Hostage’s family visits UK community who have ‘adopted’ their uncle Michel
MUSWELL HILL Synagogue has welcomed the family of their “adopted” hostage.
Michel Nisenbaum, a 59-year-old Brazilian-born Israeli, kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, was “adopted” by the shul in February as part of a scheme launched by the Board of Deputies.
The community has been saying prayers for the missing grandfather ever since. “It’s part of the tefillah [prayer service] now,” said Daniel Shaw, chair of the synagogue.
Six months on from his capture, Michel’s family stopped to look at a photo of him on the bimah, “It’s very emotional. It’s a feeling of warmth to know you’ve ‘adopted’ Michel,” his niece, Ayala Harel, 42, told Shaw.
Michel’s nephew, Shai Shojat, 44, said: “It’s like he’s part of the family.”
Over 100 synagogues have taken part in the Board’s “Adopt a Hostage” scheme. Muswell Hill Synagogue’s Board representative Judith Prinsley said it was “imperative that the hostages are not forgotten” and that the scheme kept the “human stories” of the hostages at the forefront of the community’s mind. At Muswell Hill, a seat is left for Michel at all communal events.
Michel, an energetic grandfather of six, worked as a computer technician and tour guide. Ayala fondly remembers his frequent visits for coffee. He would pick up his grandchildren once a week and give them dinner, and he loves the songs of Shlomo Artzi, she told the JC.
In 2018, Michel stayed in Golders Green, north-west London, and visited national landmarks on a trip to the UK.
On October 7, he was on his way to collect his four-year-old granddaughter when, somewhere along the now notorious Route 232, he vanished.
“His oldest daughter, Chen, saw a video of terrorists in Sderot, where he lived, and tried to call him,” Ayala explained.
“After 15 minutes, Hamas picked up the phone and shouted: ‘Hamas, Hamas, we’re in Israel.’ They called her back and said: ‘Is this your father?’ and then: ‘We’re from Gaza; we came to Israel; we’re Hamas.’”
Two hours later, the terror group released a video of Michel’s driver’s licence and Magen David Adom volunteering card. Since then, the family has heard a recorded phone call that Michel made to the police, which went unanswered.
His car was found burnt out, without any trace of a body, and after two weeks, the IDF informed the family that Michel was in Gaza. His tablet was traced to the Palestinian territory.
Unlike most of the hostages, who were taken in groups, Michel was alone and not been seen by any released hostages.
“His sixth grandchild was born four months ago, so he’s never met him,” Ayala said.
Michel’s two daughters both have young families, so the task of advocacy has fallen on his niece’s shoulders, and she is back in the city she called home when she worked in London between 2002 and 2007.
Ayala lost friends on October 7 and relives the trauma every day: “We are not post-traumatic yet; we are still in it… I wake up every morning and I realise I can’t go back to October 6. My life is stuck, changed forever,” she said. Ayala is concerned about her uncle’s health — he has Crohn’s disease and has not received any medical treatment in Gaza.
She said: “We heard that [fellow hostage] Elad Katzir was murdered. Hostages saw him [in Gaza]. He was alive and now he is not. We don’t have time.”