Listen to Judy Weinstein’s haunting final call on Oct 7: Meet the artist behind the voice

In the early morning hours of October 7, 2023, Judy Weinstein made a desperate call for help as Hamas terrorists descended on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Calm but urgent, her voice was recorded just moments after she and her husband Gadi Haggai were shot and left for dead. Their bodies were later kidnapped and taken to Gaza. Now, 608 days later, their bodies have been returned from Gaza, allowing their family to give them a final, dignified burial.

Tragically, Judy Weinstein's call for help was not responded to quickly, quite the opposite. She made the call around 7 a.m. stating: "My husband seems dead to me, and I was injured in the face and hand. Please help us." The emergency responders said: "We are on the way with the army." Six hours after this call, and 40 minutes after the last terrorist left Nir Oz - IDF forces arrive at Nir Oz for the first time.

A beloved resident of Nir Oz, she was a mother, a teacher, a puppeteer, and a poet, a woman of deep creativity and compassion whose eclectic spirit touched all who knew her.

Born in upstate New York and raised in Canada, Judih Weinstein moved to Israel as a young adult and spent the rest of her life there. At 70, she was a well-known presence in the English-language poetry scene, particularly as a longtime member of the southern branch of Voices Israel, a group of poets who met monthly to share their work.

Weinstein had a particular love for haiku - short, evocative poems that she wrote throughout much of her adult life. “She loved writing haiku, it was indicative of how singular and creative and individualistic she was,” said Miriam Green, a fellow poet who often hosted the group’s meetings in her Beersheba home. “Judih would schlep in from the kibbutz and we would have lovely discussions.”

The group had planned to gather on October 8, 2023, for a special meeting with a visiting poet from Toronto. Instead, they began counting the days of Weinstein’s presumed captivity, until December, when it was confirmed that she and her husband, Gadi Haggai, had been murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 during their morning walk. Surveillance footage and a desperate emergency call provided early clues to their fate, later confirmed with the discovery that their bodies had been taken into Gaza.

“I canceled those first sessions,” said Green. “I just couldn’t do it without her; we were tandem coordinators for the group. Now it’s on me.” In her memory, Voices Israel is publishing a chapbook titled Light Thru Trees, a poetic tribute that includes Weinstein’s own work alongside reflections from her fellow writers. “What emerges is a picture of a woman in love with life, with her family, and with her presence in the world,” said Green.