Israeli stories of resilience, loss, and hope
When the unthinkable happened on October 7, the shockwaves reached far beyond Israel, resonating deeply within the Australian Jewish community. For over 400 days our community has stood resolutely united in adversity with the people of Israel. Last month, this unity was on full display at a series of UIA events across Australia, as hundreds gathered to hear the stories of resilience, loss, and hope from those directly impacted by the extraordinary terror on that day.
Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, Chairperson of the Victims of Terror Fund, spoke about how UIA’s contribution to the fund has provided critical support to families reeling from the aftermath. She explained how the Victims of Terror Fund allows families to rebuild their lives in the ways that matter most to them—whether through rehabilitation, re-education, or therapy of their choosing. She shared that some victims have used the fund to change careers after the horrors of October 7, reflecting the transformative power of choice and dignity in their recovery.
Later in the evening, this impact was brought to life when Liam Or, recounting his time as a hostage in Gaza, revealed a deeply personal connection to the fund. Liam shared that his father, inspired by the memory of Dvir Karp, a chocolatier murdered on their kibbutz on October 7, has used the money he received from the Victims of Terror fund to retrain as a chocolatier in order to bring Dvir’s Chocolate business back to life.
Overcome, Ayelet rose from her seat to embrace Liam, her voice breaking as she said, “I didn’t know this part of your story. It is a privilege to know we have helped in this way.” The moment encapsulated the profound and deeply personal ways the global Jewish community has supported Israel’s victims, how we always choose life.
We then were told the story of Liam Or. At just 17 years old, Liam was abducted by Hamas terrorists and held in Gaza’s tunnels for 54 harrowing days. Speaking to the audience, he painted a vivid picture of those unimaginable weeks.
Awoken by a phone call from his father on the morning of October 7, Liam tried to lock himself in his safe room. But the terrorists broke down the door. Seeing the green Hamas headbands, he was sure he was about to die. Instead, they shouted in Arabic for him to come with them. Moments later, as Liam joined another group of terrorists, one shot him at close range, the bullet piercing his abdomen. He considers himself lucky the bullet passed straight through, as a slightly different trajectory could have been fatal. His original captors, yelled at the shooter, “No, we are taking him as a hostage.” It was at that moment that Liam knew without a doubt that he would not die, if he was being taken hostage he would do absolutely everything he could to choose life – no matter what that was about to mean.
Liam described the nightmare that followed: being dragged into Gaza and taken underground into the tunnels by 10.30am on October 7. Along with fellow hostage Omer Shem Tov from his kibbutz and four Thai captives, he was kept 70 metres underground in a tiny room of sand and stone. The conditions were horrendous—his hands were tied behind his back for the first week, leaving him with debilitating shoulder pain, and his untreated bullet wound became infected repeatedly.
For 54 days, they survived on three dates and a cup of water each morning as well as half a dry pita in the evening. He and Omer tracked the days by placing rocks in a corner and shared their life stories to keep each other sane. Despite their suffering, they mentally prepared themselves for a multi-year captivity like Gilad Shalit had endured.
In a moment that was hard to imagine for those of us who had watched the tragedy unfold in real time, Liam described how since he had seen one other person murdered in the kibbutz and Omer had seen 11 murdered – between them they believed that October 7 had caused the death of 12 people and the six of them being taken hostage. For 54 days he was sure that this was the worst disaster in Israel’s history and that he was the first person to be taken hostage from his own home into Gaza.
Liam also described the small, surreal moments that broke the monotony, like a change in their food or encountering a different guard. In one instance, even being forced to make propaganda videos for his Hamas captures was “a great day” as he thought his family would know that he was alive.
When Liam was finally brought to the surface after a gruelling five-hour trek upwards through the tunnels and into a school, he was overwhelmed to discover that he was not alone – there were other hostages who were also about to be freed.
