These Canadians are still writing letters to Israeli hostages—even though the Red Cross isn’t delivering them

sophie giterman
On Dec 19, 2023, Toronto real estate broker Sophie Giterman holds a letter she wrote to Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, 20, who was taken captive at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists. (Ellin Bessner photo)

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Canada’s Jewish community wants the 119 remaining Israeli hostages to know that they are not forgotten—even though the letters they’re writing to them most likely will never arrive.

For nearly three months now, in schools and synagogues and kitchen tables across Toronto, more than 1,000 volunteers have been penning letters to the hostages, filling care packages and mailing them—or, in some cases, delivering them in person—to the offices of the Canadian Red Cross.

The letter-writing campaign, called “You Are Not Forgotten”, is supported by Toronto’s UJA Federation, which provides a suggested script and the address of the Canadian Red Cross president, Conrad Sauvé, in Ottawa. It’s also designed to keep the pressure on the Red Cross’s international head office to finally visit the hostages and demand their immediate release. Other local groups have undertaken the same letter-writing project, too, including Canadians for Israel, and Camp Gesher, which saw campers write to now-freed hostage Ofri Brodutch, 10, who attended the Jewish camp in the summer of 2023.

On today’s The CJN Daily, we’ll hear from some of the letter-writers, including Eynat Katz, Sophie Giterman and bat mitzvah girls Ainsley Davidson and Halyn Freeman—and also from the Canadian Red Cross, which explains why they can’t deliver any of the notes. (Special thanks to Judith Guttman for the audio of Andrea Weinstein).

What we talked about

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.