A letter to my hero, Yarden Bibas

Yarden, I hope you don’t mind my audacity in writing to you in the first person. I’m not sure if this letter will ever reach you, but I feel the need to unburden myself. Perhaps it could even be useful to someone, as we all have much to learn from your experiences.

You are an example to many. You and your family are true heroes and martyrs. Your bravery and strength in the face of such unimaginable tragedy is extraordinary. I can only wish to possess even half of the courage and resilience that you have shown.

First of all, I can't imagine enduring physical and mental torture for so long as a hostage of such a brutal terrorist group. I truly don’t know if I would have the strength to rise again if I faced something similar. Yet there you were, speaking and standing strong, remembering the beautiful moments you shared with your wife and children—lives that were unjustly taken in the most horrific way by those who have no regard for life.

In fact, you did it by holding your head high in the presence of terrorists who aimed to humiliate you in front of the cowards and despicables of the UBER/Red Cross. Yet, in the end, they only succeeded in humiliating themselves.

As a parent, I truly empathize with your pain, but I know I couldn’t handle it the way you have. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to pick up my son from his activities, share dinner with him, or even scold him when he’s not behaving well. You should have that same right, but it was cruelly taken away from you by inhuman beasts.

Seeing you has made me realize that the problems we face often pale in comparison. It's unfortunate that we, as human beings, often recognize our own good fortune only when confronted with the real tragedies of others. This is something we need to change, and it’s a lesson you have taught us and continue to pass on.

I must confess that I cried when I heard your words because I identified with you. I thought about how I would have reacted, and, as I mentioned, I would not have been as mature as you. I would have screamed and demanded vengeance in the short time I could stand, fueled by my emotions. Anger and violence would have consumed my mind, soul, and body. But not you. You were there, despite all you experienced firsthand, speaking out to honor your family in the best way possible. Perhaps that is the greatest revenge. You are a martyr and an example to us all. Thank you.

A clear difference

I have seen the usual critics claim that we are more affected by the deaths of your children and wife than by the deaths of women and children in Gaza. They fail to understand that both you and your family are people of peace, who sought to live this life in pursuit of happiness, without harboring hatred for others because of their beliefs, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other reason.

However, it is the same Palestinians who have led to their own destruction and the deaths of their own children. Just as you and your family always sought happiness without hatred and cherished life, they seem intent on destruction and murder based on a racist and genocidal ideology. This ideology is even willing to sacrifice their own children. Just look at the indoctrination to which they are subjected, and the UN is also guilty in this regard—a despicable entity that must cease to exist. We cannot forget that António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, is also complicit. He justified the October 7 massacre, including the murders of your children Ariel, Kfir, and Shiri, by claiming that these acts did not occur "in a vacuum." We do not forget. All the Guterres of the world will remain on the dark side of history.

One who dehumanizes others and is willing to murder two small children in cold blood, along with their young mother, cannot be called a human being. I am sure that, like me and most parents, you would trade your own life for that of your children and your wife. But this is your burden, Yarden—to live without the most important people in your life, more precious than your own existence. Yet, you have shown remarkable fortitude and strength, speaking out so that their memory will endure and their deaths will not be in vain.

And they have not died in vain, Yarden, dear; they have not died in vain. The world is a strange place, filled with people who refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room for various reasons: envy, naivety, ignorance, or simply to seek attention. However, I know that many have come to realize what Palestinian terrorism truly is after the horrific acts committed against your beautiful family and you. Perhaps it is only through understanding what was done to you that people can grasp who is who in this conflict; you are no longer just cold numbers. No one wants to live among such murderers and their supporters.

Of course, as Golda Meir said, "I prefer the repudiation of the whole world and not your condolences." Your children and your wife are martyrs. It is tragic that this is the only way many have come to understand the true nature of this conflict, but your deaths were not in vain. Your journey through this life will be remembered by many around the world.

A real hero

In the fiction of Batman, your son Ariel's favorite superhero, young Bruce Wayne loses his parents to a criminal and becomes a vigilante. It is Ariel himself who is surely telling you that your story, which is real and far sadder than Batman's, along with your courage in facing extreme adversity, makes you a true hero to him, to Kfir, Shiri, the people of Israel, and the entire world.