‘There was literally nothing to come back to’: Oct. 7 survivor Thomas Hand shares his story with Canadians

Jonathan Infield and Thomas Hand
Oct. 7 survivor Thomas Hand of Kibbutz Be'eri (right), speaks in Vancouver on Sept. 28 at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, accompanied by his daughter Emily, 9 (not shown) who was kidnapped into Gaza and held hostage for 50 days before her Nov. 26 release. Rabbi Jonathan Infeld interviews Hand. (Mel Krajden photo.)

Thomas Hand, who survived the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre on Oct. 7, spent nearly a month last year believing his youngest daughter, Emily, then eight years old, had been killed by Hamas terrorists who stormed their Israeli farming community and slaughtered more than 100 residents. Hand would later learn that Emily had actually been one of the 30 residents of Kibbutz Be’eri who were kidnapped into Gaza that day. The girl was held for 50 days—not in a tunnel, it turned out, but in private apartments alongside five others—until a ceasefire and prisoner exchange happened in November 2023, and Emily was released.

Hand, 64, and his daughter are now trying to rebuild their lives. They and others from Be’eri have moved into a new temporary home at Kibbutz Hazterim, near Beersheba, away from their own bullet-riddled house, while the kibbutz rebuilds.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7, Hand and his daughter flew to Vancouver to share their story—and also some memories of Canadian victim Vivian Silver, a neighbour on the kibbutz. On this episode of The CJN Daily, Hand joins host Ellin Bessner with some tough words for the Canadian government, which he accused of “giving Hamas a reward for the violence caused to Israeli citizens.”

What we talked about

  • Read more about the memorial projects being assembled for the victims of Oct. 7, including Vivian Silver, of Kibbutz Be’eri, in The CJN.
  • Learn more about Kibbutz Be’eri’s fundraising campaign to return home in 2026.
  • Here’s a list of memorial events being held for Oct. 7 across Canada, 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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