Aviva Siegel and Raz Ben Ami were held hostage for more than 50 days by Hamas in Gaza. They testified to the horrors they endured on Thursday, 28.02.2024 during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC55), organized by WIZO with the participation of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, including Her Excellency Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar.
On 7 October, women’s rights were trampled on, cancelled: this date will remain forever engraved in our memory
says Anne Argi, member of the WIZO Board . This forum makes it possible to speak out about the hostages who are still in the hands of Hamas terrorists, as is the case for Ohad and Keith, whose wives, former hostages, are coming to testify today.
Today is the 146th day of the war imposed by Hamas, 1,200 people have been massacred, 240 people have been kidnapped, including babies and women… torn from their homes and sent to Gaza.
Almost 5 months.. The return of the hostages is one of the conditions for an end to the war in Gaza, there is no alternative, stresses Her Excellency, Mrs. Meirav Eilon Shahar, Ambassador to Switzerland, in Geneva.
Aviva Siegel was kidnapped with her husband from their Kibbutz Kfar Aza. As soon as the terrorists arrived, their world collapsed…they fell into Hell…in the hands of immoral beings, without empathy, without an ounce of Humanity, whose only goal was to eliminate the Jews through blind and bloody killing and kidnapping: killing…massacre…burning alive families, young festival-goers who came to dance Peace…who in the space of a few moments find themselves prisoners…in their transformed car into a machine to burn Jews… Young people who celebrated Peace and Love… many others of whom ended up killed by several bullets in a manhunt, for the Jew, in the desert…
..from baby to grandpa… the terrorists captured sick and elderly people, pregnant women, children, etc. for Hamas.
From free-thinking and rights-free subjects, the hostages then became mere objects… devoid of all rights, to the delight of the terrorists who thought they could annihilate all the Jews…
..but far from it, the resilience of the survivors and hostages is exponential, their courage unbreakable, their hope indestructible.
Neither terror, nor torture, nor rape, nor mass murder, nor beheadings, nor the disembowelment of pregnant women will prevent the Jewish community from rising up, defending itself, hoping and loving Life and Peace.
On October 7, during the kidnapping of the 62-year-old husband Keith, he fell, and Hamas terrorists broke his ribs. Jew-hatred as the only driving force.
For 51 days, Aviva Siegel lost all her rights: forbidden to stand, to walk, almost no water, no food, sometimes for 24 hours during which the terrorists came to eat with them on purpose… with that thirst.. constant.. to humiliate and mock the kidnapped, whether they are young or old…
The Siegels come from a kibbutz, so everyone knows each other, like a small family. They were innocent people who lived quietly in their kibbutz… Then came the day of the 7th of October.. day of terror during which..
- some of their neighbors were burned alive.
- terrorists murdered one of her neighbors, a mother… next to her two 10-month-old babies, leaving her for dead while her babies… still alive… were left to their own devices for 20 hours
- children witnessed the massacre of their mum and dad, hidden in a closet… wondering if they were also going to die and why? Why come to our house to kill Mom and Dad? Why did we survive? What for?
- women and men were killed at point-blank range, without having had time to think about their parents or children…executed without qualms by terrorists… who came to wipe out all the Jews from the territory…
During the first days of detention, Aviva and her husband were held for days and nights in a tunnel…40m underground, without oxygen, without water, without food, without any notion of time: petrified… They were convinced that they would die and never see their children again
During her detention, Aviva Siegel reports that she saw women being beaten, pulled by the hair, beaten, handcuffed, humiliated.
As was the case when a young woman came back from the toilet, silent and stunned. She had been raped… but she was not allowed to take her in her arms… which was a huge suffering for this mother… who was not only tortured at the idea that her children might be dead, but who, moreover, had to endure the torture of not daring to come to the aid of this young woman who was going through an ordeal without saying a word… The only right… inwardly cursing his torturers… double punishment.
Aviva Siegel suffers as she recounts everything that happened during her captivity, because of the reliving of the traumatic scenes co-lived or experienced such as:
psychological torture, intentional with the aim of causing psychological pain to the victims:
- the systematic humiliation that always gives pleasure to sadistic terrorists
- the incessant mockery of their grotesque « doll » clothes, which the Hamas terrorists forced them to wear, in order to ridicule and humiliate them, without being allowed to defend themselves or to speak… Just shut up and let it happen…. but … inside, the strength to survive never falters.
