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The Advertiser
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Anti-Semitism panel told inquiry risks isolating Jews
Jewish Australians have warned a "troubling" inquiry risks exacerbating anti-Semitism by focusing on just one form of racism. After a rise in anti-Semitic incidents on university campuses and in broader society, a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining the issue began on Monday with evidence from Jewish groups across the political spectrum. But some advocates said the inquiry itself and potential subsequent action could stoke the fires of anti-Semitism by treating one form of racism separately from others. "It can fuel anti-Semitism by having a focus on racial hatred towards one group to the exclusion of others," Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group founder Stephanie Cunio told the inquiry. "It's not helpful for us as Jews, and it really needs to be looked at broadly. "And it also isolates us, we've had a lot of problems with social cohesion between Jews and Muslims and Palestinians in Australia, and isolating it doesn't help." Ms Cunio said spending time at an encampment at Sydney University that was protesting in response to Israel's bombing and ground assault on Gaza was "uncomfortable" as a Jewish woman. But it helped her understand where those people were coming from, she said. She stressed being "uncomfortable" about the actions of the Israeli government was distinct from experiencing anti-Semitism or racism. That contrasted with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students' view of universities as "flashpoints for anti-Semitic activity." The union pointed to the proportion of Jewish-Australians who identify as Zionist, a political movement that originated for the founding of the state of Israel. "Given that the majority of Jewish Australians identify as Zionist, it is not credible to claim that threats or acts of hostility directed at 'Zionists' cannot also be acts of anti-Semitism," it said. The peak body for Jewish people in NSW dubbed the debate about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism as a "red herring". "The overwhelming majority of incidents which are reported to us have nothing to do with Israel or Zionism, just classic, textbook anti-Semitism," NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said. "Where the line (of political debate) is crossed is where hatred of Israel spills over into suspicion of Jews more broadly, or a view that Jews are pernicious, dangerous or particularly egregious in their actions." Rising anti-Semitism on social media had led the Sydney Jewish Museum to expand its focus beyond late-high-school students and those studying history, chief executive Kevin Sumption said. "There's increasing educational research strongly suggesting that leaving it to have a discussion about these issues until you're 15, 16, 17, years old is too late," he said. Australia's 39 universities unanimously endorsed a new definition of anti-Semitism in February. The definition includes harassment that impedes Jews' ability to participate as equals in educational and social life. But it has been contested by human rights groups as curbing political speech. Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace founding member Janice Caulfield said the scope and framing of the NSW inquiry was "troubling". "It is built on a contested definition of anti-Semitism that risks conflating legitimate political expression with racial hatred," she told the inquiry. Laws to crackdown on hate speech were rushed through state parliament in February. That followed a series of anti-Semitism incidents across Sydney and the discovery of a caravan filled with explosives, later identified as a "false flag" to help a criminal negotiate a lighter sentence. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia has risen markedly in Australia since October 7, 2023, when militant group Hamas killed more than 1200 Israelis and captured 250 hostages in southern Israel. More than 52,000 Palestinians, including about 18,000 children, have been killed so far as Israel bombarded the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. Jewish Australians have warned a "troubling" inquiry risks exacerbating anti-Semitism by focusing on just one form of racism. After a rise in anti-Semitic incidents on university campuses and in broader society, a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining the issue began on Monday with evidence from Jewish groups across the political spectrum. But some advocates said the inquiry itself and potential subsequent action could stoke the fires of anti-Semitism by treating one form of racism separately from others. "It can fuel anti-Semitism by having a focus on racial hatred towards one group to the exclusion of others," Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group founder Stephanie Cunio told the inquiry. "It's not helpful for us as Jews, and it really needs to be looked at broadly. "And it also isolates us, we've had a lot of problems with social cohesion between Jews and Muslims and Palestinians in Australia, and isolating it doesn't help." Ms Cunio said spending time at an encampment at Sydney University that was protesting in response to Israel's bombing and ground assault on Gaza was "uncomfortable" as a Jewish woman. But it helped her understand where those people were coming from, she said. She