An extended family of nine people was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023.
Missing family members include Shoshan Haran, 67; Avshalom Haran, 66; Lilach Lea Kipnis, 60; Tal Shoham, 38; Adi Shoham, 38; Naveh Shoham, 8; Yahel Gani Shoham, 3; Sharon Avigdori, 52; and Noam Avigdori, 12.
When this interview was conducted, it was thought that a 10th family member, Eviatar Moshe Kipnis, 65, was also abducted. But the Italian Foreign Ministry on October 17 announced that the Israeli authorities had confirmed his death after identifying his remains, based on a DNA test.
The Media Line interviewed Shira Havron, a cousin and niece of the family.
TML: October 7 is etched in the world’s minds. It’s a day that nobody will forget—when Hamas terrorists infiltrated the Gazan border into many communities, abducting more than 120 hostages. Ten of these people are from your family. Can you share who you are and how you are related? And name the people in your family and the ages of the people who have been taken.
Shira Havron: My name is Shira Havron. On normal days, I am a film student. And you tell of my family members who lived or stayed in Kibbutz Be’eri who were kidnapped by Hamas. That’s what we believe at the moment. If you’d ask me [and] if we did this interview like two days ago, it would have been 11 [people] kidnapped, but unfortunately, my uncle is a handicapped man, and his caregiver was found dead. He was murdered.
So, right now it is 10. And I’m actually a cousin, you can say that, so the people who are kidnapped are my aunt [and her family]. It’s going to be a long list. So, it’s my Aunt Shoshan. She’s 67. And my Uncle Avshalom. He’s 66. Their daughter, Adi. She’s 38. Her husband, Tal. He’s also 38. Their kids: Naveh. He’s 8 years old. His sister, Yahel (Yula). She’s 3 years old. [Then there’s] Avshalom’s sister, Sharon, and her daughter, Noam, who is 12 years old. And my Aunt Lilach. She’s 60. And my Uncle Evyatar, who is 65. And, unfortunately, [the caregiver] Paul was found murdered. He has a wife, who is eight months pregnant. He is from the Philippines.
TML: Shira Havron, for those who don’t know who you are, a 3-year-old and 8-year-old, an entire two families and then some. And it’s a very hard thing to comprehend for anybody, for sure. What do you know about that day? And I am so terribly sorry for this terrible state that you shouldn’t be in.
Shira Havron: Yeah, I agree. So, what we know now after many days of having a very blurry picture of the situation, because we lost contact with the family on Saturday morning on the 7th of October. We now know, officially, that four people on the list are kidnapped, and that’s Adi, Tal, and both [their] children, Naveh and Yahel. The rest, we don’t know for sure that that’s the situation. We are still waiting for an official announcement from the government, from the army, to contact my family. But we know that both houses, both households, were burned down. The houses were found empty and one of my uncle’s phones was actually located in the Gaza Strip, so this all leads us to believe that they are all there.
TML: Have you heard from other people that had seen them that day? Not really. This is the thing that we were looking for in the past couple of days. And I just know that Tal, one of the family members, was seen in the back of a car with other kidnapped people from the kibbutz, but, besides that, I don’t personally have any other information.
There were others that were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri, and this kibbutz is one that your grandfather established. Your grandmother and grandfather – both [of them].
Shira Havron: Yeah! True. True. So, my grandfather is a Holocaust survivor. He came to Israel alongside with my grandmother at age 18; they built the kibbutz. A really beautiful place. Our family members are European citizens. We have German citizenship, and also Tal has an Italian citizenship. And yes, I don’t know what will be the future of this place, at the moment. It will be a very hard thing to recover from, but right now, we are focusing on the present moment.
And I’m actually in Brussels right now. I was in London on vacation. Just by accident I was there when the war started. I was [afterwards] sent to Brussels. And I got to meet a representative from the EU, the European Union. And we’re actually here to ask for a sign of life from them because we don’t have any information about them. We don’t know where they are. We don’t know what their condition is. We want the Red Cross to see them. We want a doctor to see them. And we want to know something, because it’s just unbearable, this situation.
TML: You have an uncle that needs medication.
Shira Havron: Yes.
TML: Can you talk about that, please, and specifically who that is, too.
Shira Havron: Evyatar Kidmi is actually an Italian citizen. He has an auto-immune disease called DICB. It hurts the nervous system and the muscles. I am not a doctor, but this is what I know. And he’s having a very hard time walking and doing very simple activities, and he really relied on Paul, the caregiver who has been a part of our family for many years. He takes daily medicine, which we think he doesn’t have now at all.
He needs very close medical care and [he’s in] a wheelchair, and [needs] something to walk with, and right now, we don’t have any sign that he has any of that stuff, so it’s really hard for me to think about him. I don’t know. Just alone there in a room or injured. I can’t even imagine that.
