Karina my cousin, was born on August 4, 2004, in Jerusalem, to Irena and Albert. She grew up with her sister Sasha, surrounded by the warmth and love of a small family, including two sets of grandparents.
From childhood, Karina’s smile would light up the room, her infectious laughter captivating everyone. A fashionable girl full of dreams, Karina is a devoted friend and has always been attentive to all who surround her. She graduated with honors from ‘Teddy Kollek’ High School in Jerusalem, excelling in three majors – psychology, Arabic and Russian. Her dream was to study psychology after her military service.
Karina was drafted to the IDF on October 2022, where she began her service as a surveillance soldier at the Nahal Oz base. One year later, on October 7th, 2023, she was taken hostage from the shelter at the base, while many of her peers were murdered. Being the remarkable person that she is, she managed to call her family that morning, to say goodbye, and to ask them to go on with their lives if she didn’t survive. At 7:20 AM, she sent a last message to her sister asking her to take care of their parents…
Today, August 1st 2024, Karina has been captive for 300 days, it’s been 300 days that we haven’t heard her voice, 300 days that we couldn’t hug or hold her hand, 300 days that we have not succeeded in bringing her home. Sunday, August 4th will mark her 20th birthday.
In the week leading up to Karina’s birthday, the family WhatsApp group unusually abuzzes with activity: how should we celebrate, where should we go, when is the best time? Now, instead of searching for restaurants, I’m busy hanging her photos around the city. Instead of taking pictures of her with flowers in her hair, I’m thinking about where she is, what she’s doing, and what is being done to her.
Our family misses Karina deeply. Our light went out on the morning of October 7, and since then between tears, we’ve been trying to navigate new family dynamics that are unfamiliar to us, because who knows how to interact when a family member has been abducted? We wake up every day hoping for news, imagining her return, her smile, her hug, and a 20th birthday without her is simply too hard to bear.
The past 300 days have been draining and the routine is overwhelming. The struggle is exhausting and yet, I ask you not to forget her and the 115 hostages still being held in Gaza. Please do something – anything – to help our family honor Karina and promote her release, by marking her birthday this weekend and raising awareness of her story. I invite you and your congregations to please take action in any one of these ways:
- Raise her picture in a rally, march and anywhere which seems suitable (click on images below for high resolution versions)
- Post on social media
- Conduct a study session
- Mention her name in prayer and pray for her release and the release of all hostages
- Write your own prayer or special blessing
- Write letters (or draw pictures) to share with the family
- Engage your public representatives
After feeling so suffocated for so long, we need to let out the deep breath we’ve been holding, and that will only be possible when Karina and all hostages return home.
