Uplifting message

Kibbutz members fly kites in memory of those killed and held captive

In place of annual festival, Kfar Aza residents gather in Tel Aviv to express hope for unity and peace following massacres; event’s founder and his family were killed on October 7

Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

  • Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
    Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
  • Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
    Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
  • Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
    Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
  • Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
    Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
  • Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
    Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
  • Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
    Surviving Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents hold their annual kite event in Tel Aviv on November 9, 2023, after the October 7 Hamas massacre in the Gaza border communities. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)

Kibbutz Kfar Aza canceled its annual Kites for Freedom event, following the massacres committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 in the community and other towns near the Gaza Strip.

During the annual event, kibbutz members would fly kites with messages of freedom and peace for their Palestinian neighbors in Gaza.

The event was organized for the last 15 years by kibbutz resident Aviv Kutz.

Kutz and his family — his wife, Livnat and their three children Yonatan, Yiftach and Rotem — were all found murdered in their Kfar Aza home during the massacres last month.

In place of the event, kibbutz members gathered Thursday in Tel Aviv’s Charles Clore Park in memory of those killed and to express a message of unity and hope that the captives will soon be released.

Members of Kibbutz Kfar Aza urged the rest of the country to fly their own kites, at any intersection, community or home.

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