Sivan Elkabetz was murdered alongside her partner Naor Hasidim on October 7 in their home in Kfar Gaza. Sivan's parents, Shimon and Anat, opened the house to the general public as a site of remembrance and testimony. On Wednesday, as part of the family's initiatives, a mezuzah from the couple's home was taken to the new Israeli embassy in Paraguay. The ceremony at the embassy was attended by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Avi Hasidim, Naor's father.
Sivan and Naor lived in the 'young generation' neighborhood in Kfar Aza when they heard the explosions and gunshots and tried to hide in their house. "Dad, promise me you're okay, there are terrorists at the window," is the last sentence Sivan Elkabetz wrote to her father in their last moments.
At the entrance of the small house, the mezuzah survived unscathed.
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Knesset speaker Amir Ohana receives the Kfar Aza mezuzah from Avi Hasidim, the father of Naor Hasidim, who was killed on October 7
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Since that morning, the families of Naor and Sivan have been working perpetuate their memory and designated Sivan's house as a place of commemoration and testimony.
Among the many visitors to the house where the two were murdered was Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana. He brought 45 delegations to the scene, which included members of Congress, public opinion leaders, and heads of parliaments from around the world. During these months, a friendship was forged between Ohana and the families of the murdered couple. Through the personal and tragic story of the couple, all the visitors from Israel and the world were exposed to the intensity of the horrors and the magnitude of the national disaster experienced by Israel.
Naor's father was invited by the Speaker of the Knesset to take part in the parliamentary delegation's visit to Paraguay.
At the beginning of the week, Avi Hasidim gave Ohana the mezuzah and said: "It's almost a year since the disaster and I was given an extraordinary opportunity to commemorate Sivan and Naor, who in their lives and in death were inseparable. Through the mezuzah, their story will now be immortalized overseas as well." Ohana said: "This is a message to our enemies: The tree you tried to cut down is sprouting new and stronger branches. In the face of all the horrors and pain of the terrible massacre we look to a clear future of growth and hope."
The inauguration of the embassy took place on Wednesday as part of a visit to which the speaker of the Knesset was invited by his counterpart, the president of the House of Representatives of Paraguay. During a speech in Paraguay, Ohana waved from the podium a picture of Ori Danino, who was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists. "These are our children. The world must put pressure on Hamas so that we can return them home," said the Knesset speaker.