Shlomo Mantzur, the Iraqi-born kibbutznik who was violently abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists, has been murdered, it was publicly confirmed by Israeli officials on Feb. 11.
According to reports, the IDF informed the Mantzur family that they could now confirm that then- 85-year-old Shlomo, the oldest hostage to be taken, was murdered during his abduction on Oct. 7, when Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups stormed southern Israel on a murderous rampage,killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages to bring back to Gaza.
Mantzur was apparently killed during his abduction from Kibbutz Kissufim, of which he was an original founder.
Shlomo Mansour was able to survive the Farhud, a pogrom in Iraq, to come to Israel and start a new life for himself – only to be abducted by Hamas.
— Embassy of Israel to the USA (@IsraelinUSA) February 11, 2025
Today, we received the devastating news that Shlomo was murdered and his body is being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
Thank you,… pic.twitter.com/iY8FIeOR91
On that fateful Saturday, the husband and father, the eldest of five siblings, with five children and 12 grandchildren, was shoved into the back seat of his own car in his pyjamas and driven into Gaza, with not a word of his location or condition emerging for nearly 500 days.
As a young child in Baghdad, Shlomo Mantzur survived the June 1941 farhud (pogrom), which saw Muslim rioters murder hundreds of Jews and injure thousands more. The violence, looting and destruction over two grisly days was carried out with the help of local authorities, spurred on by Nazi-allied leadership. Coming from a centuries-old community which then numbered some 90,000 Baghdadi Jews (equal to Montreal’s current Jewish population), the young Mantzur made aliyah at 13, moving to Kissufim at 16.
Some 82 years after that bloody Baghdad pogrom, on Oct. 7, 2023, terrorists stormed into his kibbutz, murdering 16 people including six Thai workers, and grabbing Shlomo and his wife of 60 years Mazal, who managed to escape and seek shelter in a neighbouring safe room.
It was the last time anyone saw Mantzur, known as the gentle and friendly craftsman of Kissufim who built toys for children and managed the chicken coop.
His daughter Batya Mantzur told The CJN a few days after the one-year anniversary of his abduction, that she couldn’t remember what she spoke about with her father on Oct. 5, as they were to meet again in two days. “It was a regular visit” she said tearfully, “and we were supposed to meet all the family Saturday…His smile reaches his eyes,” she told more than 100 ‘Bring Them Home’ marchers in Montreal last October. The group gathered as they do each Sunday, anchored by a ‘Run for Their Lives’ event to remember and remind the world about the hostages.
Known worldwide by the image of his smiling face and distinctive white moustache, Mantzur lived through two tragically historic moments of Jewish bloodletting in the Middle East and carried these memories with him, said Batya. “On Oct. 7, all these horrors happened again. We said then ‘Never Again’ especially because we live in our own state, Israel. We never imagined that it would happen again.”
The Jewish community in Montreal stood by his family, who came to share his story and advocate for his release, recalls Michal Bental, an organizer of the weekly Montreal march and rally, telling The CJN a few hours after the news emerged, that Shlomo “had already survived one Holocaust in Iraq, only to endure another tragedy in Israel. This heartbreaking news has left us all devastated. We stand with his family and will continue to fight to ensure that his body is returned to Israel for a proper burial and the closure they deserve.”
The fear was for his physical well-being, that “he wasn’t starving” and that he managed to survive even at his advancing age said his daughter. “We live in uncertainty, and it’s killing us,” Batya said at the time, calling it “unbearable.”
On his 86th birthday—March 17—Jews around the world went for ice cream with friends and families, remembering Shlomo who loved the cold treat, and Batya says the sight of people around the world hoisting her father’s image high in the air, in crowds, and on marches helped. “It’s good for us to know that people care, and it’s like you’re giving us a hug” she said, before making a plea to the world which she’s repeated at every turn: “To humbly ask for any help possible, any contact with politicians, leaders, security agencies who can help us bring my father and the other hostages back… Don’t let the world forget about him and the other hostages.”
Batya and Shlomo’s grandson, Sagiv, also visited Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, where they spoke to the community at the Kol Nidrei service, describing the pain of his absence.
Now, the family waits for the return of his remains for proper burial and mourning.
“Today, I called Batya with condolences and to extend the warm embrace of our Shaar family” wrote Rabbi Adam Scheier, adding that news of Mantzur’s murder compounds a difficult week.
“The emaciated, physical appearance of the most recently released hostages, the psychological trauma imposed upon them with the public transfers amidst throngs of terrorists, the unimaginable pain as they learned of the fate of their loved ones, and the reports of what the remaining hostages are currently experiencing have been absolutely devastating. I am hopeful these brutal reminders of Hamas’ genocidal terrorism, together with renewed insistences that all hostages be returned immediately, will accelerate the path to Israel’s victory and a peaceful future for all who value life and freedom.”
Mantzur was on the list of 33 hostages to be freed as part of phase one of the hostage release and ceasefire deal, which includes living hostages and those who were killed.
Learning of Shlomo Mantzur’s death was a moment of deep collective sadness for Israel, Israel’s Consul-General for Quebec and Atlantic Canada Paul Hirschson told The CJN. “That we learnt he had been murdered on October 7 rather than at some point in the 16 months since was some solace.”
I send all my support and strength to the Mansour family and the community of Kibbutz Kissufim, who have received the bitter and painful news of the murder of Shlomo Mansour, who was taken hostage on October 7.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) February 11, 2025
About a month ago, I had the privilege of meeting his incredible… pic.twitter.com/SaGvDbOsIG
Tuesday night, Israeli President Isaac Herzog posted on social media about the “bitter and painful” news delivered to the Mantzur family and community of Kibbutz Kissufim. “They fought with all their might for his return throughout a year and four months of hell and pain, clinging in hope and prayer for his fate,” wrote Herzog, adding, “We will continue to do everything in our power to bring Shlomo home to be laid to rest in dignity, and to bring back all our hostages—both the living and the fallen—until the very last one.”
Times of Israel reported that the IDF said Mantzur’s death was declared by health and rabbinical officials following intelligence garnered by the IDF in recent months, and quoted a statement from the kibbutz, calling Tuesday “one of the most difficult days in the history of our kibbutz. Shlomo was much more than a community member to us—he was a father, a grandfather, a true friend and the beating heart of Kissufim.”
The kibbutz statement added that “his smile, modesty and human warmth were an inspiration to us all. Our hearts are broken that we were unable to bring him back to us alive. The entire community grieves his loss and is united in grief and pain.”
Hirschson added, “That the Hamas death cult would derive satisfaction at the ongoing torture they subjected Shlomo’s family to is another illustration of the levels of sadism embedded in the very existence of Hamas. Shlomo Mantzur, 86 years old. May his memory be a blessing.”
