‘We’re here as mothers, not as politicians,” the three women say. They are not just any mothers – all three had children kidnapped from their kibbutz a month ago and taken hostage in Gaza. They look drained. Renana Jacob, Hadas Kalderon and B’atSheva Yahalomi are briefly in Britain, fighting for their children’s lives – and the lives of all children caught up in the Israel-Hamas war. They are meeting diplomats (they have just met Qatar’s ambassador to the UK, who is trying to negotiate their release) and telling their story to whomever will listen. It doesn’t get any easier with each retelling. If anything, it seems to get tougher.
The three women live on the Nir Oz kibbutz in the south of Israel. Jacob and Kalderon grew up there together. Like many kibbutzniks from earlier generations, they were idealists. They believed in collective living and shared values. Perhaps most importantly, they believed in the possibility of peace with their Palestinian neighbours in Gaza.
