Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Family of deceased hostage in Gaza awaits his bodys return

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Family of deceased hostage in Gaza awaits his bodys return · THE DAILY BRIEF

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So Amerem Cooper and his wife Norit were savagely kidnapped
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: by Hamas Terras from their home on Kibitz near Oz,
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  Speaker 1: the terrorists shooting down their front door on October seventh,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, capturing the elderly couple and holding them
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: together underground before I knew it was freed weeks later.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Unfortunately, in June twenty.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty four, Israel confirmed that Amerim had been killed there
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 1: His family was hopeful that Amerim's remains would be brought
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: back to Israel, along with the twenty seven other hostages
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  Speaker 1: who died in captivity, but they are still waiting for
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  Speaker 1: his body. Miriam Cooper was a founder of Kibbutz near Oz,
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  Speaker 1: an economist and a poet, and is survived by his wife,
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  Speaker 1: his four children, eleven grandchildren, and his sister and his son.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Rotem. Cooper joins me.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Wrotem, I know this is not an easy interview
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  Speaker 1: to do, and I'm so grateful that you decided to
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  Speaker 1: talk with me.
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  Speaker 2: Your father was a poet.
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  Speaker 1: Composer, published several books of poetry, plays, children's books as well,
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  Speaker 1: and all these articles and politics and economics.
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  Speaker 2: He founded the Kibbutz there.
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  Speaker 1: Eyes tell us more just about your father's remarkable life.
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  Speaker 3: You know, my father, you know, since young age, dreamed of,
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  Speaker 3: you know, going.
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  Speaker 4: And establishing a Keyboots. That's was his kind of, uh,
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  Speaker 4: his goal in life, which really achieved. Was very central
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  Speaker 4: figure in the Kyboots, did a lot of uh you know,
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  Speaker 4: was was the manager and various roles in the Kyboots.
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  Speaker 5: Uh.
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  Speaker 4: As you mentioned, Uh, you know, is the poet. A
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  Speaker 4: lot of his songs talks about, you know, the Kyboots
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  Speaker 4: in the early days. Uh, And it was the local
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  Speaker 4: poet for celebration as such. And of course we all
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  Speaker 4: were born and myself too, raised in the Kibbutz, and
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  Speaker 4: Kibutz is one big family. In Kibutz, it was was
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  Speaker 4: hit hard more than any other community. It's a small community,
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  Speaker 4: only four hundred people, everybody with the children, and one
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  Speaker 4: out of four was murdered or kidnap in that community.
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  Speaker 4: And one third of all the two fifty plus hostages
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  Speaker 4: came from this one community. Were a seventy six hostages
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  Speaker 4: from this one community. So yeah, it's hard to believe
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  Speaker 4: something like that happened in the place I grew up
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  Speaker 4: and so many people were murdered and kidnapped.
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  Speaker 1: And I know, well we all know now only a
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  Speaker 1: few bodies have been released by hamas it happened yesterday,
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  Speaker 1: and that potentially more bodies of hostages could be released today.
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  Speaker 1: Do you believe that you will finally get your father
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  Speaker 1: back home, his body back.
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  Speaker 2: Home to you.
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  Speaker 5: So, you know, yesterday was obviously a very emotional game,
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  Speaker 5: started with great anticipation and uh, you know, and then
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  Speaker 5: we had the release of the live hostages, and then
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  Speaker 5: obviously we know that it's it's moving into the deceased hostages,
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: which is not going to be easy. But only getting
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  Speaker 5: four of them yesterday was you know, it was a
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  Speaker 5: kick in the stomach for us, the families with the
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  Speaker 5: hostages that are no longer alive, even more so for
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  Speaker 5: us because my father survived, you know, he was we
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  Speaker 5: learned that he actually survived for four long months ah
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  Speaker 5: in captivity being held by from us. And now Ramas
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  Speaker 5: is clearly testing us and playing games, because uh, it's
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  Speaker 5: possible that there are a few hostages, you know, a
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  Speaker 5: really small number, single digit, maybe four or five that
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  Speaker 5: legitimately it's maybe hard to retrieve, but four is obviously
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  Speaker 5: a number that Tamas is clearly testing us, and I
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  Speaker 5: think this strong reaction by Israel and hopefully from what
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  Speaker 5: I understands, by the US and the allies you know,
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  Speaker 5: like cut our Egypt and Turkey all of a sudden.
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  Speaker 5: Tramas now is real listening for more and kind of
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  Speaker 5: slow rolling it. But it's crucial.
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  Speaker 4: That we're all gonna, you know, react quickly and swiftly.
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  Speaker 4: The deal was clearly talking about forty eight hostages, not
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  Speaker 4: just the twenty that were alive or believed to be alive,
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  Speaker 4: and Tramas is clearly in violation, and all sanctions and
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  Speaker 4: leverages should be enacted, including you know, the military, including
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  Speaker 4: the humanitarian aid, the you know, the the opening of
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  Speaker 4: the Rafa border, and on and on. That's the only
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  Speaker 4: way I think that Ramas understand and it's already working,
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  Speaker 4: and we should continue swiftly. Ramas can and must produce
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  Speaker 4: all of the remains of all the hostages.
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  Speaker 1: I have to ask you, well, will I have you
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  Speaker 1: you know both your parents were kidnaped, kidnapped on October seventh,
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  Speaker 1: your mom was released.
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  Speaker 2: I have to ask how is she doing?
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  Speaker 5: You know, she's she recovered this physically, but.
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  Speaker 4: You know, not not obviously losing her life companion of
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  Speaker 4: sixty years. She's not in the Keyboots. Nobody pretty much
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  Speaker 4: living the Keyboots right now. It's it's going to go
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  Speaker 4: through a major repair. A few people are starting to
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  Speaker 4: come back, uh, you know, going through all of this ordeal,
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  Speaker 4: you know, being seventeen days in the dark tunnels. She's
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  Speaker 4: kind of what I would say, what you she's kind
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  Speaker 4: of I think a Holocaust survivor syndrome. She's in the
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  Speaker 4: beginning was willing to talk about what's going on over
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  Speaker 4: there or what's happened, But more and more she's she's
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  Speaker 4: really don't want to discuss anymore what was going on
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  Speaker 4: over there. So, yeah, it's hard to see her in
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  Speaker 4: this kind of state.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I know you are wrapping your arms around to
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  Speaker 1: her and keeping no Raita.
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  Speaker 2: Surrounded by love and hopefully routine.
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  Speaker 1: We can keep in close touch and we will hear
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  Speaker 1: soon and get the word that your father's body is
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  Speaker 1: finally back where it belongs, and that's with you and
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  Speaker 1: the family.
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  Speaker 2: I really appreciate you talking with me.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, my father, the other Fife, the other four from
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  Speaker 3: the old community, and really the twenty four. We want
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  Speaker 3: to be the family, by now all the hostage family.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: We'll stay in close touch. Thank you.