Madhura Naik, a Jewish woman of Indian origin in Israel, on April 11, shared her family’s bone-chilling encounter with Hamas terrorists on October 7, during which they killed three of her kin in cold blood, with their children watching on helplessly.
Madhura, a television actor by profession, shared that her cousin, sister and her sister’s husband were murdered in front of their children by armed Hamas terrorists at a time when southern Israel was in chaos in the wake of the deadly attacks of October 7.
“What happened on October 7 was a terrible tragedy, not just for my family but for all Israelis. Six months to the attacks, as many as 133 hostages are still living in the hope of freedom. However, sadly, I can’t say the same for my cousin, sister and her husband, as they were murdered (by Hamas terrorists) in cold blood in front of their children. Every Israeli knows about or has seen the video (of the killings) that went viral. I want every Indian to see that video clip as well. It is horrific and heartbreaking at the same time. The clip features my sister’s six-year-old daughter, who was trying to save her three-year-old sibling,” Madhura told ANI.
Recalling the attack that went down inside a vehicle, she added, “The only thing that she (her sister’s daughter) kept repeating to the police (who came to her rescue) was, ‘Are you Israeli people?’ Amid the gunfire and indiscriminate shooting all around, the children were hiding in the back of the car. Imagine a six-year-old screaming like that. Keeping their presence of mind even in the face of adversity is something the Israeli children know like no other. Call it the perks of growing up in a conflict zone. I don’t think that any child deserves a life like this. And unfortunately, for some of us, our loved ones don’t come out unscathed from such situations,” she added.
Reena Pushkarna, a restauranter, shared a poignant story of how Israeli soldiers mourned the loss of a comrade in action over ‘Indian cuisine’. The story was of a young soldier who cherished Indian cuisine and used to live next door to her restaurant in Tel Aviv. He lost his life on the first day of the war in Kibbutz Be’eri.
She shared that a group of soldiers looked her up at her eatery, expressing a desire to treat the locals to the cherished Indian dish of their fallen colleague during the period of his mourning, or Shiva.
“Well, Israel is slowly limping back to normal, but the cloud of war is still hanging over our heads. To be honest, the people here are barely going through the motions. You won’t see the glint of happiness in their eyes as every family has been affected in some way or the other (by these attacks). Be it a father, a son, a grandfather, or his grandchild, everyone lost someone they loved. With the threat of war in the north, many people have become refugees in their own homeland,” she told ANI.
“There was this young man, who loved Indian cuisine and lived next door to one of my restaurants in Tel Aviv. He lost his life on the first day of the war Kibbutz Be’eri. A few days after his death, a group of soldiers called us up to share how much he loved Indian food, especially Tandoori Tel Aviv. They offered to treat the people here to his favourite food during the period of his mourning, which is locally called Shiva. The name ‘Shiva’, as you all know, is very much associated with India. So, nine days of mourning a loved one here is called Shiva,” she added. Moved by their request, Pushkarna offered to bring his favourite food from her restaurant.
“They said they would like to treat the people here to Indian food. I asked them their address so that I could deliver it myself. To this, they said they pooled money to serve the cherished dish of their fallen comrade (at the restaurant). I said, his favourite restaurant would visit him to serve his cherished food. These are small gestures that make lasting memories. None of us are in politics, or for that matter, in a war. You may have noticed two Muslim families leaving my restaurant some time back,” she said.
“Everyone around here shares a bond regardless of faith. It’s the terrorists who divide us and force us to fight for our soil and defend ourselves. This, in a nutshell, is the story. Everything in my place revolves around food. And for us, it’s Indian cuisine all the way,” she added. Also invoking the global popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said, “Modi-ji is a superstar who has made every Indian across the globe feel pride in his or her roots,” she added.
(with inputs from ANI)
