Son of Hamas hostage says Palestinian protests ‘celebrated his pain’

Noam Sagi, 51, from London said his mother Ada Sagi was kidnapped by Hamas militants from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel on October 7. She is among the 220 hostages currently held by Hamas.

Mr Sagi addressed attendees at a vigil held at JW3 (Jewish Community Centre) in North London, alongside speakers including Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis.

The vigil included a table of empty seats, displayed to raise awareness of the hostages taken by Hamas.

A name and face of one of the hostages was displayed on each of the 220 vacant seats.

The table represented the Jewish Sabbath, Shabbat, a time when Jewish communities traditionally come together for a family dinner on Friday evenings.

Mr Sagi, who was born in Kibbutz Nir Oz, recounted his mother’s final call to his sister when she saw militants carrying RPGs outside her home.

He told the PA news agency: “(My mum) called my sister and then my sister called me later … woke me up on Saturday morning here, very distressed, saying she (their mother) saw Hamas terrorists outside her house.”

Mr Sagi explained he became aware of his mother’s kidnapping when he observed media footage showing a Hamas militant outside her home.

“It was not until six o’clock in the evening when the (Israeli) army came and she was not home, they only found bloodstains,” he said.

“She’s not on the dead list, she’s not on the injured list, she’s not on the rescue list and now it is day 21 and we still haven’t heard anything.”

He added that his “heart broke” when he saw people in London “celebrating his pain”.

Mr Sagi said: “When I saw the pictures coming (from) Israel it broke my heart; the second thing that broke my heart is people celebrating on the streets of London.

“What they celebrated is my pain, my personal pain. My mum has been kidnapped at the same time people are sitting bumping on cars – celebrating this happening.

“I think we need to understand what we are celebrating, when people go to the street and they shout ‘jihad’ or they shout from the river to the sea, they need to understand that October 7 was the river to the sea.

“I want people to stand up for everyone that is afraid and say: we are in Europe 2023, not Europe 1939.”

He said his mother was a former Arabic and Hebrew language teacher, and he hopes she is communicating with her captors to facilitate her escape.

“Life cannot prepare you for something like this, It sounds ridiculous that a 75-year-old woman will be involved in this hostage situation,” he said.

“We have to be strong … and rise above despair, to be positive.

“My mum was an Arabic and Hebrew teacher and all she believed was that communication is a bridge for a better future.

“If she’s now sitting somewhere under the ground, looking into the white eyes of her captors and communicating with them, and maybe potentially doing something that no politicians can do.”

Raymond Simonson, 50, chief executive of JW3, spoke on the heightened tensions between British Muslims and Jews and said it is not the time to “draw a wedge” between both communities.

He told PA: “I’ve never seen tensions so high between Muslims and Jews in the UK. Everyone’s looking at what’s happening in Israel and in Gaza and everyone is in shock.

“We’ve seen really awful levels of antisemitism rising in the last few weeks.

“In the last 20 days, we’ve had more reported incidents of antisemitism in the UK than ever before in any 20-day period, and I think as far as I understand that’s the same for Islamophobia.

“What I’m saying is right now is not a time for people to drive a wedge between British Muslims and British Jews.

“We know it’s harder to have conversations, It’s harder to have those relationships, but that’s why it’s even more important than ever that those conversations still happen between us.”

He cried while speaking about the “privilege” of sharing Shabbat dinner with his family safely.

During the vigil, Chief Rabbi Mirvis asked about what type of Shabbat the hostages would have.

In his speech, he said: “As we think of their plight, what kind of a Shabbat will they be having tonight and tomorrow? What is their state of mind?”

This vigil comes as the Israeli military launched a second ground raid in Gaza in as many days, striking targets on the outskirts of Gaza City.

More than 7,000 Palestinians have already been killed in the war, according to the Gaza health ministry, and an even greater loss of life could come in the event of a full invasion aimed at crushing Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and survived four previous wars with Israel.

More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were killed during the initial Hamas attack, and Hamas also holds hundreds of hostages, according to the Israeli government.