Oded Lifshitz is 84 years old and was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of October 7th. Lifshitz was initially taken with his wife, Yocheved who is 85. At the time, the family learned that Oded’s mobile was somewhere in Gaza. On October 23, Yocheved Lifshitz was freed with another
captive, Nurit Cooper.

The couple, who were among the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were peace activists and regularly transported patients from Gaza to receive medical treatment in hospitals across Israel. He speaks fluent Arabic and advocated for the rights and welfare of Bedouins and Arabs inside and outside of
Israel. Oded fought for Israel in the Six Day War and the Lebanon War and remained committed to human rights.

He was due to attend hospital for high blood pressure when he was abducted. His daughter Sharone worries about him:

“He was getting more and more frail. The destruction is so big. My parents’ home is burned to the ground. There is nothing left, and the people we have lost we will not get back. There is so much trauma, too. At my kibbutz, there is a rota for attending funerals. There are six funerals every day. We have had funerals for whole families.”

Oded’s daughter Sharone Lifschitz is from Walthamstow in East London.

They are us and we are them.