Yad Vashem marks over 100 days of hostages held in Gaza

The Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem is calling for the releases of its historian Alex Danzig and the more than 100 other Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza since the attacks of Oct, 7. “We call upon all persons of conscience around the world, especially leaders, to persist in their efforts to secure the immediate release of Alex Danzig, and all the other hostages being held in Gaza. We hope for their well-being and their prompt reunion with their loved ones,” writes Yad Vashem chairmen Dani Dayan in a statement from last November.

Two weeks ago, as Israel marked 100 days since the Hamas attack on October 7, Yad Vashem held a special event to mark the onslaught and show support for the abductees. 

Among the assembly’s participants was 49-year-old American-Israeli history teacher and Yad Vashem Museum guide Liat Beinin Atzili, a former student of Danzig’s, who spent 54 days in Hamas captivity before being released on November 29, 2023.

Like Danzig, Beinin Atizli is a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, from where she was abducted. She lost her husband, Aviv, who was killed in combat with the terrorists invading the community. During the event, Beinin Atizli shared some of her experiences of captivity with the audience.

Commemorating a Holocaust historian held hostage in Gaza

The gathering was held in the main auditorium of Yad Vashem’s International School of Holocaust Studies, which currently accommodates a provisional school for displaced children from southern Israel. It began with participants standing silent for 100 seconds to commemorate the 100 days since the Hamas massacre

A multimedia presentation followed, dedicated to Alex Danzig, featuring video messages by colleagues, students, and friends of the abducted historian. “You are such an excellent educator! Please come back! We need you!” says Tel Aviv University historian Havi Dreifuss in one of the recordings. The event’s audience comprised many close friends and associates of Danzig, all of whom were visibly moved by the presentation, with some breaking into tears.

An expert on the Holocaust in Poland, Danzig regularly led educational trips to the country and wrote various guidebooks, exploring the Jewish history of several Polish cities. “I learned so much from him,” said Chani Ephraimov, a former student of Danzig’s who gave a talk at the gathering. Her lecture focused on the historian’s dual identity as a Pole and an Israeli, deeply committed to promoting friendship between the two countries and their people.

In an on-stage interview conducted by event host Naama Egozi, head of Yad Vashem’s teachers’ training division, Beinin Atzili talked about her experience in captivity. Before the beginning of the talk, Egozi produced a bumper sticker featuring pictures of Beinin Atzili and Danzig and demanding their release from captivity. “You certainly saw this sticker on many cars here on the Yad Vashem parking lot. It’s so good that you are down from that sticker, here with us, healthy and whole. We were very worried about you!” said Egozi to Beinin Atzili before inviting her up to the stage.

Even though Beinin Atzili said that she had been lucky to have experienced less harsh treatment by her captors than many other abductees who shared their stories with the public, her sober narration could not obscure the tragedy of the events she went through. She recounted how, on the morning of Oct. 7, she was listening to gunshots for hours while hiding alone with her dog in a shelter in Kibbutz Nir Oz until the Hamas terrorists came to take her away. 

Throughout, she managed to garnish her presentation of the atrocious events with some tragic-comic anecdotes. Remaining a Holocaust educator even in captivity, she invited fellow hostages to visit Yad Vashem and enlightened one of her Hamas captors about the systematic mass murder of six million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators. When she was done with her lesson, the Hamas guard responded, “That is really terrible,” recounted Beinin Atzili, rousing timid laughter from the audience.

At the conclusion of the event, Beinin Atzili received standing ovations. “We will not be silent until Alex Danzig and all the other hostages are back in Israel as well,” said Egozi. Beinin Atzlili too demanded to bring the remaining hostages home as soon as possible. 