- the prohibition of talking or holding hands to reassure oneself: every gesture is monitored
- the fact that the only view is that of a.. terrorist gorging himself on a good.. meal, with the perverse aim of making the hostage suffer, of showing him that he dominates his life, his death, his body
- the climate of terror towards young women stared at from head to toe, when they shower naked
- the atmosphere of rape that constantly weighs on women
- the isolation of men at certain times. many of whom are known to have been raped… who have to keep quiet about their trauma
intentional physical torture inflicted with the clear purpose of causing suffering:
- undernutrition
- dehydration
- the obligation to remain seated until after 20 hours of time
- systematic violence in cases of non-compliance with established rules
- rape of women with a gun to their head
- mistreatment of far-fetched women
- refusal to give medication to chronically ill people, some of whom may die without administration (brain tumour)
- the deprivation of seeing the light of day
- deprivation of speech
Despite these multiple traumas, Aviva Siegel testifies so that everyone knows the Truth and that all the hostages return.
Aviva Siegel calls on us not to forget 11.09.2001.
According to her… October 7 is a 2nd Holocaust.
They are not human
We were taken to an UNRWA house from which we could see a big UN car outside. We knew where we were at that moment, and even more so when we saw the sandals of the students who were… of all sizes!
Aviva Siegel describes how the Gazans tried to… smash the windows of the ICRC car during its transfer… in order to lynch her… Jew-hatred is everywhere… tunnels 40m deep in… Gaza itself…
It also mentions numerous underground networks and multi-level tunnels.
After the testimony of Aviva Siegel, WIZO had the honor of introducing Raz Ben Ami, 57, who also had the courage to recount the ordeal endured in Hell..in the chains of Hamas.. a terrorist group and rapist.
As she was being abducted, she saw civilians, including Gazan women and children, entering her kibbutz.
She refuses to get on the motorcycle… struck by a terrorist, by a dehumanized, uncontrollable, limitless being, she accepts. She arrives in…
…an apartment of Gazan civilians.
for a few days… she only has a small bucket of non-potable water for the toilet as a drink… one day out of 4…
Without medication and suffering from a brain tumor, his disease deteriorated. She thought she was losing her head. thinks I’ll die soon… recalls a family of neighbours throwing themselves out of the window during the fires with their 4 children.
She fears for her own children: are they still alive? Tortured? burned alive? Will she see them again? Is she going to die?
In addition to his cerebral tumor disease, he was traumatized and accelerated the neuropsychic and physical deterioration of his condition. Hallucinations, weight loss, insomnia, constant anxiety about the future of her children… Such was his daily life…
…body and mind are prisoners of Hamas. but she will survive… thinking of his children…
also, she was less afraid of being raped than of being lynched by Gazans
Indeed, she had already been beaten when she arrived at the place of detention by the enraged population of Gaza, ready to do anything to annihilate the Jews. She feared that if one day she was released, it would happen again.
We were at peace, too, like you, and yet we were taken away on this day, October 7th: where are the human rights?
Raz Ben Ami is in Geneva because all the countries are represented at the UN, Switzerland is a place of peace. She hopes to find a listening ear, sharing and, above all, help to bring back all the hostages
Aviva Siegel and Raz Ben Ami thank WIZO and Her Excellency, Mrs. Meirav Eilon Shahar, Ambassador for their support
During the interventions of the audience, the Ambassador of Germany to the UN and other international organizations, Katharina Stasch, wished to thank and congratulate Raz Ben Ami and Aviva Siegel for the courage they showed in coming to testify.
Bearing witness is essential. You are giving voice to the hostages, who still number 134, as pointed out by Her Excellency, Mrs. Meirav Eilon Shahar.
The Ambassador emphasizes the fact that testifying is all the more important because here in Geneva, since 7 October, not only have some people still not condemned the massacres of 7 October, but they have also not asked for the release of the hostages.
The Ambassador concluded by reaffirming the support of the President and the Minister of Germany. Germany, Israel and any other country with which it is possible to cooperate on the matter will continue to do everything possible to free the hostages
Schaffter Coralie
Swiss Women in politics 