CLEVELAND — The Northeast Ohio Jewish Community is mourning the loss of one of the Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023. At 85, Shlomo Mantzur was the oldest of the hostages taken that day, his family holding out hope that he'd be among those released in the coming days and weeks, only to learn Tuesday that he was killed on the day of the attack and his body held in Gaza since.
"Today, we received the news we prayed we wouldn't. Shlomo Mantzur – a beloved member of our partnership community of Kibbutz Kissufim – was murdered by Hamas terrorists and his body has been held in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023," read a statement from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland that included Mantzur's image in a billboard campaign around Greater Cleveland last fall.
"Our hearts break for his family and friends. We join all who mourn him – in Kissufim, Israel, and around the world. This devastating news is another reminder of the urgency to bring all hostages home."
Not long after the attack, the Federation partnered with Kibbutz Kissufim to aid their rebuilding efforts. The Federation's Jared Miller is chair of the effort and has visited the Kibbutz three times.
"Israelis since October 7th have felt alone and isolated from really the entire world and the fact that we're there and we want to help them to recover in whatever way possible, that means a lot to them," he said.
He shared the hope of the people of Kibbutz Kissufim for Shlomo's safe return.
"It's personal," he said. "It's hit me harder than all of the other deaths that we've seen and it's just a rough day."
In June of 2024, one of Shlomo's daughters, Batya, came to Northeast Ohio to meet with Northeast Ohio Jewish Community members and speak about her father.
"A unique person that loves to help people, he always do it with a big smile," Batya Mantzur told News 5. "He ride his bike around the Kibbutz and he say hello to everybody. Very friendly, very kind."
Kibbutz Kissufim was one of the 22 targets on Oct. 7. A morning Batya remembers starting with alarms; she and several family members reached out to warn her parents, who were already searching for information themselves when gunshots shattered the silence.
"They shot through the door and opened the door; they caught them," said Batya. "They asked for the car keys, and they took my dad handcuffed — took him towards the car. On the way, one of the guards hit him in his face, and he told them, 'Why do you do this? I didn't do anything.' And my Mom said, 'He's an old man; don't do that.'"
As they continued to walk towards the car, Batya said her mother Mazal saw the opportunity to escape to a neighbor's home. "They opened (the door) and they took her in. That way she survived," she said.
But she didn't see if they took him in the car.
"People in the Kibbutz saw his car during the day in different places, but nobody saw him inside. So we don't know what happened to him."
On Tuesday, they learned of his fate. Among those sharing condolences was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"My wife Sara and I convey our heartfelt condolences to the family of Shlomo Mansour, of blessed memory, upon receiving the bitter news regarding his having been murdered by the Hamas terror organization," Netanyahu said in a statement.
"Shlomo was among those who built the country and one of the founders of Kibbutz Kissufim. In his youth, he was saved from the pogroms of the Farhud in Iraq."
The Farhud was a two-day assault on Iraqi Jews that occurred in 1941. Having survived it, he came to Israel alone at 14. Batya said he never spoke of it.
"He didn't want to make us sad. He didn't want us to be worried for him. He was a superman," she said.
