2024-07-08 08:42:28
The war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, which broke out on October 7th last year, has reached its 9th month as of this month 7th. Of the 240 Israeli hostages kidnapped on the day of the war, only half have been released, and the fate of the remaining 120 or so is still unknown. The hostage families are also desperately hoping for their safe return.
I met two hostage families who have ties to Korea during my visit to Israel from the 23rd to the 27th of last month. They are Yehuda Cohen (55), who works at the Israeli branch of the American semiconductor equipment company Applied Materials and has visited Korea at least 15 times, and Efrat Machikawa (56), who has been married to a Japanese man and lived in Japan for 23 years and has visited Korea several times.
Mr. Cohen’s soldier son Nimrod (20), who was serving his military duty, was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nahal Oz military base near the Gaza Strip on the day of the war. Mr. Machikawa’s maternal uncle, Gadi Moses (80), was kidnapped from the nearby Kibbutz Niruz. We introduce the heartbreaking story of the two people, who are asking the entire world, including Korea, to actively cooperate in the return of the hostages.
①Yehuda Cohen Waiting for His Son’s Return
“I will not stop my fight until Nimrod is released.”
These are the words of Yehuda Cohen, who I met at the Kidnapped Square in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on the 27th of last month (local time). Since the outbreak of the war, this place has become a kind of civic sanctuary, with protests every Saturday calling for the return of the hostages and an end to the war. Various organizations that help the families of the hostages are also located nearby.
Mr. Cohen and his wife Vicky have three children: Yotam (23), Nimrod, and twins Romi (20). After Nimrod’s kidnapping, the entire family gave up their livelihood and are desperately waiting for Nimrod to return.
Mr. Cohen was part of a joint public-private delegation appealing for the return of the hostages, and visited the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Slovenia, and other countries. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year, but strongly criticized him, saying that he only claimed that “we are doing this and that” and that there was no result in terms of “return.”
Mr. Cohen said, “I wasn’t interested in politics before my son was kidnapped, but now I want Prime Minister Netanyahu to step down quickly and for a new prime minister, whoever that may be, to lead the negotiations for the return of the hostages.” He continued, “The fact that we haven’t achieved anything in the past nine months means that Prime Minister Netanyahu will not return the hostages,” explaining that this is why he actively participates in various civic rallies calling for the return of the hostages and a ceasefire.
He described Nimrod, who turns 20 on the 15th, as a “quiet, shy, and peace-loving person.” He added that he also played the role of a “peacemaker” within the family. Recently, while giving a speech overseas urging the return of hostages, his daughter Romy said, “Whenever I fought with my older brother, Nimrod always played the role of a peacemaker.” He said that he didn’t even know that Nimrod was a “peacemaker” within the family, and he missed his son.
He majored in electrical engineering and computer engineering in college. He is currently working on improving the resolution of image processing tasks in the semiconductor manufacturing process. This led to his visit to Korea more than 15 times between 1999 and 2022. He said, “When I visited Korea, I often went to Itaewon,” and “I was very heartbroken as a parent of three children when the stampede occurred two years ago. Now, two years later, I have become a parent who is also suffering.”
②Mr. Machikawa urges his uncle to return
“I believe that Korean society, which has suffered from the pain of separated families, will understand the pain of hostage families better than anyone else.”
This is what Mr. Efrat Machikawa said on the 23rd of last month near the ‘Kidnappers’ Square’. His uncle, Mr. Gadi Moses, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Niruz where he lived on the day of the war. His aunt, Mrs. Margalit, was also kidnapped on the same day, but was recently released. The fate of Mr. Moses, who is 80 years old and has poor eyesight, is unknown. All that Hamas has revealed is his emaciated appearance in December of last year.
Ms. Machikawa is married to a Japanese man and has three children. She also adopted her Japanese surname. She lived in Japan for 23 years, from 1990 to 2011 and from 2022 to 2023. During that time, she worked as an ESL (English as a Second Language) instructor and as a cultural attaché at the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo.
He emphasized that he was well-versed in Korean society, including the history of division and the pain of separated families, saying, “I visited Korea several times while living in Japan and often taught English to Korean students who came to Japan.” He also said he really liked bibimbap.
Mr. Machikawa said, “My uncle is a kind person who personally taught me math, science, etc. when I was a teenager,” and “to me, he is more than just a family member, he is a ‘teacher.’” He clearly called him ‘Sensei’ in Japanese, asking if he knew how important a teacher is in Asian society.
He continued, “My uncle, a water resources expert, taught the residents of the nearby Gaza Strip how to convert wastewater into agricultural water,” and asked, “Why did such a peace-loving person have to be kidnapped?” He continued, “Koreans, who know the pain of separated families better than anyone else, should be the ones to listen to the pain of the hostage families,” and “The whole family has been suffering for nine months since my uncle’s kidnapping. They are not worth living.”
“The world must realize that the return of hostages is not just an Israeli problem, but a common problem,” Machikawa said. “If we tolerate the taking of civilians hostage for political purposes, we are sending a signal to other ‘evil forces’ that they can take civilians hostage at any time to get what they want.”
Tel Aviv = Reporter Ha Jeong-min [email protected]
2024-07-08 08:42:28