Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, left, in conversation with Thomas Hand at Congregation Beth Israel. <\/i>(Adele Lewin Photography)<\/i><\/p>\n
Emily Hand was a healthy 8-year-old girl with chubby cheeks on Oct. 7, 2023, when she was abducted by Hamas terrorists from a sleepover at a friend\u2019s home on Kibbutz Be\u2019eri. When she was released, 50 days later, she was a pale, gaunt 9-year-old who would not speak above the faintest whisper.<\/p>\n
Emily and her dad, Thomas Hand, were in Vancouver this month, where the father was part of Congregation Beth Israel\u2019s Selichot program Sept. 28. He spoke with the Independent <\/i>in advance of the conversation he had with Rabbi Jonathan Infeld at the synagogue.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 7 last year, Emily was at the home of her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani. After the terrorists invaded the kibbutz and the murderous rampage subsided, Thomas Hand had no idea where his daughter was. It was almost midnight that evening when the Israel Defence Forces made it to Be\u2019eri and rescued the survivors. In the chaos of the moment, Hand was told that his daughter was dead.<\/p>\n
His immediate response was relief.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a terrible thing to say,\u201d said Hand, \u201cbut I was more relieved and at peace that she was at peace and not being terrorized or beaten or threatened or in the hands of the Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, it would become known that, of Be\u2019eri\u2019s approximately 1,100 residents, about 100 were murdered and about 50 taken hostage to Gaza. Be\u2019eri\u2019s surviving residents were removed to a location near the Dead Sea.<\/p>\n
After a few days, Hand was informed that there was no evidence that Emily had been murdered. Her remains were not found and neither was any of her DNA. Hand has no explanation for how the misunderstanding occurred. His former wife, however, was found dead. (Emily\u2019s mother died of cancer when Emily was 2.)<\/p>\n
Now, Emily was officially missing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A kibbutz member mentioned to Hand that they had seen Raaya Rotem \u201cand her two children\u201d led away at gunpoint. Hand knew that Rotem has only one daughter \u2013 Emily\u2019s friend Hila \u2013 and that was his confirmation that Emily had been abducted alive.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they told me that she was actually alive, I was in the nightmare of not knowing what the hell was going to happen to her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It is now known that Emily, Hila and Raaya were taken to Gaza, moved from location to location for the first couple of days and then held in a house along with several other hostages.<\/p>\n They lived in constant terror and were given very little food \u2013 a quarter of a pita a day sometimes, though they could smell the plentiful food their captors were cooking. Their accommodations were squalid, they were watched while using the toilet and warned to remain totally silent.<\/p>\n Doing what he could to raise global awareness of his daughter\u2019s situation, as well as those of the other hostages, Hand launched a campaign, beginning with a trip to Ireland. Hand had made aliyah from Ireland and Emily, as a result, is a dual citizen. Hand then traveled to the United States and appeared on American TV, further humanizing the plight of the hostages and their families.<\/p>\n In November last year, during the temporary ceasefire, Emily was one of 105 hostages freed. She was released along with Hila. Hila\u2019s mother Raaya was released a couple of days later.<\/p>\n Hand has no clear memories of their reunion, except that he would not allow himself to believe it would happen until they locked eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnything could go wrong,\u201d he said of the temporary ceasefire negotiations and promised release of the hostages. \u201cNot until the very last second did I really believe that she was coming back, only when I saw her eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n The joy of reunion was mixed with the harsh reality of what she had endured.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe came back a different child,\u201d Hand said, reflecting on her transformation from an innocent 8-year-old to a much-matured child shaped by trauma. The changes were most immediately noticeable physically. \u201cHer cheekbones were sharp, her body much thinner.\u201d<\/p>\n The effects of being threatened for more than two months to remain silent did not dissipate immediately either.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen she came back, she was whispering, just moving her lips,\u201d he said. \u201cHer confidence was shattered.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Emily\u2019s release, the Hands \u2013 she has an older brother, 29, and a sister, 27 \u2013 have been working to help her recover. Therapies, including horse riding, dog training, theatre and singing, have played a crucial role in rebuilding her confidence. Regular psychological support in Tel Aviv, despite being a two-hour drive, has also been essential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s very strong, very resilient,\u201d said her father.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Hand family has relocated to a semi-permanent residence near Be\u2019er Sheva while they await the reconstruction of Be\u2019eri, to which he is determined to return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been my home for over 30 years. I raised my eldest kids and Emily there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s paradise. I want to go back home.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all kibbutz members feel the pull to return, he acknowledged, though he estimates that 75% of the surviving members hope to rebuild there. Security, of course, is the foremost concern.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government needs to be different, and Hamas needs to be as weak as we can possibly make them because I need to feel safe in my own home before I would ever bring Emily back there again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the international response to the crisis, Hand expressed frustration.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is the UN or all the governments in the world not putting the pressure on Hamas to stop?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n To critics of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, he is defiant. \u201cWe have to defend ourselves, and we will defend ourselves,\u201d he said, \u201cno matter what the world says or thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n As Emily continues her recovery, Hand remains focused on a mission.<\/p>\n \u201cOur primary concern now is getting the hostages back,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, left, in conversation with Thomas Hand at Congregation Beth Israel. (Adele Lewin Photography) Emily Hand was a healthy 8-year-old girl with chubby cheeks on Oct. 7, 2023, when she was abducted by Hamas terrorists from a sleepover at a friend\u2019s home on Kibbutz Be\u2019eri. When she was released, 50 days later, she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[547,23558,22700,4330,22725,23557],"class_list":["post-45191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-beth-israel","tag-emily-hand","tag-hostages","tag-israel","tag-oct-7","tag-thomas-hand"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}