Yoga in Memory of Carmel Gat

Join the Minnesota JCC for a special yoga session led by Jody Rappaport, honoring the memory of Carmel Gat, an Israeli occupational therapist and yoga practitioner who was taken hostage from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, and killed after 11 months in captivity.

Carmel was known for her compassion, her dedication to helping others, and her love of yoga and meditation. While in captivity, she taught fellow hostages meditation and yoga exercises as a way to help them cope with the difficult circumstances.

Carmel, 40, was kidnapped from her parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri and murdered by Hamas after surviving 11 months in captivity. Her body was recovered and brought back to Israel on August 31, 2024, by IDF soldiers, along with the bodies of five other hostages. The bodies were found in a tunnel approximately 20 meters underground in the Rafah area. The hostages had been shot and killed by their captors’ hours before they were found, after Hamas observers spotted Israeli forces approaching.

Carmel was the daughter of Eshel and Kinneret, who was murdered during the Hamas attack on October 7, and the sister of Or and Alon. She was an occupational therapist, and her loved ones described her as compassionate and loving, always looking for ways to support and help others. Carmel loved traveling alone, meeting new people, going to rock concerts, and listening to Radiohead. Hostages who were held with her described her as a “guardian angel.” As a way of coping with captivity, she taught them meditation and yoga exercises.

Carmel was laid to rest next to her mother, Kinneret, in Kibbutz Be’eri. Her brothers, Or and Alon, said in her eulogy: “You are a symbol of the struggle and a symbol of healing. You touched so many people during your life, and after you were kidnapped, you touched the hearts of people around the world.”

A few days after her funeral, her family released a video of her from Hamas captivity. In the video, she spoke about the difficult conditions and how much she missed home: “Dear family, until this nightmare is over, I will stay strong for you. I love you.”

FREE | Registration Requested | Open to All Ages

Questions? Email Elinor at gro.ccjatosennimobfsctd-3c6037@mronile.