On Sunday, the Technion halted all activities and held a rally in solidarity with the hostages being held in captivity by Hamas
Hundreds of students and administrative and academic staff members took part in a rally to mark
100 days since the events of October 7 th and to identify with the children, women, men, and
elderly still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip. At 11 o’clock on Sunday, January 14 th , the
Technion suspended all teaching, research and other activities in solidarity with the hostages and
their families.
The rally, which was organized by the Technion Student Association together with the Technion,
included speeches by Prof. Adi Salzberg, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion; Itay Israel,
Chair of the Technion Student Association; and family members of hostages: Carmit Palty Katzir
from Kibbutz Nir Oz, (the wife of Prof. Raz Palty of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine), whose
brother Elad Katzir is a hostage in Gaza; and Adi Kikozashvili, a student in the Faculty of
Biotechnology and Food Engineering whose brother Shlomi Ziv is being held captive in Gaza.
“Today, January 14th, 2024, is the first day of the new academic year at the Technion. It is the 100th
time that we are opening a new academic year,” Prof. Adi Salzberg said at the rally. “The first day
of a new academic year is usually a festive and happy occasion, but today we are unable to feel
joy because this day marks exactly 100 days since the horrendous massacre carried out by the
Hamas terrorists on October 7th ; 100 days since the cruel kidnapping of hundreds of women, men, children and elderly to the Gaza Strip, which is contrary to every moral principle and certainly to international law. Each and every hostage is an entire world. We must not despair, we must not
give up until every last hostage returns home safely, and their families will be able to breathe
once again.”
“100 days is such a long amount of time,” said Itay Israel at the rally. “That’s 100 days during
which they weren’t at home, where they ought to be. We must do everything possible for their
return. This should be the first and the only priority. One hundred days in captivity is 100 days too
many.”
Carmit Palty Katzir, whose mother Hanna Katzir was released from Hamas captivity but whose
brother Elad is still in Gaza, said: “Unfortunately, the stories told by those who returned from
captivity revealed to us how life as a hostage of Hamas looks and feels, including starvation,
physical and psychological violence, abuse and severe medical neglect.
We must not be indifferent to their suffering. Each of us should see ourselves as if we are
hostages in Gaza. They need us to cry out for them. Each day in captivity has an enormous price,
whose significance is life or death. This is an emergency, and we are being tested as a society and
a country. It is our moral duty to ensure that they return home today. It is the State’s basic duty to
protect its citizens and to act with determination to bring them home alive. We must not get used
to the idea that they are there, wounded in enemy territory, and we are here. The struggle to
release the hostages must not become ‘business as usual.’”
“It has already been 100 days during each of which they again experience the hell of October 7th”
she continued. “The difference between them and us is that we are here, protected against the rain, violence and hunger – free, while they are there, in a physical and psychological abyss, in the
grip of monsters, experiencing never-ending terror. Israeli society will not heal and recover until
they come back to us.”
Adi Kikozashvili, whose brother Shlomi was kidnapped to Gaza from the Nova music festival
where he worked as part of the security detail, said: “On the morning of Simhat Torah, October
7th , on that horrible morning when Israel suffered a terrible blow, my brother was taken hostage.
Shlomi is my big brother, the oldest sibling. He is the first to give me advice, to comfort me, the
first to be there when needed, and I miss him so much. Next week, he will celebrate his 41st
birthday. I wish that we will celebrate with him at home! Please spread unconditional love and
reduce the amount of gratuitous hatred, pay attention to the friend sitting next to you in class,
look people in the eye, see what is good in them, support one another, hug one another. I ask
myself how it will be possible to return to my studies in these circumstances and the truth is that I
have no idea. But we will do it with all the help and support that the Technion is giving us. We will
succeed.”