Oct. 7 bereaved father draws his hope, sadness and criticism in daily caricatures
Moshe Shapiro, father of hero Aner Shapiro who died protecting Nova partygoers in roadside shelter, seeks his own rehabilitation through a familiar hobby
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Moshe Shapiro, father of Aner Shapiro, the heroic, unarmed, off-duty soldier who was killed protecting a crowded roadside shelter during the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, draws caricatures as part of his ongoing rehabilitation.
Every day, he sits down for about half an hour and draws whatever comes to mind, usually inspired by the latest headlines in the news.
A sketch could be of freed hostage Emily Damari’s hand, missing two fingers and raised in victory, yellow hostage ribbons streaming from US President Donald Trump’s hair or an orange star to depict the Bibas family, killed in Hamas captivity.
When Aner, Shapiro’s eldest, was killed on October 7, his death wasn’t confirmed until several days later. The terrible loss was combined with the discovery that Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Aner’s best friend, had been taken hostage, after having the lower part of his left arm blown off during the Hamas terrorist attack.
The two friends had gone to the Nova desert rave with a group of others, running to hide in the field shelter early in the morning of October 7 when rockets began streaking across the sky.
With some 29 people crammed into the shelter — now known as the ‘migunit [field shelter] of death’ — the Hamas terrorists began tossing grenades inside and Aner, off-duty from the army, stationed himself at the opening, tossing back seven grenades before being killed by the eighth.
He was killed, along with others in the shelter. At least ten people survived because of Aner’s actions.
One of those who was taken captive was Or Levy, who was released recently. Levy’s wife Eynav was killed.
He hasn’t yet drawn Levy, although Shapiro and his wife, Shira, met Levy two days after he was released home a few weeks ago.
“It was so emotional, one of the most emotional moments of my life,” said Shapiro. “He’s just bones, but with a strong spirit.”
Levy was taken hostage in the same pickup truck as Goldberg-Polin along with Eliya Cohen and Alon Ohel.
Goldberg-Polin was killed in captivity in late August, and Cohen and Levy were recently released home. Ohel is still held captive.
Levy wanted to tell the Shapiros about meeting Goldberg-Polin in the tunnels under Gaza, during the earlier part of their captivity, when he and Hersh spoke about Aner.
“He didn’t know who Aner was before that moment in the shelter,” said Shapiro. “When Or met Hersh in the tunnels, he asked about the guy who was trying to protect them and Hersh told him about Aner.”
“It’s so hard that his best friend didn’t come back,” added Shapiro. “It just makes me cry again. And thank God the others got out and I’m praying that Alon [Ohel] will come out.”
The details of that day are often replayed for the Shapiros in different interactions, but for now, Moshe Shapiro tries to find other ways of remembering Aner, who had many plans for his life, before it was cut tragically short on October 7.
Shapiro and his son, a burgeoning songwriter, rapper and artist, never drew together, but Shapiro would often send his caricatures to his eldest, asking for his critique.
“We have a similar style,” said Shapiro.
Shapiro, an architect with his own Jerusalem firm that specializes in preservation, has always drawn caricatures, a hobby that took off during the coronavirus, when the epidemic forced everyone home including Shapiro and his family of nine.
At some point during the pandemic, a relative hosted a local exhibit in her home gallery, featuring some 300 drawings by Shapiro.
His drawings have mostly focused on politics, skewering politicians and poking fun at the latest local brouhaha, with sly puns and turns of phrase.
In the seven months before the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, most of Shapiro’s caricatures focused on the planned judicial overhaul, and the politicians who were determined to carry it out.
In mourning and shock after the death of Aner, Shapiro didn’t draw anything for several weeks.
But then he returned to the hobby, “and it helped,” he said. “I’m like every bereaved parent. You try to create a schedule, but it’s hard. ”
He even had another exhibit in December 2023, thinking the war would be over by then.
Now, 16 months later, Shapiro is still drawing, but while he targets Hamas, Hezbollah, the United Nations, the BBC, CNN and any other relevant institution or terrorist organization, he doesn’t criticize the Israeli government in his caricatures.
“I don’t think it’s the right time during a war,” said Shapiro. “But the hostages are a very painful subject for me.”
If he is skewering an international organization, Shapiro writes the caption in English, to make sure that anyone can understand what he’s saying.
The caricatures are a small part of what Shapiro and his wife, Shira, have been working on in the 16 months since Aner was killed. They are also producing an album of Aner’s music, a posthumous work of the songs that he had composed and produced before he was killed.
Shapiro’s dream was to publish his music and share his viewpoints with society through his songs — and to help change the world around him.
There’s an endless stream of projects and events dedicated and named in Aner’s memory, from seminaries to youth groups and programs named for him, as well as works of art, including a sculpture of Aner’s face, dedicated in Beziers, France.
“We aren’t involved with everything, but we’re very involved with the album,” said Shapiro.
The family is hosting a launch for the album in Jerusalem at the end of March, holding it in the garage of a local Subaru dealership because “you need something a little rough for rap,” he said.
He may put out another book of his drawings, following one of his daughters who put together a private book for family and friends of songs she wrote after October 7.
Shapiro already has one book published, of his architectural etchings. But if he decides to compile another one, it will only be when the war is over.
“I hope the end will be better than what we have now,” he said. “If not a happy ending, then at least something more positive.”
