Remembering Ariel and Kfir through acts of kindness

“At the funeral, I promised that I would do everything so that the memory of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir wouldn’t be defined only by their tragic and painful end. Rather, it would spread goodness as a symbol of who they were and how they lived their lives.” 

So said Ofri Bibas-Levy, who lost her sister-in-law, Shiri, and her nephews, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, after they were taken hostage on 7 October 2023 and later murdered. Her brother, Yarden Bibas, also a hostage, was freed after 484 days in captivity and buried his family just more than three weeks later. Throughout the ordeal, Bibas-Levy tirelessly advocated for their release. 

She spoke at King David High School on Friday, 30 January, at the launch of The Bibas Children Youth Impact Challenge, to be rolled out at Jewish schools across the country. “Your choice to commemorate Ariel and Kfir through an initiative led by children and youth, whose goal is to spread light, generosity, unity, courage, and Jewish pride is exactly what I hoped for,” Bibas-Levy said. 

In her address, she said though her brother is a big, strong man, “inside he’s like a teddy bear, a sensitive and emotional person”. Shiri, she said, was creative, sensitive to other people, and an amazing mother, partner, and friend. Though the two met years before they became a couple, things turned romantic when their friends, David and Sharon Cunio – also kidnapped on 7 October – made the match at a party. Shiri knew early on that they would get married, while Yarden took a bit longer, Bibas-Levy laughed. 

When Shiri fell pregnant about a year after their joyful wedding, no-one asked how she was feeling, Bibas-Levy recalled. “The only thing we talked about was whether Ariel was going to come out a redhead,” she said. “And when he was born, he was as redheaded as he could be.” Describing Ariel, Bibas-Levy spoke of his shy smile, energetic and active nature, and his now well-known love of Batman. “Yarden and Shiri were always worried about their kids,” she said. “I used to tell Yarden with Ariel, ‘Take it easy. It’s okay. He will climb; he will be fine.’” 

When Kfir was born in January 2023, he was just as redheaded as his brother, and was always laughing and cuddling, she said. “They were an amazing family just starting their life, just starting to build their future.” 

Bibas-Levy said she and Yarden became particularly close after they got married months apart and had their first children at similar times. Together with her family, Bibas-Levy lived on Kibbutz Re’im, minutes from Yarden’s home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, but moved north to the Golan Heights shortly before 7 October 2023. 

That day, as the missiles fell and alarms sounded, Yarden messaged his family, saying that he, Shiri, and the boys were in their safe room with their dog. As the situation escalated, he exchanged frantic messages with his sister only, not wanting to panic their mother. 

“He told me he could hear gunfire and the terrorists outside the house, screaming in Arabic. He told me he was terrified.” A while later, he messaged his sister and his parents to tell them that he loved them. “At 09:43, he texted me that they were coming inside the house. That was the last message I got from him.” 

When Yarden returned from captivity, he said that he’d asked Shiri whether he should fight or surrender, and she told him to fight. After exchanging gunfire with the terrorists, he realised it was too dangerous and surrendered. “Before the terrorists took him, he asked to say goodbye to Shiri and the boys. He kissed them goodbye, and they took him away.” 

In her safe room that day, Yarden’s mother was horrified when a neighbour showed her a picture on Telegram of Shiri and the boys with the terrorists. “She sent me that photo, and it was like the blood drained from my body,” Bibas-Levy said. 

Though uncertain about what to do after Yarden and his family were taken, Bibas-Levy and her family began to fight. 

Two weeks after 7 October, Bibas-Levy discovered she was pregnant with her third child. “In some ways, the pregnancy and my children kept me balanced,” she said. “Otherwise, I would probably have moved to Tel Aviv next to Hostage Square and blocked the streets.” 

When Hamas initially claimed that Shiri and the boys had been killed in captivity, Bibas-Levy and her family had no proof. “So, we kept on hoping and fighting for them. The support we got in Israel and all around the world, and the way that my family’s story touched everybody so deeply – and still does – has moved us so much. I realised that even if I’m just a small person in Israel, my voice and my fight matters. I have the obligation to fight for what I believe is true.” She draws strength from Yarden, who “says his purpose now is to live so his family can be remembered”. 

Bibas-Levy said the recent return of the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, had closed a chapter of the 7 October story, but the next chapter was just beginning. 

“There are many questions still left unanswered. I know in the case of some of them, I will never get answers, but my fight now is for the government to take responsibility. It could have been prevented.” 

In the meantime, initiatives like The Bibas Children Youth Impact Challenge can help build a better future, Bibas-Levy said. A joint initiative of The Base Shul and the Jewish National Fund (JNF), the challenge, also driven by Saul Jassinowsky, is an extension of the organisations’ Hostage Respite and Healing programme. 

“It’s about asking young people to respond to tragedy not with despair, but with acts of kindness that teach, help, and inspire their communities,” said Michael Kransdorff, JNF chairperson. 

Rabbi Aharon Zulberg of The Base Shul said: “When we act with kindness, it is more than a good deed – we become partners in creating a better world.”