On the quiet street of a new Ashkelon neighborhood where Chen Machluf lives, there are no posters calling for the release of her father, Michel Nisenbaum, who is presumed to have been taken hostage to Gaza on October 7.
The only indications that we have just walked into the home of a family caught up in an agonizing nightmare for almost 100 days are the worry lines etched on the faces of Chen and her sister Michal, who has joined us.
“You won’t find us wearing T-shirts with his face, or dog tags calling for the release of hostages,” explains Chen. “We decided, as a family, to keep our children as far away from the kidnap as possible. Their lives have already been upended by the war.”
Chen has three young children, the oldest just seven years old. Her sister Michal gave birth to her third, a boy, two weeks ago. They named him Oz, meaning “courage” in Hebrew, in the spirit of the war.
“My father hasn’t met him yet,” says Michal, looking down sadly at the tiny newborn. “He doesn’t even know that I’ve given birth.”
Who is beloved grandfather Michel Nisenbaum?
Michel Nisenbaum, 59, immigrated to Israel as a teen and instantly fell in love with the land and its people. He never misses an opportunity to have coffee with friends or trek the trails. His daughters remember a happy childhood of nature trips, making coffee in the fields and nibbling on cookies brought from home. Michel is a well-known figure in the southern region, as he’s active in so many endeavors – from guide on the popular Salad Trail to ambulance driver for United Hatzalah emergency services. Most recently, he completed a tour guide course, purchased a jeep, and opened his own company to start working with visitors to his beloved South.
“He was living the best year of his life,” says Chen. “I don’t think he’s ever reached such a peak.”
But what defines Michel Nisenbaum more than anything is his love for his family. Even though he divorced the girls’ mother when they were young, the family is still very close and has grown even closer with the addition of grandchildren. He devotes one day a week to his grandchildren, creating cherished moments.
“He is such a proud father and grandfather,” says Chen, with a smile. “He’s always bragging about us to everyone.”
AND SO it came as no surprise when, on that fateful Saturday morning of October 7, Michel didn’t hesitate for a moment. Rockets were falling at 6:57 a.m., and he swiftly jumped into his car, driving from his home in Sderot to pick up his four-year-old granddaughter.
Chen recounts that on the preceding Friday night, she and their two children had dinner with her husband, a career soldier stationed at the Re’im base. Opting to head home with the younger child, Chen had left their daughter to spend the night with her father on the base. As dawn broke and sirens blared, Chen’s husband, fearing worsening conditions, asked her to come and collect the child. A very pregnant Chen called her father, asking him to go in her place.
Michel and his son-in-law arranged to meet halfway on the road, but the base was quickly overrun by Hamas. Chen’s husband shielded his terrified child under his desk, covering her with a bulletproof vest, and repelling terrorists by firing through the office window. By the grace of God, both survived and were eventually evacuated from the base later that night.
Michel, however, faced a different fate. Ten minutes after leaving Sderot to meet his son-in-law, all communication with him was lost. Chen, gripped by the escalating horror, frantically called her father, hoping for a response. Tragically, terrorists answered, shouting words in Arabic, such as “Hamas, Hamas,” before abruptly hanging up.
Michel’s burnt car was later discovered in the middle of the road, although police confirmed that he wasn’t in it when it was set ablaze. His phone, undamaged, was found discarded at the side. Two weeks after that harrowing day, the family received the devastating news – Michel had, in all likelihood, been kidnapped into Gaza. This explanation, in a case devoid of a body, gains credence as his tablet was traced to Gaza.
“We imagined that since he knew so many people in the South, that he was together with someone from home. We were hopeful that some of the released hostages may have some news for us,” says Michal. “But nobody saw him or even heard of him. We know nothing.”
Michel suffers from Crohn’s disease and has other medical conditions, and his daughters don’t believe that he is getting the right treatment. Michal recently traveled to Brazil with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, where she met President Lula da Silva, who pledged to help. The families also give regular press interviews to keep the hostages’ plight in the news.
“It’s unfathomable,” says Chen, that so many days later, “there isn’t a thread of information about his condition. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead.”
She continues, “We aren’t politicians, and we don’t claim to have all the solutions; all we know is that the country has a moral responsibility to bring all the hostages home. Today.”
Michel’s daughters have made a pact that they will do everything they can to keep his life as it was on the day he disappeared, including his home and business. Most importantly, they do all they can to keep their family intact.
“There are days that I don’t have the mental strength to get out of bed,” admits Chen. “But I do so for the children and for our husbands, who are off fighting in this war. I do it so that we don’t fall apart in front of the children.
“Dad left a strong and healthy family, and we need to make sure that we are in the same state when he returns.”