By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

From the moment in August when Jewish Community Relations Council Director Jeff Blumer got the Jewish Federation’s go-ahead to raise funds for the Holon-based family of Bar Kuperstein, Jeff hoped he might present the check to Bar himself.

Bar, 22, was then thought to be among the 20 remaining living hostages Hamas held in Gaza.

“Wouldn’t it be amazing if a miracle happened and we could actually give the check to Bar?” Jeff recalls sharing with colleagues at the time. He was scheduled to be in Israel’s Western Galilee region at the end of October for a Partnership2Gether summit.

“And in our case, with Bar in Holon, our Sister City, we got a miracle.”

Surrounded by the Kuperstein family and Holon Mayor Shai Keinan, Jeff handed Bar a check for $8,000 at the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel in Ramat Gan, Oct. 31.

As The Times of Israel reported, several returned hostages’ families stayed at Kfar Maccabiah while the returnees recuperated at nearby hospitals; the released hostages visited their families at Kfar Maccabiah before they were officially released to go home.

According to Jeff, 111 donors from Dayton and Jewish communities across the United States donated to help with the Kuperstein family’s medical bills.

Since the age of 17, Bar was the main provider for his mother and four siblings. His father, Tal, was in a severe car accident five years ago while he volunteered as a medic. Tal endured multiple surgeries and a stroke. He was unable to walk or speak.

Bar, a medic and security guard, was taken hostage from the Nova music festival Oct. 7, 2023 while he helped wounded victims.

About a month after Bar was in captivity, Tal decided he would speak and walk again when he welcomed his son home. And he did.

“Bar and I talked about the miracle of being able to do this in person,” Jeff says. “And even though I’m standing here seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it. I presented some chocolates as a gift for Bar. And my youngest daughter, Laila, and Molly, my wife, had put together about 30 little pendants with messages like love and peace, and made them into necklaces.”

Jeff gave the necklaces to Bar to give to people who visit him.

“The wonderful act of the Dayton community demonstrates the depth of connection between Sister Cities and the mutual responsibility that unites Jewish people everywhere,” Holon Mayor Shai Keinan said at the presentation, Holon-based Goitem magazine reported. “We feel the warmth, love, and embrace you are sending us from afar during these challenging times for our nation.”

The Jewish Federation and its Jewish Community Relations Council created awareness of the Kuperstein family fundraiser from August through October via their Israel in Focus three-part documentary series about Oct. 7, the ensuing Israel Hamas war, and its impact.

The first documentary, October 7th: Voices of Pain, Hope, and Heroism, features an interview with Bar’s mother, Julie. After the screening, Jeff showed a video of Holon’s mayor thanking Dayton for its support of the fundraiser.

Jeff also showed a video of Bar’s father, Tal, who said in Hebrew, “I am saying thank-you to Dayton.”

“He worded it that way,” Jeff says, “because he’s struggling with his speech. It’s not just thank-you to Dayton: he’s saying it. And that was very powerful.”

The third documentary screening was held Oct. 16 with a memorial service, in conjunction with the Hebrew date of the Hamas massacre, which Israel’s government selected as its annual remembrance day. It would turn out to be three days after the 20 remaining living hostages were freed.

Jeff showed a video of Bar thanking all of his supporters around the world.

“The audience here in Dayton applauded and was whooping and hollering,” he says. “I went with this energy on the trip to Holon.”

Dayton’s Kuperstein family fundraiser, Jeff says, came about from the advocacy of one person: Shoshana Natt of Westfield, N.J. Her support for the hostages in Gaza drew her repeatedly to the plight of Bar and the Kupersteins.

At the Washington, D.C. solidarity rally in November 2023, Shoshana randomly picked up and carried a hostage poster of Bar and then researched his story.

On an Israel solidarity trip to the site of the Nova music festival attack, she took the only remaining solidarity candle with a hostage photo and story. It was Bar’s.

When Shoshana learned that Bar was from Holon, a friend’s research led her to the Jewish Federation in Holon’s Sister City, Dayton.

“It was really good teamwork,” Jeff says. “As we did different things, Shoshana would make sure we had the story and would check in on where the donations were.”

Jeff also credits Rachel Laniando and Lidor Waldman with the Foreign Affairs Office at the Holon municipality, who coordinated all aspects of the project on the ground.

At the Oct. 31 presentation, Holon’s mayor spoke of further strengthening bonds of friendship and partnership between his city and Dayton, “and between the entire Jewish people and your remarkable community.”

“I pray that we will soon see days of peace and tranquility, days focused on quality of life, education, sports, and culture — rather than on shelters and sirens.”

Two days later, on Nov. 2, Bar returned home to Holon with a hero’s welcome.

“Two years of captivity, of darkness, of fear. Two years of praying and hope that was never extinguished. Two years that you did not forget me — not you, not my friends, and not the nation of Israel,” he told a crowd of thousands.

Bar was among 17 of the former hostages released Oct. 13 who met with President Donald Trump Nov. 20 at the White House, as well as with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “You’re not hostages anymore — today you’re heroes,” Trump told them.

To read the complete December 2025 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.