stressed being "uncomfortable" about the actions of the Israeli government was distinct from experiencing anti-Semitism or racism. That contrasted with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students' view of universities as "flashpoints for anti-Semitic activity." The union pointed to the proportion of Jewish-Australians who identify as Zionist, a political movement that originated for the founding of the state of Israel. "Given that the majority of Jewish Australians identify as Zionist, it is not credible to claim that threats or acts of hostility directed at 'Zionists' cannot also be acts of anti-Semitism," it said. The peak body for Jewish people in NSW dubbed the debate about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism as a "red herring". "The overwhelming majority of incidents which are reported to us have nothing to do with Israel or Zionism, just classic, textbook anti-Semitism," NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said. "Where the line (of political debate) is crossed is where hatred of Israel spills over into suspicion of Jews more broadly, or a view that Jews are pernicious, dangerous or particularly egregious in their actions." Rising anti-Semitism on social media had led the Sydney Jewish Museum to expand its focus beyond late-high-school students and those studying history, chief executive Kevin Sumption said. "There's increasing educational research strongly suggesting that leaving it to have a discussion about these issues until you're 15, 16, 17, years old is too late," he said. Australia's 39 universities unanimously endorsed a new definition of anti-Semitism in February. The definition includes harassment that impedes Jews' ability to participate as equals in educational and social life. But it has been contested by human rights groups as curbing political speech. Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace founding member Janice Caulfield said the scope and framing of the NSW inquiry was "troubling". "It is built on a contested definition of anti-Semitism that risks conflating legitimate political expression with racial hatred," she told the inquiry. Laws to crackdown on hate speech were rushed through state parliament in February. That followed a series of anti-Semitism incidents across Sydney and the discovery of a caravan filled with explosives, later identified as a "false flag" to help a criminal negotiate a lighter sentence. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia has risen markedly in Australia since October 7, 2023, when militant group Hamas killed more than 1200 Israelis and captured 250 hostages in southern Israel. More than 52,000 Palestinians, including about 18,000 children, have been killed so far as Israel bombarded the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. Jewish Australians have warned a "troubling" inquiry risks exacerbating anti-Semitism by focusing on just one form of racism. After a rise in anti-Semitic incidents on university campuses and in broader society, a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining the issue began on Monday with evidence from Jewish groups across the political spectrum. But some advocates said the inquiry itself and potential subsequent action could stoke the fires of anti-Semitism by treating one form of racism separately from others. "It can fuel anti-Semitism by having a focus on racial hatred towards one group to the exclusion of others," Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group founder Stephanie Cunio told the inquiry. "It's not helpful for us as Jews, and it really needs to be looked at broadly. "And it also isolates us, we've had a lot of problems with social cohesion between Jews and Muslims and Palestinians in Australia, and isolating it doesn't help." Ms Cunio said spending time at an encampment at Sydney University that was protesting in response to Israel's bombing and ground assault on Gaza was "uncomfortable" as a Jewish woman. But it helped her understand where those people were coming from, she said. She stressed being "uncomfortable" about the actions of the Israeli government was distinct from experiencing anti-Semitism or racism. That contrasted with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students' view of universities as "flashpoints for anti-Semitic activity." The union pointed to the proportion of Jewish-Australians who identify as Zionist, a political movement that originated for the founding of the state of Israel. "Given that the majority of Jewish Australians identify as Zionist, it is not credible to claim that threats or acts of hostility directed at 'Zionists' cannot also be acts of anti-Semitism," it said. The peak body for Jewish people in NSW dubbed the debate about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism as a "red herring". "The overwhelming majority of incidents which are reported to us have nothing to do with Israel or Zionism, just classic, textbook anti-Semitism," NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said. "Where the line (of political debate) is crossed is where hatred of Israel spills over into suspicion of Jews more broadly, or a view that Jews are pernicious, dangerous or particularly egregious in their actions." Rising anti-Semitism on social media had led the Sydney Jewish Museum to expand its focus beyond late-high-school students and those studying history, chief executive Kevin Sumption said. "There's increasing educational research strongly suggesting that leaving it to have a discussion about these issues until you're 15, 16, 17, years old is too late," he said. Australia's 39 universities unanimously endorsed a new definition of anti-Semitism in February. The definition includes harassment that impedes Jews' ability to participate as equals in educational and social life. But it has been contested by human rights groups as curbing political speech. Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace founding member Janice Caulfield said the scope and framing of the NSW inquiry was "troubling". "It is built on a contested definition of anti-Semitism that risks conflating legitimate political expression with racial hatred," she told the inquiry. Laws to crackdown on hate speech were rushed through state parliament in February. That followed a series of anti-Semitism incidents across Sydney and the discovery of a caravan filled with explosives, later identified as a "false flag" to help a criminal negotiate a lighter sentence. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia has risen markedly in Australia since October 7, 2023, when militant group Hamas killed more than 1200 Israelis and captured 250 hostages in southern Israel. More than 52,000 Palestinians, including about 18,000 children, have been killed so far as Israel bombarded the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. Jewish Australians have warned a "troubling" inquiry risks exacerbating anti-Semitism by focusing on just one form of racism. After a rise in anti-Semitic incidents on university campuses and in broader society, a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining the issue began on Monday with evidence from Jewish groups across the political spectrum. But some advocates said the inquiry itself and potential subsequent action could stoke the fires of anti-Semitism by treating one form of racism separately from others. "It can fuel anti-Semitism by having a focus on racial hatred towards one group to the exclusion of others," Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group founder Stephanie Cunio told the inquiry. "It's not helpful for us as Jews, and it really needs to be looked at broadly. "And it also isolates us, we've had a lot of problems with social cohesion between Jews and Muslims and Palestinians in Australia, and isolating it doesn't help." Ms Cunio said spending time at an encampment at Sydney University that was protesting in response to Israel's bombing and ground assault on Gaza was "uncomfortable" as a Jewish woman. But it helped her understand where those people were coming from, she said. She stressed being "uncomfortable" about the actions of the Israeli government was distinct from experiencing anti-Semitism or racism. That contrasted with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students' view of universities as "flashpoints for anti-Semitic activity." The union pointed to the proportion of Jewish-Australians who identify as Zionist, a political movement that originated for the founding of the state of Israel. "Given that the majority of Jewish Australians identify as Zionist, it is not credible to claim that threats or acts of hostility directed at 'Zionists' cannot also be acts of anti-Semitism," it said. The peak body for Jewish people in NSW dubbed the debate about anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism as a "red herring". "The overwhelming majority of incidents which are reported to us have nothing to do with Israel or Zionism, just classic, textbook anti-Semitism," NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said. "Where the line (of political debate) is crossed is where hatred of Israel spills over into suspicion of Jews more broadly, or a view that Jews are pernicious, dangerous or particularly egregious in their actions." Rising anti-Semitism on social media had led the Sydney Jewish Museum to expand its focus beyond late-high-school students and those studying history, chief executive Kevin Sumption said. "There's increasing educational research strongly suggesting that leaving it to have a discussion about these issues until you're 15, 16, 17, years old is too late," he said. Australia's 39 universities unanimously endorsed a new definition of anti-Semitism in February. The definition includes harassment that impedes Jews' ability to participate as equals in educational and social life. But it has been contested by human rights groups as curbing political speech. Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace founding member Janice Caulfield said the scope and framing of the NSW inquiry was "troubling". "It is built on a contested definition of anti-Semitism that risks conflating legitimate political expression with racial hatred," she told the inquiry. Laws to crackdown on hate speech were rushed through state parliament in February. That followed a series of anti-Semitism incidents across Sydney and the discovery of a caravan filled with explosives, later identified as a "false flag" to help a criminal negotiate a lighter sentence. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia has risen markedly in Australia since October 7, 2023, when militant group Hamas killed more than 1200 Israelis and captured 250 hostages in southern Israel. More than 52,000 Palestinians, including about 18,000 children, have been killed so far as Israel bombarded the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations.
