length of the sea
There are no waves, there is a world
Broken into fragments on the pier
Tell me how you live with death
Hiding the tears every night
Tell me, how much longer?
The fire that calls me is not really there
And the one who disappeared, will he return, or is he already dead?
A week of mourning and reflection. On Wednesday, we watched Yarden Bibas's heartbreaking eulogy for his wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir at their funeral. On Thursday, the bodies of four hostages were returned to Israel for burial: Itzik Elgarat, Tsahi Idan, Shlomo Mantzur, and Ohad Yahalomi. 59 hostages remain in Gaza, and it is not clear when they will be released. I'm still thinking about the interview that Eli Sharabi gave on Thursday night, in which he shared chilling details from his captivity. During most of his captivity, he was held in terrible conditions in a tunnel together with Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, both recently released, and with Alon Ohel, who remains in captivity. He said that the main reason he decided to do the interview was to advocate for Alon's urgent release, as well as the other remaining hostages in Gaza. It was touching and chilling to hear about how, as the oldest hostage among the four, he took on a father role and prepared Alon for his time in captivity on his own. Later in the interview, he talks about how much the country has changed since the war, and I can see the sadness and frustration in his eyes upon learning how the hostage situation has become so political. I thought of this song, written by Yankele Rotblit in 2005, after the second Intifada and the disengagement from Gaza. The Backyard, Rotblit's group with a trio of musicians, gave it a new life, and it was released last year during the war. The moving performance here is from last year's alternative "torch-dousing and hope-lighting" ceremony, which was organized by hostage families and was held during the government's Independence Eve torch-lighting ceremony. I don't know if we were ready to answer the questions the song asks back then, during the intense fighting stage, but now we don't have a choice.
Thursday was tough. I tried to avoid the news most of the day, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to work. In the evening I saw footage of the four coffins being brought to Israel, footage which was interrupted by the breaking news of three buses exploding, thankfully all empty, and two more were found with explosive devices, in what clearly was a botched terrorist attack. I woke up the next morning to the shocking news that while the forensic experts had identified the bodies of Oded Lifshitz and the two young boys Ariel and Kfir Bibas, they found that the fourth body sent by Hamas didn't belong to their mother, Shiri Bibas. Poor Yarden, I thought to myself, as I'm sure many others thought as well, now he has to go through this ordeal? It only got worse when we learned in the afternoon that Ariel and Kfir, who were just 4 years old and 9 months old when they were kidnapped, were brutally murdered by terrorists with their bare hands. Shiri's body was returned by Hamas later in the evening and today the forensic experts confirmed that there is no sign that she was killed in an air strike. The image of a terrified Shiri holding her two boys closely while surrounded by terrorists on October 7th will forever be etched in our minds. We will never forget them and we will never forget that she and her boys were taken hostage three hours after the attack began, while Yarden had gone out to try to protect them and the kibbutz. And yet, I will try to remember images of the Bibas family from happier times.
Today we saw the joyous release of six hostages: Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem-Tov, Tal Shoham, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu. Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed had been held captive in Gaza for over a decade, after entering on their own. Omer Cohen, Omer Shem-Tov, and Eliya Cohen were abducted from the Nova festival while Tal Shoham was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri. Today they finally reunited with their families after 505 days and Tal reunited with his wife and two children, who were also taken hostage and were released last November. There are 63 hostages still in Gaza, and at least 20 are confirmed to be alive. While there is understandable outrage at Hamas over the fate of the Bibas family, we can't neglect the remaining hostages, and they all need to be urgently rescued in a hostage deal.
It was a strange week because while my social media feed was filled with images of broken orange hearts mourning the Bibas family, it was also filled with clips from SNL's 50th anniversary special and Glambots from the red carpet. I thought of our SNL, Eretz Nehederet, and how they delicately navigated satire during the war. This clip is taken from the first episode of their 21st season, which aired just a few weeks after October 7th. I don't remember much from the episode, just that every laugh felt like a release and how emotional it was to see the cast singing this classic with Shlomo Artzi, a song originally written in 1970 and still so relevant today.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn, and Sasha Troufanov, all from Kibbutz Nir Oz, are finally in Israel after 498 days in hell. It was a tense week, heightened by Trump's reckless threat for 'all hell to come down on Gaza' if all the hostages are not released, a threat embraced enthusiastically by the far-right ministers who opposed the hostage deal. Obviously, all the hostages should be released, the sooner the better, but it's clear at this point that any return to fighting will put the remaining hostages in immediate danger, especially after we've learned more about the harsh conditions in which they are being held. Kol adam olam umlo'o, every person is an entire universe, and I am thrilled to see that three universes were saved today, though the road to recovery is just beginning. Iair was abducted with his younger brother Eitan, who is still in Gaza and set to be released only in the second phase of the deal. Sasha was taken hostage along with his grandmother, his mother, and his girlfriend. The three were released last November and he learned today that his father was murdered on October 7th. Sagui learned that his family had luckily survived the massacre in Nir Oz - his wife had given birth two months later and his three daughters were safe and okay. Sagui's wife had also helped run his business while he was in captivity and in all of the interviews with her I was so impressed with how calm and collected she seemed, maybe because she had to stay strong for her daughters. Today she will finally be able to embrace him, a happy ending that almost didn't happen.
