Maayan Shavit opens up about the murder of her cousin, Carmel Gat, in Hamas captivity

Maayan Shavit, centre, speaks at a podium at a solidarity rally held at Earl Bales Park in Toronto on Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Raziel Zisman)

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Toronto resident Maayan Shavit is set to fly to Israel on Monday to attend the funeral of her cousin Carmel Gat, one of the six Israeli hostages found executed two days ago in a Hamas tunnel under Rafah.

Carmel, an occupational therapist and yoga instructor, was kidnapped while visiting her parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Terrorists also took Carmel’s brother, sister-in-law and their young daughter hostage. They then tied up their mother, 67-year-old Kinneret Gat—a teacher and tour guide—and paraded her through the kibbutz before killing her.

Although the Gats are not Canadian, their fate has resonated strongly with Toronto’s Jewish community, thanks to the tireless advocacy of their cousin, who has lobbied Canadian politicians and spoken at countless rallies and public events here since Oct. 7.

On this episode of The CJN Daily, we speak with Maayan Shavit just hours after she learned the tragic news about her cousin. Shavit opens up about who she feels is to blame for what she called “a loss that could have been prevented,” and why she won’t stop fighting for the others who are still being held in Gaza.

What we talked about

  • Watch the vigil, live streamed by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, on Sept. 1, 2024
  • Read more about how Shavit fought to keep her cousin on front pages, in The CJN (Jan 2024)
  • How Canadians with families in Gaza reacted to the release of 105 hostages in November, in The CJN

Credits

  • Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
  • Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
  • Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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