Israeli former hostage Ada Sagi marks heriny of Shoah survivors - The Jewish Chronicle

Two years ago, Israeli former hostage Ada Sagi was forced to spend her birthday in “darkness” amid armed guards in Gaza. This year, she chose to spend her 77th birthday on Monday in the loving company of Shoah survivors.

While in London this week, Sagi visited Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre (HSC) at the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus in Golders Green alongside her son and daughter-in-law, Noam and Michal.

Together, the Holocaust survivors, who included Ivor Perl, and Sagi, who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor herself, discussed their experiences of loss, trauma and survival. Sagi shared with them her experience of spending 53 days in captivity in Gaza and spoke honestly about the process of rebuilding her life.

Ada Sagi with Miriam Freedman, member at Jewish Care's Holocaust Survivors' Centre (HSC), October 20 (Credit: Jewish Care)[Missing Credit]

Reflecting on the resilience she has found since her release 22 months ago, she said: “I am hopeful again. When I came back, I was almost broken. But every day I look in the mirror and say, ‘I am here, I survived, and nothing will break me again.’ There are still some very tough days. I lost everything; I lost my home, I lost my community. Kibbutz Nir Oz is destroyed… all we built is gone. But I hold onto a thread of hope that everybody can be rehabilitated.”

Sagi also shared with HSC members her memories of spending her 75th birthday in captivity in an apartment in Khan Younis. “I sat in the darkness on my birthday because there was no electricity,” she recalled. “The owner of the apartment put a candle on the floor and started to sing me happy birthday in Arabic with the guards. ‘What am I doing here?’ I thought. They gave me a present to listen to Israeli radio [for one hour].”

Ada Sagi with Michal and Noam meeting Ivor Perl BEM, member at Jewish Centre Holocaust Survivors' Centre (HSC), October 20, 2025 (Credit: Jewish Care)[Missing Credit]

It was only then, nearly two weeks after her kidnapping, that she found out more about what actually happened on October 7; the number of those kidnapped, what happened in the kibbutzim and at the Nova music festival. At one point during her imprisonment, she glimpsed on television hostage demonstrations taking place in Israel, which gave her a “thread of hope”.

“Now my second birthday is November 28, the day when I was released,” Sagi said. “It was a tough day to come back and to see that all my family – six grandchildren and my children – were OK, I didn’t know what happened until I came back.”

HSC members, staff and volunteers gave her a cake on Monday and sang happy birthday in English and in Hebrew. Holocaust survivor Isa Brysh said they were “honoured” that Sagi chose to spend her birthday with them.

“Every Jewish person is connected,” she said to Sagi. “We pray for peace, we hope this season will bring us some kind of comfort, rebuilding and renewal for us all. This centre is a wonderful, wonderful family for all of us, and you included.”

Ada Sagi with HSC member Miriam Freedman, and Melanie Gotleib, Centre & Outreach Coordinator at HSC, October 20, 2025 (Credit: Jewish Care)[Missing Credit]

Rachel Levy BEM, who was liberated from Auschwitz and is a regular member of the centre, said: “We were not so lucky – but look how lucky we are now. We survived. We are all strong, we have families. I couldn’t talk about my experience for 50 years; we didn’t want to talk about it. But as a nation you are strong, a different kind of people – and yet we’re all the same. We are with you.”

Sagi’s son, Noam, added: “Sitting here and holding hands together, being able to breathe together, this is the hope. Thank you for opening your hearts to us, and we take this love for as long as we need it and share ours with you.”

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Topics:

Holocaust Survivors' Centre

Jewish Care

Hostages