Hana Goldberg, who wrote the lyrics to this heartwarming song, said she woke up one morning and felt the urge to hug someone. It was released in 2004, during the Second Intifada, and there are hints of the darkness in the background. I love how charming it is, a reminder to hold on tightly to the sweet moments, no matter how dark things are.
Not an easy morning. As joyous as it is to know that Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi are finally in Israel after 491 days in Hamas captivity, it was difficult seeing the images of them, so frail and clearly malnourished. They are all returning to a very different reality. Or Levy, 34, was at the Nova music festival with his wife. They took refuge from the rockets in a shelter on the highway, which later became known as the Reim "death shelter" where his wife was murdered, along with 15 others, and Or was taken hostage. They have a 3-year-old son, who was told yesterday that his father was finally found after months of searching for him. Ohad Ben Ami, 56, was abducted from his home in Be'eri together with his wife, Raz, who was released last November. His daughters have been fighting for his release and now he is finally home, though it will still take time until Be'eri becomes livable again. Eli Sharabi, 52, is also from Be'eri, and on October 7th his wife and two teenage daughters were murdered while he was taken hostage. It's not clear if he knows what happened to them, or if he knows that his brother Yossi, who was also taken hostage, was killed as a result of an IDF strike. Their brother Sharon has been fighting for Eli's release and to bring back Yossi's body for a proper burial in Israel. In a recent interview, he said that when he'll hug his brother, it will be a collective hug, also in the name of the citizens who worked for his release, the soldiers who were killed in the war, and the injured. I can't stop thinking about the important role that Sharon and his other siblings will play in Eli's recovery, just as Or's siblings will be an important part of Or's recovery and will help him adjust to a very different life without his wife.
Elai Botner, who wrote the lyrics for this song, shared that it is about his brother, Ofer, who suffered from brain damage after a drug overdose. Ofer struggled to recover and lead a normal life and Elai wrote the lyrics after Ofer was asked to leave a luxury car dealership because of his appearance. Elai wanted to cheer him up, and maybe also cheer himself up, with an optimistic message of hope. Earlier this week we saw footage of the 5 released IDF surveillance soldiers singing this song onstage with Elai and his band, in a special performance for them and their friends. It was so emotional to see the girls sing the chorus after all they had been through and I can only hope that all the released hostages will be able to eventually build a new and happy life.
Don't be scared, aspire to know
Don't worry, you'll fulfill.
Whoever has the power to touch
Has the power to comfort.
Don't be scared, days will come
And seasons will pass
You'll see that we'll make it to the end
Don't be scared of a biting reality
And cold people.
Everyone carries in their stomach
But you only see little.
How much power a moment has
And forever is infinite.
After every tear that will drop
There will be laughter
And this is the moment
Here comes the hour
What will the wind bring?
What will melt the silence?
There are reasons for everything
There is a never-ending dream
At the end of the road you'll be happy
Let's move forward to the horizon
To the good sun
It's far but you'll make it
A bit tired and a bit thirsty for love
Which will wait for you, pick it like a fresh fruit
And then rest, fall asleep in the shade
And this is the moment
Here comes the hour
What will the wind bring?
What will melt the silence?
There are reasons for everything
There is a never-ending dream
At the end of the road you'll be happy
I used the help of this excellent translation from LyricsTranslate.
Another emotional day of hostage releases, hopefully with many more yet to come. And yet, today's release was heavier on the heart because as joyful as it was to see Keith Seigel reunited with his family and Ofer Calderon reunited with his four children, two of whom were kidnapped and were released last November, it wasn't easy to see the release of Yarden Bibas, who was taken hostage separately from his wife Shiri and their two young children, and their fate is still unknown. So many of the released hostages are carrying with them the trauma not only of their captivity but also of the tragic events of October 7th. Gadi Mozes's spouse was killed on October 7th, Arbel Yehoud's brother was murdered and her boyfriend was also taken hostage. She was not with him during her captivity and he is in the group expected to be released in the second stage. It is not clear at all that we will get there, though I hope with all my heart that we do.
Daniel Wais from Kibbutz Be'eri tragically lost both his parents, Yehudit and Shmulik. His father was murdered on October 7th and his mother was taken captive and killed by Hamas, her body was later recovered by the IDF. We got to know Daniel this year as a participant in 'A Rising Star' which selects Israel's representative for the Eurovision. During the final, he shared how meaningful the experience was for him and how much he would miss it. He didn't win the contest, but he captured our hearts and this moving performance has stayed with me, especially at the end when he thanked his parents.