New York Post
09-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
Wives of Hamas hostages reflect on parental burden in Israel
Mother's Day this Sunday serves as a grim reminder for three Israeli moms who've been pulling double duty as their husbands suffer in Hamas captivity — making them real-life 'Wonder Women.' Sharon Cunio, Lishay Miran and Rivka Bohbot have been caught in a hellish dilemma over the past 19 months — keeping their hostage husbands' memories alive while also raising their kids single-handedly, they told The Post. 'We have to fight every day for them to remember their father and the amazing dad that he is, and the difficult times that we go through without him over here. And I keep reminding them that the things that they ask me to do as dad are dad's things, and I'm not replacing anything. This is like dad doing it through me,' explained Cunio, 36. 7 The Cunio family were taken hostage on Oct. 7, but the girls and Sharon were released after 52 days. Obtained by NY Post Cunio, her husband David and their twin daughters Emma and Julie, now 4, were all abducted from their Kubbutz Nir Oz home during the Oct. 7 attack. The couple expected the family to be released together, but they discovered in horror that David was being held behind while the girls and their mother were granted freedom after 52 days. 'We've never been separated for that long, and I think that something happened after our release from captivity that made me understand how much he is my other half and how much we shared our life together,' said Cunio, who has been with David for 12 years. 'I try to do my best to keep myself happy or pretend I'm happy in front of them, but it's really difficult because it's 24/7 around the clock. You're alone with them. You have to handle the trauma that they're going through without their father here, and you have to take care of the post-trauma that they have from captivity and from October 7. And it's really, really hard to do it alone.' 7 Bath time for Emma and Julie, 4, used to be something they did with their father, David. Obtained by NY Post Bath time was an especially hard transition for the Cunio girls — it was the first thing the mother wanted to do for her young daughters after their release, but it was a task that their father had done with them for their entire lives. The girls kicked and screamed at first, but have since grown used to the new routine with mom. 'Half of me is not here, and it's half of the girls as well. It's getting along with a life of three, and I don't want to get used to that,' she said. 'I want him to see what his girls became … A father that hasn't seen his girls for more than a third of their lives, it's crazy. It's unbearable. But mostly it's just the loneliness. I don't know myself without him, and I don't want to. And it's been hell, it's been extremely difficult.' 7 'Half of me is not here,' said Cunio. Obtained by NY Post On getting through it, Cunio explained that David's memory and spirit push her to be there for their babies. 'People always say that mothers are Wonder Women, but we are able to be Wonder Women because of our Supermen,' she said. Lishay Miran, 40, also lived in Kibbutz Nahal Oz at the time of the attack, but Hamas left her and her daughters, Roni, 3, and Alma, 2, behind when they dragged her husband, Omri, into captivity. The family has been living a nightmare in the ensuing months as Miran battles to give her daughters a normal life while campaigning for Israeli leaders to bring her husband home. 7 Lishay Miran and her daughters, Roni and Alma, pray every Sabbath for their father Omir to return home. Obtained by NY Post 'Since October 7th, I have two jobs in my life: I'm the wife of a hostage that's still in captivity with Hamas, and I'm a mother of two young daughters that saw their father kidnapped before their eyes. I'm not sure I'm good at this, but I do my best,' said Miran. 'Every Friday night when I light the Shabbat candles we sing and dance and we all make the wish that daddy will come back home. And Roni, when she sees a butterfly or a flower or anything she think she can make a wish on, she wishes for that. And Alma, when she started to speak, also started to make this wish.' Roni remembers the harrowing moment her father was ripped from her life after Hamas held the family hostage in their home for hours and has taken on the heartbreaking responsibility of teaching her little sister about their hero dad. 7 'Since October 7th I have two jobs in my life: I'm the wife of a hostage that's still in captivity with Hamas, and I'm a mother of two young daughters that saw their father kidnapped before their eyes,' said Miran. Obtained by NY Post 'Every night she tells him, 'Good night, Daddy' to a photo of him. She remembers all the things they did together, how they used to ride his bicycle around the kibbutz,' said Miran. 