‘Next time it could be your daughters’ says mum of British woman held in Gaza - The Jewish Chronicle

The mother of a British hostage in Gaza has spoken publicly for the first time berating the feminists who were silent about the plight of the abducted women saying, "The next time it could be your daughter".

Emily Damari, 27, is thought to be the only British hostage still alive in Gaza and has been hidden in Gaza for more than 225 days.

Her mother Mandy, who is originally from Bristol but moved to Israel and the border kibbutz Kfar Aza 30 years ago, was speaking at the launch of a new coalition organised by Elnetabout gender based violence at the Knesset. Until now she has only appeared in public briefly because of fears that publicising Emily"s story will mean she is treated worse by Hamas.

"Emily, my strong, smart and charismatic daughter whose smiling humour lights up any room she enters was shot and taken by force from her apartment on Kfar Aza by Hamas terrorists on October 7," she told a room of international politicians and activists. "In November I learned that Emily had been seen alive by hostages who came home.

"I’ve been deliberating whether to speak here or not because as much as I support the subject of this conference, I am not a politician or a diplomat or an expert on the subject; I am only a mother.

"So far I have no proof of any sexual abuse t and I'm also superstitiously frightened that by talking about the subject it might actually become a reality for her. But I think I must speak out now for her and the other women because just the thought of what is happening to her now in the terror tunnels of Gaza is enough to break you out in a cold sweat. It stops you from sleeping at night."

Emily Damari, who was taken from her home in Kfar Aza [Missing Credit]

Describing the thoughts that plague her, the kindergarten teacher, who is a mother of four and grandmother of three, said: "I think about the total control the terrorists have, knowing what could happen any second because she is at their mercy. What sort of psychological threats is she living under? What sort of physical violence? What sort of sexual torture and terror is happening to her?

"I am not a psychologist but I know now that what she’s going through will never be erased from her memory. And we will also remember what happened when, after being presented so many times with the truth of the sexual torture that happened on October 7 and continued afterwards to the many young women, people - particularly women - all over the world aren’t crying out for the women hostages. Their plight is being ignored."

The two-hour conference heard from delegates from countries including Ukraine, Iran and Syria about the horror of sexual violence used in war. Two other family members of female hostages still in Gaza – Simona Steinbrecher whose daughter Doron, and Sasha Ariev whose sister Karina – also spoke at the often emotional conference which also included a moving "fashion show" that visually depicted the horrors.

Like many in Israel, Mandy has now for the first time realised the true extent of how sexual violence is used in war and says the world needs to do more to speak up against it and say it is wrong.

"Before my daughter was involved in the seventh of October I could hardly have imagined the possibility of such harm coming to someone in my family," added Mandy. "But if the world doesn"t wake up and do something actively to prevent the possibility, it will happen again and again. And next time it could be your daughter or granddaughter. It is not as far away as you might like to think."

Topics:

Gaza hostages

Israel Hamas war 2023