Yom Kippur is about the freedom to choose, former Gaza hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel tell 'Post'

SEPTEMBER 20, 2026 08:43Updated: SEPTEMBER 20, 2026 08:58Yom Kippur is uncomfortable at its core.By the holiday’s design, we are meant to suffer for a full 25 hours. We consciously choose to give up food and water, sit with our thoughts, and confront the parts of ourselves that we don’t always like to acknowledge.But for some, like former Gaza hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel, the whole season is somewhat complex.This year will mark the first High Holy Days that the hostages who survived their Gaza captivity will be able to observe with their families. Some might fast, others might not, but most importantly, all will have the choice to observe the holiday as they please.“I think that being deprived of the decisions of how much to eat, when to eat, how to eat, and who to eat with – was a big, huge issue in Gaza,” Aviva told The Jerusalem Post.“When somebody goes through something like that… and has been starved and doesn’t have any way to control what goes into your tummy and how much you eat and who you eat with and when you eat and what you like to eat… Everything of that was completely and utterly taken away,” she said.Released Israeli hostage Aviva Siegel marches with teenagers from Kibbutz Kfar Aza to Jerusalem after a five day march from Tel Aviv, December 28, 2023 (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)Keith and Aviva Siegel’s Yom Kippur after captivityThe Siegels, 65 and 63, were kidnapped from their Kibbutz Kfar Aza home on October 7.Aviva spent 51 days in captivity; Keith spent 484. They lost their home, and at least 60 of their close-knit community were killed.They have previously disclosed that they were starved, denied water, physically and mentally tortured, and watched other hostages be sexually assaulted.Aviva said that though she will not be fasting this year, she feels as if she has fewer questions than last year, when there were still 20 living hostages in Gaza.“Then, I had these questions, asking myself: ‘[Since] they are starving, how come you can’t just be hungry for one day, just like them?’ Or ‘Is it okay not to fast anymore while we still have hostages in Gaza, being starved every day?“I remember looking at the food and saying, ‘No, you decided that you have a different relationship with that in yourself. You’re not going to fast anymore.’”This year, however, she doesn’t feel like she will have any questions.“Because of what I went through, and this year because all the hostages are here, I don’t think I’m going to have questions. Maybe it’s not going to be easy for me to eat, but it’s going to be different than last year.”In her opinion, for released hostages to have the ability to make their own decisions is incredibly important.“I think that the decision of what we need to do as hostages who came back is to decide. We have that in both hands. And we need to take that because it was taken away in such a brutal way.”Keith seconded her thoughts, noting that the conscious choice to abstain from eating is very different than being denied food.“Fasting and starvation are two completely different things for me,” Keith said. “I don’t see any connection between those two.”For him, Yom Kippur was never about fasting but about taking the time to reflect on the past year.“The core essence or significance of Yom Kippur is not the fasting. It’s the heshbon nefesh (taking stock of the soul),” Keith said.“For me, I can observe Yom Kippur and have it [be] very meaningful and significant and not fast.”Keith told the Post that in captivity his faith also took on a different meaning.“When I was in captivity, Judaism, or my Jewish identity, became different.” He had prayed frequently while in captivity.“The terrorists were constantly trying to convince me to convert to Islam. I think the more they did that, I started to think more about my Jewish identity and my faith.“I don’t know if that would have happened if they had not tried to convince me to convert to Islam, but they did, and it was ongoing, so I thought a lot about it,” Keith said.“I really felt the strength and the resilience by praying, saying blessings, thinking about my Jewish faith and identity,” he said, adding that he frequently thought about victims of the Holocaust and other disasters throughout Jewish history.“I kind of felt like: The ones who survived, they survived. And I will survive for those who did not survive, kind of like it is my duty, or my mission, or responsibility, in their honor.”How captivity changed Keith Siegel’s Jewish faithThe Siegels come from differing backgrounds.He is from North Carolina; she is from South Africa. He moved here in his twenties, while she made aliyah when she was 9 years old.He is more soft-spoken, thoughtful, and purposeful with his words. Keith said that growing up in a traditionally Jewish home, he felt a significant amount of pressure to observe holidays, especially Yom Kippur, in the way his parents did.