He then described a surreal moment where another hostage had a deck of playing cards which he borrowed to perform a magic trick for his captors. What started as one simple magic trick for one of his captors soon transformed into a full-scale performance, as 50 Hamas terrorists gathered to watch. When Liam delivered his usual performance spiel of “check that I haven’t placed your card in your pocket.” The lead terrorist reached into his pocket and pulled out a grenade. Although that was already a moment Liam would never forget, he later tattooed the Jack of Spades—the card chosen by the lead terrorist—onto his forearm as a reminder that through this unimaginable ordeal, he managed to hold onto his humanity and more importantly his inner magic. Liam’s fellow hostage Omer Shem Tov has not yet been released but Liam maintains full and utter belief that he will be released alive.
At the end of the telling of his story Liam expressed how deeply moved he was to learn of the global Jewish community’s relentless advocacy and support “I had no idea how much you cared,” he said. “I now feel like I have family not just in Israel, but here in Australia too.”
It was also obvious as we watched them on stage that Liam now shares a deep bond with Tom and Amir Ken Dror who throughout this trip have taken care of him, a stranger, as they would their own brother. Tom even remarked that “Liam has the same fun and lively energy as Joni, it’s impossible not to love him.
And oh how Jonathan Ken-Dror was loved, Tom spoke of her brother Jonathan, known to them as Joni, describing him as a free spirit full of light, laughter, and a fierce love for his family. A moving video of Joni captured his vibrant personality—dancing, laughing, and always, always smiling. But the joy turned to devastation when Amir recounted the harrowing six days their family spent searching for Joni and his girlfriend Yael after hearing at 8.30am on October 7 that Joni had been spotted at the Nova Festival massacre. Yael’s body was identified two days later, but it was not until the sixth day that they received the dreaded knock on the door confirming Joni’s death.
Amir shared how Joni’s last moments were captured in a recording of Yael’s phone call to Magen David Adom. The room was overwhelmed with grief as Amir described hearing his son’s final breaths. Even more so when Amir then shared how there was comfort in hearing that call and knowing without a doubt that Joni’s death was fast and that he and Yael were murdered but not further violated the way so many were that day. Hearing the true relief in this statement only further served to break the hearts of every single person in that room.
Amid their pain, Tom and her family made the extraordinary decision to choose life. Tom was six months pregnant when Joni was killed and she talked about the darkness of those first few months and how she feared she would lose her parents too, to the depths of grief they were experiencing. She talked about how shortly before she gave birth her mother gathered the family and said “we have two options, we can be walking dead the rest of our lives or we can live with this pain and grief.”
The family chose life and she said that after that choice “life began to grow around their grief.” When Tom gave birth to her second son just months later, she named him Lior Jonathan in honour of her brother. She shared how her mother’s words when Lior Jonathan was about to be born, gave them strength, taking off her funeral clothes, putting on the pinkest sweater she could find and stating “we will accept this baby with love” which is what she did. The family hosted Lior Jonathan’s bris exactly three months after October 7, a powerful symbol of life continuing alongside death.
One of the other extremely meaningful moments of the night came when Tom talked about how healing this trip to Australia has been. Despite her family’s decision to live fully, she had struggled to find her hope—her tikvah. It was only after being embraced by the Australian Jewish community that she felt her hope return. “I hadn’t sung Hatikvah since October 7,” she admitted, “but here, surrounded by all of you, I found it again.” The evening concluded with a stirring rendition of Hatikvah, with Tom singing every word with the full weight of her love for her brother, her family, and Am Yisrael.
As Peter Horowitz, UIA Victoria CEO, put it: “ we are a people united by a land, a land united by its people. We will always and forever stand united in adversity with our Israeli brothers and sisters.”
Through their pain and resilience, Liam, Tom, and Amir reminded everyone of the profound connection between Israel and its diaspora. As 2024 draws to a close, the Australian Jewish community stands prouder, louder, and more united than ever. For we are Am Yisrael. United in adversity.
Donations to the Victims of Terror Fund can be made via UIA Australia – uiaaustralia.org.au/donate. Every contribution is a decision to choose life and hope, it shows our unity and that we will always be there for one another and for the people of Israel.
Justine Pearl is a freelance writer, creative, crafter and proud Zionist, currently writing for the people of Israel via UIA.
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