Yesterday, Ada Sagi, who was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7th October 2023 and held hostage in Gaza for 53 days, visited Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre at the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus in Golders Green. She came on the day of her 77th birthday, with her son and daughter in law, Noam and Michal, together with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and Cards for Care, to be with members, staff and volunteers of the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre.
During her moving visit, Ada spoke about her experience and the ongoing process of rebuilding her life. She reflected on the resilience she has found since her release, saying:
“I am hopeful again. When I came back, I was almost broken. But every day I look in the mirror, and I say, I am here, I survived, and nothing will break me again. There are still some very tough days. I lost everything – I lost my home – I lost my community – Kibbutz Nir Oz is destroyed…all we built is gone – but I hold onto a thread of hope that everybody can be rehabilitated.
“I sat in the darkness on my birthday because there was no electricity. I was in Khan Younis on the fifth floor and cried what am I doing here. The owner of the apartment put a candle on the floor and started to sing me happy birthday in Arabic with the guards. What am I doing here? I thought. They gave me a present to listen to Israeli radio from 8-9.”
At this point she didn’t know the number of those kidnapped, and it was only then she found out what happened in the kibbutzim and at Nova from the radio.
“Then I saw the demonstrations on Al Jazeera on television. I took this thread of hope. I thought I’ll come back. I can’t believe it’s two years, but it is. Some days it feels like it was just a few days before. Now my second birthday is 28 November, the day when I was released. It was a tough day to come back and to see that all my family – six grandchildren and my children – were ok, I didn’t know what happened until I came back.”
The members, staff and volunteers gave Ada a cake and sang happy birthday together to Ada in English and Hebrew. The meeting offered emotional connection between Ada and the Holocaust survivors, through shared experience of loss, trauma, and survival. Ada, who had been a peace activist, and headteacher of a school, taught Arabic and Hebrew. She is also the daughter of a Holocaust survivor herself.
Isa Brysh, a member of the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre who is a Holocaust survivor, shared, “We are honoured that you have come to visit us this morning. Every Jewish person is connected. We pray for peace, we hope this season will bring us some kind of comfort, rebuilding and renewal for us all. This centre is a wonderful, wonderful family for all of us, and you included.”
Rachel Levy BEM, who was liberated from Auschwitz and is another regular member of the Centre, said, “We were not so lucky – but look how lucky we are now. We survived. We are all strong, we have families. I couldn’t talk about my experiences for 50 years; we didn’t want to talk about it. But as a nation you are strong, a different kind of people – and yet we’re all the same. Thank G-d you have the whole world to support you, and we are with you.”
Explaining how it feels now, and looking to the future, Noam shared, “Sitting here and holding hands together, being able to breathe together, this is the hope.
“We want to thank you for opening your hearts to us and we take this love for as long as we need it and share ours with you.”
Welcoming Ada, Sarah-Jane Burstein and Melanie Gotleib, Holocaust Survivors’ Centre and Outreach Coordinators, say, “Thank you Ada for coming to the centre. Your courage and determination embody the same strength we see in our members every day.”
Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre provides a safe place for members to connect with one another, receive therapeutic support and enjoy a rich programme of events, social gatherings and vital support for Holocaust survivors. It is the only centre of its kind in the UK to support Holocaust survivors including camp survivors, hidden children, refugees and Kindertransport.
Since October 7, Cards for Care have sent thousands of cards filled with love from the UK Jewish community, including powerful messages from the Holocaust survivors, to hostages’ families, hostages, fallen soldiers, missing families and many more.