“As a child, I did it because it was what we did. And to… You know, be a good kid. Please my parents, do what they do,” he said.Aviva is usually quicker to respond of the two of them, and has a very direct way of speaking. Once or twice during our conversation, they provided the words the other was searching for, which I found really endearing.In our conversation, Keith and Aviva frequently mentioned anecdotes about their families.They currently live in Gazit near their daughter and their grandchildren, and mentioned how they frequently meet with them to do Friday dinners or havdallah on Saturday.When Keith was still in Gaza, the Siegel’s children, grandchildren, and extended family all gathered every Friday to say a special bracha that their daughter, Shir, had written.“I’ll never forget the first time that Shir read the words (to the Bracha). Every word went into my heart, and cut my heart into pieces. We were all crying like babies next to the Shabbat table,” said Aviva.“It was important because… it made everybody feel together and cry together. Those are moments that feeling together, [as] part of family, were very very very strong.”Yom Kippur still carries a special significance for both of them, though. Both told the Post stories of their loved ones and what the holiday meant for them growing up.Keith fasted when he was growing up to “be a good kid,” though he never really felt like it gave him any spiritual fulfillment. When he moved to Israel when he was in his 20s, he stopped fasting for the most part.“When I moved to Israel, I kind of felt like it was the… I’m not sure whether to call it the ultimate, but just by living in Israel, the holidays are so much a part of not only the religion but the culture; I can feel Jewish just by living in Israel.”Aviva spoke about how, when she was young, she and her grandmother spent a lot of time together on Yom Kippur.“Yom Kippur for me was a very special day. I used to connect with my grandmother, who used to fast with me. We had this special relationship.”Aviva said that the Yom Kippur she experienced during the 1973 war has remained a prominent memory for her. She remembered that her grandmother continued to fast, despite being told not to.“I’ll never forget the Yom Kippur War; we were stopped in the middle of the fast. I remember going to her and telling her, ‘You need to stop fasting.’ Because we had been told that nobody fasts from this minute. I remember her saying, ‘No, I’m going to fast until the end.’ There are so many things and emotions about that day.”Aviva also revealed details of her captivity. She said that she decided in Gaza that she would not fast when she returned to Israel. She was starved and suffered for 51 days, so why should she punish herself more?“In Gaza, we spoke about it with the other hostages who were with us. I remember myself saying, ‘I’m not going to fast anymore,’” she said.“What happened to me is the worst thing that happened… that could ever happen to anybody. I’ve been punished, and that’s enough. I don’t deserve to be punished again and to be hungry and starved anymore. “So I’ve got a completely, utterly new relationship with Yom Kippur.”Keith Siegel and families of hostages attend a Security Affairs and Defense committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, July 8, 2025. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)How the Siegels are rebuilding their lives after captivityAfter their release from captivity, the Siegels moved to live near their daughter, Shir, and their grandchildren. They can do kiddush on Friday nights with them and focus on spending time with family.The couple has also spent a significant amount of time volunteering for various humanitarian aid efforts, including their continued advocacy for the remaining hostages – even after both of them were released.They now volunteer with 255, an organization that provides ongoing support for the former Gaza hostages and their families. It centers the hostages and their families in the rehabilitation process and aims to keep them at the forefront of public conversation in Israel and the Diaspora.“We have been very involved in a lot of different things in order to both tell people our story and to try to have what happened to us and so many other people not be forgotten,” Keith said.“I feel like it’s my duty to do good, important, meaningful things.”Although they were both given a platform that neither of them wanted, they feel that they need to be a “voice for the voiceless.”“I want the world to understand that we are still trying to pick ourselves up. We’re still carrying a very difficult story,” Aviva said.“You know, there’s such a big difference between what we look like and sound like and what we feel inside.“I want the world to understand that we need the support and that we can’t in any way put it [the captivity] aside, and just to know that all of us are, in many times and many moments, struggling.”For the Siegels, part of Yom Kippur is about tikkun olam and helping to be a part of humanity.“Yom Kippur is really a day not only of fasting but also of questions. Asking yourself questions and looking for the answers,” Aviva said.Now, the Siegels no longer have all of the questions they had last year. But with everyone home this year, maybe they will find more room to take stock, focus on the choices they can make of their own free will, and carry them out with their own hands.To donate to 255 to support the hostages, click here.Follow us on Google