A Shiva for Oded Lifschitz
On Sunday 16 March, over 500 people joined together in The Dorfman Piazza to remember and honour Oded Lifschitz, who was kidnapped from his home on 7 October 2023. His daughter Sharone, a London-based UK citizen, has become a valued member of the JW3 community in the last 15 months, attending several events and speaking about the plight of her parents and other hostages.
Amongst the hundreds of people who came to pay their respects were MPs Stella Creasy, Tulip Siddiq, Sarah Sackman, Matthew Patrick and Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer, Chief Rabbi Mirvis who addressed Sharone and the gathered community, and other British-Israeli families whose relatives were murdered on 7 October or taken hostage. Local resident Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliff - who had been held hostage in Iran for six years - and her husband, Richard, waited for nearly an hour to talk with Sharone, sharing an embrace as they met.
“I can’t give up on peace in my own life. Therefore I cannot give up on peace on any other scale. Peace is where we want to be. Is the road long? Is the road hazardous? Yes. What’s the alternative? More hate? Did hate ever solve hate? Does more hate help? I don’t see it.”
“Sharone is a pillar of strength and dignity and I could not admire her more. We must bring home all of those still held hostage, as she said, and as Oded would wish.”