Life can be strange and throw you a curve-ball. It can often snatch away from you everything you take for granted! And nothing has been a more significant reminder of this harsh reality than the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack on innocent civilians in Israel. It has been undoubtedly harrowing to watch all the media coverage of the stories of the hostages and their families. But a different experience altogether when hearing in person from a relative about one such hostage.
The American Jewish Committee ( AJC ) invited our NorCal team of Samir Kalra, Ramya Ramakrishnan, and Sangeetha Shankar along with some Hindu and Sikh organizations and community leaders, to a closed-door event in which Michael Levy shared the harrowing details of his brother Or Levy’s kidnapping by Hamas on October 7th, 2023 from the Supernova Music festival in Israel. Or’s wife, Eynav, was shot dead in front of him in a bomb shelter. They are survived by their two-year-old son, who was with his grandparents back home.
Photo credits: Aaron Levy-Wolins, J Weekly
Sitting through the presentation was extremely hard for us both as Hindu advocacy professionals and fellow humans. We experienced many complex emotions, from anger to concern, grief to disbelief. Painful memories of Hindu genocide, mass rapes, forced conversions, and attempted destruction of the Hindu civilization at the hands of barbaric invaders, terrorists, and neighboring countries flooded our memories. After all, India and the Hindus are no strangers when it comes to relentless attacks by remorseless religious fanatics.
March 25th, 2024, was the 53rd anniversary of the gruesome Bengali genocide executed by the Pakistani Army in 1971. “Although precise figures are difficult to obtain, approximately 3 million people were killed, and at least 200,000 women were raped. Bangladeshi journalist and policy analyst Anushay Hossain asserts, “Many experts put that number closer to 400,000 women and girls who were raped, mass-raped, [and] imprisoned for months in notorious rape camps.”
At HAF, we started an online campaign, asking our communities to write to their elected officials to educate them about the genocide and urge them to issue a statement in recognition of this tragic chapter in history.
You can do your bit as well:
https://www.hinduamerican.org/take-action?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f113443%2fRespond
But no matter what, history seems to repeat itself for all the wrong reasons. Here we are again, listening to similar stories of mass murder, rape, and extreme human rights violation! Sadly, it feels like nothing much has changed.
But just like us, the Hindus, the Jews too are a resilient lot who have learned to bounce back, time and again, to claim pride in their faith, culture, and sacred lands. Despite the gloom brought about by the kidnapping video, there was an eventual shift in the room to hope and possibilities.
A first-hand account of our experiences and perspectives on the event follows.
Ramya Ramakrishnan, Director of Community Outreach :
It was gut-wrenching to hear the details of the ordeal narrated by Michael and process all the facts, some of which the audience had never heard before. He quit his job and left everything else behind in Israel to travel to multiple countries to raise awareness about his brother. Michael is doing whatever he can to help bring his sibling and other hostages home.
I promised him that I would help advocate, do my part to raise awareness and speak up for the traumatized families and for the release of the hostages. The collective pressure in urging political leaders and others will hopefully work in favor of the release of Or Levy and the 130+ hostages still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
The discussion and emotional dialogues touched everyone deeply. As someone in the room pointed out, “Today, it is the Jewish community; tomorrow, it could be us!” Personally, what I am most disappointed about is the silence from the vast majority of Americans who refuse to speak up about issues that matter for fear of being canceled, judged, or labeled a certain way. It is never too late to do the right thing and to advocate for what is right.
HAF is with AJC and other Jewish groups in standing together and supporting them during a crisis because that’s what friends do! Let’s do whatever little we can to help bring them home.
Sangeetha Shankar, California Regional Director:
I couldn’t stop my tears when watching a video of the cruel kidnapping of Or by the Hamas terrorists into a pick-up truck while being poked at by guns. Imagine his emotional state having to go through this after witnessing his wife being shot dead in front of him!
Worse yet is the plight of those living and dealing with the reality of their loved ones gone forever. Or’s two-year-old child will never be able to understand the harsh incidents that snatched his parents from him! And what about Or’s parents? In the twilight of their lives, instead of enjoying their families and communities, they now carry the crushing burden of taking care of a very young grandchild, having lost their young daughter-in-law while waiting desperately for her husband/ their son to return. And this is the story of one of many hostages.
