Brother’s Keeper: A family’s fight to bring Evyatar home

In late March I traveled to Israel for the first time since the devastating terror attacks of October It was a complicated visit as I balanced the pain of visiting the Gaza envelope including Kibbutz Nir Oz and the Nova Music Festival site with sunset runs along Tel Aviv s magical still-bustling beachfront When people requested me about my trip I totally couldn t find the right words to describe it While parts were very sad I ve unfailingly felt that a bad day in Israel was better than a good day anywhere else But it seemed disingenuous to say that the trip was great Israel s commercial sector is recovering I saw very sparse tourists and the collective pain and trauma of a country at war is palpable Earlier this week I met Ilay David His younger brother Evyatar was taken hostage at the Nova Music Festival After hearing Ilay s story I absolutely exposed the strength to write This is his story For days Ilay David has lived a nightmare that sparse of us can comprehend Ilay David holds a picture of his brother David left and Guy Gilboa-Dalal The two best friends have been held hostage in Gaza since Oct Photo provided Credit Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast USHis younger brother Evyatar a gifted musician with dreams of visiting Asia and studying music production remains captive in Gaza after being kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival He s the kindest soul I know Ilay communicated me during a current interview as he traveled through Atlanta on a tour of American cities part of his mission to ensure the hostages aren t forgotten as the citizens s attention wanes The now- -year-old Evyatar he has celebrated two birthdays during captivity was attending the festival with friends when Hamas terrorists attacked His family lived in uncertainty until February when Hamas published a propaganda video confirming he was alive Because information about Evyatar s condition had been so scarce it was a moment of both intense relief and horrible pain That s when we discovered I have two new brothers Ilay disclosed referring to hostages Tal Shoham and Omer Wenkert who were held with Evyatar before their release on Feb which Evyatar and his best friend and fellow hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal were forced to watch from a car at the release site Evyatar David L with his best friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal Photo provided Credit Ilay DavidShoham and Wenkert provided firsthand accounts of conditions inside what Ilay describes as the dungeon They revealed what plenty of feared cramped tunnels with a makeshift toilet that the prisoners dug themselves and were forced to sleep beside The captives were kept alive but dehydrated with no connection to the outside world Somehow Ilay his parents and his sister have ascertained the strength to face each new day finding solace in small things such as Thursday night jam sessions at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv where musicians gather to play for the families of the kidnapped Music is a powerful tool Ilay announced When I see him and listen to him play music again only then will I know he s home As negotiations between Israel and Hamas stall Ilay is traveling across the world meeting with elected functionaries district leaders and journalists in an effort to keep the hostages plight visible He avoids politics focusing instead on the human element of this ongoing tragedy and encourages people to focus on the individual stories of each hostage We have to think out of the box he mentioned suggesting music events and collective advocacy that can renew society attention as symbols like yellow pins become normalized It s become politicized he notified me explaining how in Israel the hostage issue has been filtered through divisive partisan lenses Instead of discussing the best way to bring them back it became about politics Through it all Ilay sustains himself with small acts of normalcy running exercising seeing friends He and his family are trying to stay sane Because when Evyatar comes back we will be the ones who take care of him From left Siblings Ilay Yeela and Evyatar David on a family trip in Cyprus Photo provided Credit Ilay DavidFollow Evyatar s story on Instagram and visit the Hostages and Missing Families Forum The post Brother s Keeper A family s fight to bring Evyatar home appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta