Disclaimer: This article was originally published on October 27. On Friday, December 15, the IDF announced they had returned Nik Beizer's body to Israel after his death in Hamas captivity. Dignity, determination, sadness, worry, and hope are just some of the words that can be used to describe the state of Beersheba resident Ekaterina Beizer, mother of 19-year-old Nik Beizer, an IDF soldier who is one of the over 220 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
In the midst of war, Beersheba is a shadow of its bustling self. Traffic is light on the city’s streets, and most of the stores and eateries in the city’s vast Grand Canyon Shopping Mall are closed. The thrum of IAF aircraft heading south to Gaza is regularly heard, and sirens warning of incoming missiles have been a daily occurrence.
The atmosphere in the Beizer family’s apartment is subdued. The large flat-screen television attached to the wall flashes the latest war updates from the talking heads on the news, though the volume has been muted.
Even Martin, the family’s Yorkshire Terrier, realizes that something is amiss, and darts nervously throughout the apartment. Ekaterina is wearing a T-shirt with a photo of Nik standing next to a horse, taken on a family vacation in August. The words “Bring Nik Home” are emblazoned on the shirt in their Hebrew equivalent.
Ekaterina and her husband, Sergey, made aliyah from Ukraine in 2000, were married in Israel, and have two children – Nik and 15-year-old Nikol.
“Since he was a boy,” Ekaterina smiles, “Nik was interested in everything. There was no activity in Beersheba that he didn’t join, whether it was art, martial arts, basketball, or bowling. He is very curious and is a boy who wants to learn.”
Nik, says his mother, is industrious, and worked in the family’s industrial renovation business from the age of 14, with the goal of earning money to obtain his driver’s license as soon as possible. He passed the driving test before he was 17 and bought a car with the money he had saved from his job.
“He always helped the weaker kids who were getting picked on in school,” says Ekaterina. “If he saw someone having a tough time, he would help him.”
Nik Beizer: An IDF soldier held hostage in Gaza
On April 30, Nik joined the IDF and, after completing basic training, was stationed at Erez Crossing, where he was a driver at the Erez District Coordination Office (Matak Erez), which coordinates with the Palestinian Authority regarding import and export, training, standardization, escorting convoys, and Palestinian businesses.
Ekaterina proudly shows a picture stored on her phone from Nik’s IDF swearing-in ceremony, where he received the award for outstanding soldier in his division.
“He didn’t tell us [about the award] beforehand,” she relates with a smile. “It was a surprise to us.”
Upon joining the IDF, says Ekaterina, Nik displayed his talent for helping others and was frequently assigned to assist soldiers who had just arrived at the base and were having difficulty acclimating to the conditions there.
Nik was stationed on the base six days a week and spent Shabbat there once a month. He was scheduled to be home on the fateful Shabbat of October 7, but a friend requested that Nik switch with him that day, offering to replace him the next time his turn came around.
“It’s hard for my son to say no,” says Ekaterina wistfully. “He agreed to stay on the base that Shabbat.”
On Friday, October 6, the day before the Hamas attack, Ekaterina and her husband, along with Nik’s girlfriend, Marta, took the 40-minute drive to Erez Crossing to visit him on the base, bringing food for his Shabbat stay.
“We saw two other soldiers there,” she recalls. “One was taken captive along with Nik, and the other was killed.”
Early on Saturday morning, October 7, Ekaterina’s phone buzzed with notifications that missiles were being launched toward Nik’s base.
“We called Nik at 6:30 a.m., and we heard alarms sounding and booms in the background.” He told his parents he had entered the protected area and asked them not to worry.
“At 7:10,” continues Ekaterina, “we spoke again, and Nik said, ‘Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.’ We heard soldiers in the background yelling that terrorists had infiltrated the base.”
The call ended, and Nik has not been heard from since.
