Canadian Israeli Judih Weinstein was killed during Oct. 7 attack, kibbutz says

Judih Weinstein, a Canadian Israeli woman whose fate had been unknown since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, died during the initial attack, her kibbutz said in a statement on Thursday.

‎‏”With great sorrow Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder” of Weinstein, a news release from a kibbutz spokesperson said.

The kibbutz said she was fatally wounded on Oct. 7, along with her husband, Gad Haggai, whose death had been confirmed last week. Weinstein had been the only Canadian still missing after the Hamas attack.

“Their bodies remain held in captivity by Hamas,” the statement says.  It was not immediately clear how Israeli authorities determined her death.

The 70-year-old grew up in Canada and held Canadian and U.S. citizenship. She was born in New York state but moved to Toronto at the age of three, and then moved to Israel 20 years later to live with Haggai.

Weinstein was a mother of four and a grandmother of seven.

“Judy dedicated her life to serving others, spending years teaching English and using her passions for poetry, puppeteering, and mindfulness to empower children of all backgrounds,” the family said in a statement. “She will be remembered for her compassion, her peaceful nature, and the creative life she built with her husband.”

Her brother, Larry Weinstein, told CBC News last month that she was “infused” with music, poetry and writing.

“She wrote thousands of haiku, which were about her surroundings and about peace,” he said. “She taught mindfulness to children whenever there were attacks.”

Racked with uncertainty

Weinstein’s family had been racked with uncertainty since the attack, unsure of whether she was alive or dead.

Her niece, Ali Weinstein, spoke to CBC News Network in late November and said the last known details of the couple’s life were from when she called for help and reported that she and her husband were hurt.

Her family says the couple were out for an early-morning walk when they encountered the militants. “We do know, from Judih’s phone calls … that both of them were shot,” her niece said.

Israeli officials later told family members that Weinstein’s cellphone signal was detected within Gaza, her family said.

Ali Weinstein told The Canadian Press in a separate interview that the family was on an emotional roller-coaster, feeling grief, joy for the hostages who had been released during a pause in fighting and dread each time her aunt wasn’t among those released.

She said Canadian officials were more responsive than their American and Israeli counterparts, with two RCMP officers in touch nearly every day, despite there being few new facts to share.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he and his wife, Jill Biden, were “devastated” by the news of Judih Weinstein’s death.

“No family should have to endure such an ordeal,” Biden said in a statement. “And I reaffirm the pledge we have made to all the families of those still held hostage: we will not stop working to bring them home.”

About 1,200 people were killed in the initial Hamas attack, according to Israeli tallies, including several Canadians. Nir Oz Kibbutz was one of the hardest-hit locations, with roughly one-quarter of its residents killed or kidnapped.

Family calls for peace

According to an official Israeli tally, more than 120 people are still being held in Gaza, after more than 100 were repatriated in a November truce or recovered during a military offensive. Twenty-three have been confirmed dead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said, with the Israel Defence Forces admitting it mistakenly killed three hostages during an operation.

Weinstein’s family said they were also unsure whether to voice their dismay at how Israel has responded to the attacks, with constant airstrikes and a siege on Gaza that the United Nations says violates international humanitarian law.

In its latest update on casualties, Gaza’s Health Ministry said 21,320 Palestinians had been killed and 55,603 injured in Israeli strikes since Oct. 7.

Weinstein’s family also said early this month that they were distressed by the rise in hateful speech toward both Jews and Muslims in Canada.

“We’re inspired by my sister, who believed in peace and believed in harmony,” Larry Weinstein said on Dec. 4.

“There can’t be any kind of resolution when people are at each other’s throats.”