'And Alma, it's a really different story, because Alma was just six months old on October 7th. She knows her father from a poster. She doesn't really know what 'Daddy' means. Roni really helps me with this, because she tells Alma a lot of stories about Omri.' Similarly, Rivka Bohbot struggles each day to keep her 4-year-old son Re'em's hopes alive that he will be reunited with his father as the young boy desperately looks to other family members to fill the void. 7 Rivka Bohbot says a 'big hole' has been left in her and her son Re'em's lives since Elkana's abduction. Obtained by NY Post Bohbot was an organizer for the Nova music festival that Hamas attacked on Oct. 7 — where her husband Elkbana was captured. 'Every day — every single day — my son asks when his father will come back home, when the bad people will leave and leave my husband to come back to the house to his family,' said Bohbot, who was an organizer for the Nova music festival that Hamas attacked on Oct. 7 — where her husband Elkbana was captured. The struggle is even harder for Bohbot because her own parents live in Colombia. 7 'Every day — every single day — my son asks when his father will come back home, when the bad people will leave and leave my husband to come back to the house to his family,' said Bohbot. Obtained by NY Post 'There is this big hole in our lives. You know, the mother always is taking care of the children, dressing them, making sure they are fed and look good. The father is the crazy one who starts the game with the children when they're supposed to go to sleep. As a mother, I try to be both with Re'em, but I can't be both,' Bohbot grieved. Ahead of Mother's Day, the Bohbot shared a message to cherish their loved ones — and not to wait until it's too late to share their love. 'I say to every mother whose family is whole, just close your eyes and open them again and look at your husband, look at your children and say thank you.'
CBS News
30-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Freed Israeli hostages Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, Tal Shoham describe horrors of being held captive by Hamas
After more than 15 months in captivity, and while dealing with burying the bodies of his wife and two young children , freed Israeli Yarden Bibas made a public appeal. He implored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the fighting in Gaza , determined to see the return of the other hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023. Despite his heartfelt plea, the ceasefire with Hamas ended this month, with Israel resuming bombing in Gaza. Every bomb that falls jeopardizes the hostages still held in captivity, Bibas said. He spent most of his time in captivity in Gaza's tunnels and lived through bombings. "You don't know when it's gonna happen. And when it happens, you're afraid for your life," he said. "The whole earth would move like an earthquake, but underground." Bibas, his wife Shiri and their two, red-headed sons — 4-year-old Ariel and 9-month-old Kfir — were among those taken hostage during the Oct. 7 Hamas-terrorist attack on Israel, which sparked the war. In all, some 1,200 civilians and soldiers were killed that day and 251 people were abducted. In the months since, an estimated 50,000 Gazans have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militant combatants. Most of those are women and children. Bibas lived through much of the deadly bombing in Gaza before his release during a January ceasefire. During his time in captivity, he was forced to sit on camera after he was told by Hamas that his wife and sons were killed by an Israeli air raid. Israeli officials have since said that forensic evidence shows Bibas' children were killed by their captors. "They were all murdered in cold blood, bare hands," Bibas said. "They [Hamas] used to tell me 'Oh, doesn't matter. You'll get a new wife. Get new kids. Better wife. Better kids.'" Shortly after Bibas was freed in January, Hamas released the bodies of his wife and children as part of a ceasefire deal. Bibas started advocating for the hostages still in Gaza almost immediately following his own release. He wrote a letter to Netanyahu pleading to stop the fighting. Bibas does not believe continued fighting will encourage Hamas to release the hostages. Now Bibas is hoping to reach the ears of President Trump. "I know he can help," Bibas said. "I'm here because of Trump. I'm here only because of him. I think he's the only one who can stop this war again." Bibas said the president should convince Netanyahu and Hamas to agree to another ceasefire. He worries about the safety of the hostages still in Gaza, including his best friend, David Cunio, and Cunio's brother, Ariel. Cunio was kidnapped with his wife Sharon and their kids, who were released during the first ceasefire in November 2023. Cunio and his brother are still being held hostage and are presumed to be alive. "Probably the hardest thing: I have to move [on] with my life, and David is not with me," Bibas said. "I lost my wife and kids. Sharon must not lose her husband." Bibas is not the only