The plight of female hostages is much worse, being victims of ongoing sexual abuse, including mutilation. As of today, most of them are dead or pregnant. As a NOVA massacre survivor shared: “There were girls there whose pelvises were simply broken from being raped so much.” ( Source- AJC Linkedin)
Michael carries a little teddy bear on which a photo of Or is printed in remembrance of his nephew back home. He holds on to it to give him hope and to never give up. He clutched onto the teddy bear like a life-support when narrating his brother’s story. Michael shared his tryst with depression, extreme grief, shock, and sometimes even hopelessness. Only to be nudged again by the teddy bear to get up yet another day and share his brother’s story in hopes of bringing him back home. He has met with several national leaders across the globe, including the Pope, and still has a long way to go. In pursuing his mission, he has left behind a career, a home, and a very young family in Israel. But still, here he was, trying his best to be optimistic about a positive future. Like Michael, so many in the Jewish communities have been exemplary in their show of courage and resilience in the face of extreme difficulties.
Photo Credits: Aaron-Levy-Wolins, J Weekly
While hearing all about Or’s ordeal, the human in me was grieving and grappling to make sense of this horrific human rights violation. Parallely, the Hindu advocacy professional in me and others were also wondering about solutions. Soon after the presentation, the audience engaged in a panel discussion with Michael and fellow community members, including rabbi Serena Eisenberg and members of AJC.
The burning question in the room was how to spread awareness of Or’s story and combat the unfortunate, sick wave of anti-Semitism currently seen in America across college campuses, K-12 schools, the media, and even local city councils. Many community members shared about how they have expressed solidarity for their fellow Jewish Americans. Discussions also revolved around the effectiveness of building partnerships with lawmakers, movers, and shakers versus building support and momentum at the grassroots level.
Do the people matter? Or the policy-makers? Do the high-level meetings matter? Or do the grassroots protests? Ultimately, we concluded that every little effort matters.
EVERY. LITTLE. EFFORT. MATTERS:
Social media messages or Whatsapp shares, city council testimonies or writing to our elected representatives, solidarity marches or protests, panel or intellectual discussions, publishing articles or speaking up in podcasts- all of this makes a difference. But importantly, what’s truly needed is for each of us to discuss these issues with our families, youth, and immediate communities as though Or Levy is OUR brother.
AJC and others from the Jewish community widely acknowledged the work done by HAF in providing solidarity since October 7th. They shared that during times of such intense crisis, the silence of friends hurts more than the words of enemies. And that HAF has been a loyal friend who has loudly and outrightly spoken up for its Jewish friends.
At HAF, we can relate to this sentiment since we, too, have had to endure the silence and indifference of our community over the years during periods of intense difficulty.
The article below in the Jerusalem Post by Noam Bedein, Founder & Director of the Dead Sea Revival Project, mentions the contributions of the Hindu and Indian American communities, including participation in one of the biggest Jewish rallies in the country.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-792968
Here is a list of some of the ongoing work done by HAF in support of our Jewish communities.
Hindu and Jewish Americans foster kinship through shared traditions, connections to homeland
https://shows.acast.com/63c85c5e9ae24b0011601ab4/65a69c6bd000a50016f15d82
https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/norcal-jewish-solidarity
https://www.hinduamerican.org/suhag-shukla-philadelphia-rally-against-antisemitism
WHAT IF:
What if one of our loved ones were a hostage?
What would our dinner table discussions center around?
What would we pray for?
What would we hope for tomorrow?
Can we look away?
Can we be indifferent?
Last but not least, Samir Kalra, Managing Director, Policy & Programs, rightly summed it up in this article by J Weekly: “Being able to support the Jewish community after Oct. 7 for us has been a moral imperative. What happened is an ongoing crime against humanity.”
So is Or’s story of being the victim of a brutal crime only his? Or could this be ours as well?
This was our biggest lingering question as we walked away from the event with apprehension that night.
