Meirav Leshem-Gonen, the mother of Romi Gonen, who returned home about two and a half weeks ago after 471 days in Hamas captivity, said that Romi has kept Shabbos since her return.
In an interview with Kol Berama, Meirav said: “Romi is strong in a way that’s hard to explain. There’s something powerful and connecting in Judaism, especially mutual responsibility, and that’s what kept them going – that people cared about and worried about them.”
Meirav shared that Romi has kept two Shabbatot since her return, and that she and her friend found a way to daven in captivity. “In captivity, the difference between the terrorists and Jewish solidarity, which is the secret of our existence, is very strong,” she said.
Meirav, who became close to the families of Gedolei Yisrael while her daughter was in captivity, said that she wasn’t familiar with the Chareidi community before October 7. “I got to know entire sectors that I didn’t know beforehand and to understand that diversity is part of our power. I feel that we’re on the right path, that Am Yisrael is strong.”
She shared that it was touching to go to Bnei Brak on Purim and discover that the residents daven three times a day for the hostages. “It’s the only community that knows the names of all the hostages and their mothers because they daven for them,” she said. “There are also pashkivilim [posters] on the streets saying not to celebrate outside because there’s a war. This is part of our shared fate as a people.”
Meirav told Ynet on Tuesday that Romi suffered excruciating pain in Gaza after being shot on October 7 and is now facing complex surgery and a long rehabilitation. Her captors did not provide any painkillers and instead stood and laughed at her suffering.
Surnames in brackets
Tamir ben Yael (Adar)
Edan ben Yael (Alexander)
Matan ben Anat (Angrest)
Gali ben Tamar (Berman)
Ziv ben Tamar (Berman)
Kfir ben Shiri (Bibas)
Shiri bat Margit (Bibas)
Ariel ben Shiri (Bibas)
Elkana ben Ruchama (Bohbot)
Rom ben Tamar Noa (Braslavski)
Itay ben Chagit (Chen)
Eliya ben Sigalit (Cohen)
Nimrod ben Vicky (Cohen)
Evyatar ben Galya (David)
Sagui ben Naamit (Dekel-Chen)
Itzhak ben Enta (Elgarat)
Guy ben Meirav (Gilboa-Dalel)
Ran ben Tali (Gvili)
Maxim ben Tella (Herkin)
Yair ben Rut Eedit (Horn)
Eitan ben Rut Eedit Horn)
Tsachi ben Devorah (Idan)
Segev ben Galit (Kalfon)
David ben Sylvia (Konio)
Ariel ben Sylvia (Konio)
Bar Avraham ben Julia (Kupershtein)
Oded ben Bilha (Lifshitz)
Shlomo ben Marcel (Mansour)
Omri ben Veronica Esther (Miran)
Eitan Avraham ben Efrat (Mor)
Tamir ben Cherut (Nimrod)
Yosef Chaim ben Miriam (Ohana)
Alon ben Idit (Ohel)
Avinathan ben Ditza Tirtza (Or)
Daniel Shimon ben Sharon (Peretz)
Yosef ben Chana (Sharabi)
Omer ben Sheli (Shem Tov)
Tal ben Nitza (Shoham)
Alexander [Sasha] ben Ilena (Trubanob)
Omer ben Niva (Wenkert)
Yair ben Flor (Yaacov)
Ohad ben Keren (Yahalon)
Matan ben Einav (Zangauker)
Avraham Mengistu
Elizabeth Tsurkov (Hostage in Iraq)
Hisham Al Sayed (Bedouin)
Pinta Nattapong (Thai Hostage)
No comments:
Post a Comment