At 12:30 p.m., one of Nik’s childhood friends called Ekaterina in tears and sent her a video displaying the captives that Hamas had posted on an Arabic-language Telegram channel.
“Please make sure this isn’t Nik,” he begged.
The footage, says Ekaterina, showed Nik, along with two other soldiers, captive, being taken in the direction of Gaza.
Ekaterina contacted the police, the Home Front Command, and the IDF, informing them of the video that showed their son, but she did not receive a conclusive reply.
The family checked with area hospitals in case Nik had been wounded and brought in for treatment. Finally, late Saturday night, two IDF officers knocked on their door and confirmed that Hamas had taken Nik prisoner.
“Since then,” says Ekaterina, “there has been no day and no night for us.” Pointing to the television on the wall, she says, “I try to watch less of the news because I don’t hear anything that gives me hope that can calm me. I hear much discussion about getting rid of Hamas but less about getting the captives back.”
Ekaterina is frustrated. Along with the other families of the hostages, she has met with Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, and with President Isaac Herzog.
“I can’t say that these meetings calm me,” she says, although she adds that the meeting at President Herzog’s residence gave her the feeling that the government is trying to do what it can to solve the crisis.
“From all these meetings,” she says, “I can see that many things are not synchronized and not working as they should be in terms of relaying information from one group to the next.”
Throughout our discussion, Ekaterina has remained composed, yet the agony of being a parent who cannot help one’s child during a crisis boils over.
“Everyone asks what they can do, but we are helpless. As a parent, you feel like you can’t do anything.”
Sergey offered to switch places with his son, she says.
She adds that Nik’s sister is having a very difficult time coping with her brother’s kidnapping. Although school classes have resumed on Zoom, most of the time the current crisis is being discussed and, understandably, Nikol does not want to participate.
“Nik and Nikol have a very strong connection,” their mother says.
Ekaterina disappears momentarily and returns holding two stuffed animals – one which Nik had brought Nikol as a gift some time ago, and a larger stuffed animal from Nik’s room.
“It was on his bed, and now I am sleeping with it. I am keeping it for him when he returns,” she says softly.
In addition to his curiosity and kindness, says Ekaterina, Nik loves to prepare food, and expertly arranges his culinary creations with his sister. Ekaterina displays a picture on her phone of Nik preparing food on Friday, September 29, the week before the world turned upside down. Smiling, she tells of his recent affinity for snooker and his purchase of a snooker cue stick.
EKATERINA IS bewildered and disappointed by the many pro-Palestinian demonstrations held worldwide that have been reported on the news, and she wants the world to be fully aware of what is occurring in Israel.
“It is important that people know whom we are dealing with. This is not a war between countries but rather a war between Israel – a country that wants security – and a terror organization that has crossed all civilized boundaries. I understand that bringing down Hamas is important, but if we don’t bring the captives back, it will not be considered a victory. It is impossible to win without bringing them back.”
Not knowing the fate of her son is a paralyzing fear.
“Nik has been in the hands of Hamas for 17 days, and I don’t know what is happening with him,” she says. “But my hope is that [since] he wasn’t wounded in the picture, perhaps they want to use him as a strategic weapon for their purposes, so they won’t harm him and the other captives.”
Ekaterina and her family have not lost hope.
“We are not a Jewishly observant family, but everyone believes in what he has. We are all praying together, and we all believe in something,” says Ekaterina.
“I believe that a positive attitude and hope will influence and have an effect. We speak to Nik a lot. We want to say that ‘We know you are strong and will survive, and we are waiting for you.’”
She says quietly, “Hope strengthens us. We talk about when he will come home. That is what gives us strength.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she pauses for a moment.
As our conversation comes to an end, Ekaterina’s phone buzzes. It is her red alert app signaling that, once again, missiles are being launched at the Gaza envelope communities.
The Jerusalem Post and OneFamily are working together to help support the victims of the Hamas massacre and the soldiers of Israel who have been drafted to ensure that it never happens again.