TML: My heart goes out to you. It does. Really. And I hope that for anyone listening here, it’s unforgivable. What can you tell me about your family members? I think that it’s important that people know who these people are. These are normal people who are living their lives, who cared about other people who started non-profits and NGOs. Please share.
Shira Havron: You’re right. Those are innocent people, just decent people, but for me they were extraordinary. My Aunt Shoshan actually founded the NGO called Fair Planet, and they put [as] their goal to solve the hunger problem of the world. So, they are working with countries in Africa mainly, with farmers. They help them to have the knowledge to grow their own food and to provide [for] themselves. It is really just amazing work. It is really just spreading their work and helping people.
My other aunt, my Aunt Lilach, she’s a social worker. She works with people with PTSD [and] people who suffer from trauma from the war in Israel [as well as] people who suffer from domestic violence; women, everything. [She works] with children. She’s just a kind, kind soul. And you know, she takes care of Evyatar, her husband, who is an amazing person as well, volunteering, painting.
And my cousin [Adi]. She’s a psychologist. [She’s] the mother of Naveh and Yahel. And about them, I could just say that they started their lives. They are two very beautiful, intelligent children. I can’t even imagine how you explain to them where they are and why they are there. Yeah, it’s a very hard picture to bear in mind. And it’s definitely not leaving my head these days.
TML: As a journalist, it’s very difficult because I am supposed to stay out of this from an emotional standpoint, but I have to say that I have a grandson the same age, and it’s very hard to understand how anybody, there’s no conscience of how anybody can think about doing something so vicious.
Shira, you have spoken to many people in government. Can you share a little bit about what you are looking for [and] who you have spoken to? What is the need now?
Shira Havron: We spoke to many representatives in the European Union. It was an honor to be there. An honor to meet them. They gave us a warm welcome and their time. And we ask for some quick action. We ask for two things. We ask for [them] to put pressure on the right people to take care of this situation, to get involved. To remember that this is an apolitical situation. This is a human situation. This is a war crime, and the world has to be involved.
My family happens to be European citizens, but there are a lot of families from the kibbutz and other families that are not European citizens, and it doesn’t mean that they don’t get the right to come home. And we met with the vice president of the European Union Parliament. We met with the president of the [European Union] Council and many other people. And we asked them to put pressure [on Hamas]. And the second thing, as I said, is that we asked the Red Cross to get them to meet the families, to meet the hostages, to see them, to see a doctor. To see that their basic needs are met, and to give them what they need. That’s a first step. A very basic first step.
'Words are easy to say, and now we expect actions'
TML: Do you feel that there is enough response?
Shira Havron: You know, they gave us a very warm welcome and kind words, but words are easy to say, and now we expect actions. And obviously, even a minute is too long. It’s been eight days, and nothing is done. I know that I am just a simple civilian, and I hope many stuff are happening that I don’t know about.
But I don’t see it at the moment, and I expect to see it really, really soon. And you said, as a journalist, that you have to stay [on the side] and this is hard to hear, but we see the world right now. We live in Israel and know it is very complicated. We know the political situation, and we don’t want any suffering from [at least from me personally], I don’t want any suffering from either side. My family has always been peacemakers led by values of equality and peace.
We have Palestinian friends. I am studying in university and have Arab friends. It’s just horrible to see what this war is doing to our country, to this place, to them, to humanity in this area. It’s heartbreaking. And even in these times, I am not forgetting this.
TML: There is a lot of press looking at what’s happening right now. The world’s eyes are not just on what is going to happen in Gaza immediately, and where are the hostages, and all of the hostages, in particular your family that has so many people that were kidnapped. So, if there is one message that you really wanted to convey right now, and I know you’ve talked about getting the Red Cross in and other things, what would that be?
Shira Havron: I just want to say that we don’t forget that our family is alive in Gaza because it is very easy to be very angry right now. But there are people who are alive over there, and there are a lot of dead bodies now. But our families might be alive, so please don’t forget that. And please keep this on the agenda. And don’t forget that they are just people. They are just civilians. They are innocent people who have a family. Think about them as your own family.
Please just help us to spread this news, help us to get them home, and just think what you would have done if it was your own family.
TML: I’m sorry you’re suffering so, Shira, and you are a very strong, brave person for what you are doing. And you mentioned that you have many friends that are Palestinian. What university are you studying in? Which one?
Shira Havron: I’m studying in Tel Aviv University.
TML: And what are you studying?
Shira Havron: I’m studying film.
TML: All I can say is that I wish your family is found and that they come back to you. The world is praying for you the same. I know this was very hard, but I think that it was very important to share, so that more people are aware of the situation, so thank you! Thank you!
Shira Havron: Thank you for sharing this story! Thank you very much!
TML: You’re welcome! And I hope we can come back and have a post-interview of a happy moment.
Shira Havron: Yeah! Me too! Me too!
TML: You’re very welcome!