freed hostage hoping for another ceasefire. He's joined by Keith Siegel, an Israeli-American who was also released in January. Siegel's wife, Aviva, was also kidnapped by Hamas and later freed. The Siegels lived in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the border with Gaza, and were taken from their home. They were driven into Gaza and taken down into a tunnel. "We were gasping for our breath," Keith Siegel said. Aviva was with her husband for 51 days, until she was released during a brief ceasefire in 2023. They were held with several women and children , and said there was constant abuse. "I witnessed a young woman who was being tortured by the terrorists. I mean literal, you know, torture, not just in the figurative sense," Keith Siegel said. He said female hostages were sexually assaulted, with other captives made to watch. Siegel said conditions worsened for him after his wife was released and that early ceasefire collapsed. "The terrorists became very mean, and very cruel, and violent," he said. The Israeli-American said he was beaten and starved. His captors would eat in front of him. He said once a month, he would get half a bucket of cold water to clean himself. His spirit, he said, was broken. "I felt that I was completely dependent on the terrorists, that my life relied on them, whether they were gonna give me food, bring me water, protect me from the mobs that would lynch me," he said. "I was left alone several times and I was very, very scared that maybe they won't come back and I'll be left there. And what do I do then?" With the couple now back home, Aviva Siegel worries over two neighbors — 27-year-old twins Gali ans Zivi Berman — still languishing in captivity in Gaza. "There needs to be a deal that will bring them back, and finish with this whole thing," she said. An estimated 24 hostages are still believed to be alive in Gaza, including best friends Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David. Hamas took them from the Nova Music Festival . Recently released hostage Tal Shoham, 40, spent 471 days with them in captivity. Shoham recently met with the parents of Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David to tell them about their sons. "It's important for us to know exactly what's going on with our children," parent Ilan Dalal said. Shoham didn't hold back when he spoke with Gilboa-Dalal's parents. "One moment he's, like, partying in the Nova, the second moment he's in the worst place in the world," Shoham told them of their son. "It took him, I think, five or six days just to stop crying, to start to realize that this is the reality now." Shoham said they were mostly confined to a narrow tunnel, where they were beaten daily and made to share minute amounts of pita bread, rice and water. "Sometimes the water tastes like blood, sometimes like iron. Sometimes it was so salty that you could not drink it, but you don't have anything else," Shoham said. "You don't need too much to stay alive." But they were resourceful, coming up with odd ways to win favors. For instance, they discovered one of the guards liked back rubs. "The exchange was that he will get a massage every day and he will bring us some more food. And different food," Shoham said. Hamas also brought Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David in a van to watch fellow hostages be released. Hamas released a video of them begging for their freedom. "And then they moved them back to the tunnels. So this can be devastating to them," Ilan Dalal said. Galia David, mother of hostage Evyatar David, said she wants everyone to hear about what's happened to the hostages. "Maybe someone will hear it and he will save our sons. I don't know," she said.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Israeli director's 'Letter to David' film about hostage seeks to capture person behind the horror
By Hanna Rantala BERLIN (Reuters) - For Tom Shoval, making the film "A Letter to David" was a way to ensure that his friend David Cunio was not just a face on a kidnapped poster after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which over 250 hostages were taken to Gaza by militants. The material coming in the day of the attack, which left at least 1,200 people dead, was "uncensored, unfiltered, with no dignity, no way to look at perspective and to understand something - just horror, horror, horror," Shoval told Reuters. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. It was "this blast of images, of carnage and violence, graphic violence, that almost makes you blind," he said. "You can't really see the person. You just see the horror." In the film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday, Shoval wanted to show that Cunio, who remains a hostage, was someone with motivations, dreams and nightmares. "I wanted to show that and release the person from this horror that was blinding us all," he said. What resulted was "A Letter to David," Shoval's deeply personal cinematic message to Cunio, who starred along with his twin brother in the director's first feature, 2013's "Youth." The film uses footage from "Youth" along with home video shot by the Cunios during the making of that film. That is contrasted against footage shot by Shoval in the Cunios' kibbutz in the weeks and months after the attack, showing how the tight-knit community was changed by it. "I felt that I have to talk to him somehow," said Shoval. "I'm a filmmaker and this is the only way I can approach it." In the intimate home video footage, the Cunio twins film their day-to-day lives at Kibbutz Nir Oz: wandering around an orange grove, pulling pranks from a rooftop, flirting with girls. "Watching that old footage, it was chilling," Shoval said. 'HE WILL COME BACK' The film, said Shoval, was a way to mourn the end of an era, but he does not mourn for David. "For me he's alive and he will come back. And the film is in a way a cry of hope for that," he said. Shoval hopes that seeing the film will let others get to know David and raise awareness of the hostages' hard conditions. "It's a matter of life and death," he said. The ups and downs in hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been "a roller coaster," said Shoval, but he does not want the fact that there are still hostages to feel normal. Palestinian militant groups have said that they will release three hostages seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Saturday, though Cunio was not among them. Hamas had earlier threatened not to proceed with the release of more hostages after it accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by blocking aid from entering Gaza. "It's worse that we will get used to the fact that there are hostages there and just live our lives," Shoval said. If the film awakens audiences even for a moment, to see that this is happening and important, "then I guess it's worth it."
Reuters
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Israeli director's 'Letter to David' film about hostage seeks to capture person behind the horror
BERLIN, Feb 14 (Reuters) - For Tom Shoval, making the film "A Letter to David" was a way to ensure that his friend David Cunio was not just a face on a kidnapped poster after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which over 250 hostages were taken to Gaza by militants. The material coming in the day of the attack, which left at least 1,200 people dead, was "uncensored, unfiltered, with no dignity, no way to look at perspective and to understand something - just horror, horror, horror," Shoval told Reuters. It was "this blast of images, of carnage and violence, graphic violence, that almost makes you blind," he said. "You can't really see the person. You just see the horror." In the film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday, Shoval wanted to show that Cunio, who remains a hostage, was someone with motivations, dreams and nightmares. "I wanted to show that and release the person from this horror that was blinding us all," he said. What resulted was "A Letter to David," Shoval's deeply personal cinematic message to Cunio, who starred along with his twin brother in the director's first feature, 2013's "Youth." The film uses footage from "Youth" along with home video shot by the Cunios during the making of that film. That is contrasted against footage shot by Shoval in the Cunios' kibbutz in the weeks and months after the attack, showing how the tight-knit community was changed by it. "I felt that I have to talk to him somehow," said Shoval. "I'm a filmmaker and this is the only way I can approach it." In the intimate home video footage, the Cunio twins film their day-to-day lives at Kibbutz Nir Oz: wandering around an orange grove, pulling pranks from a rooftop, flirting with girls. "Watching that old footage, it was chilling," Shoval said. 'HE WILL COME BACK' The film, said Shoval, was a way to mourn the end of an era, but he does not mourn for David. "For me he's alive and he will come back. And the film is in a way a cry of hope for that," he said. Shoval hopes that seeing the film will let others get to know David and raise awareness of the hostages' hard conditions. "It's a matter of life and death," he said. The ups and downs in hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been "a roller coaster," said Shoval, but he does not want the fact that there are still hostages to feel normal. Palestinian militant groups have said that they will release three hostages seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Saturday, though Cunio was not among them. Hamas had earlier threatened not to proceed with the release of more hostages after it accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by blocking aid from entering Gaza. "It's worse that we will get used to the fact that there are hostages there and just live our lives," Shoval said. If the film awakens audiences even for a moment, to see that this is happening and important, "then I guess it's worth it."
