Holding Liat

During the October 7 attacks, Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv Atzili are kidnapped from their home on a kibbutz near the border. Liat’s parents, Yehuda Beinin and Chaya Beinin, grapple with the fear for their daughter’s fate as a broad network of relatives voices dissatisfaction with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over the hostages. The family faces a crisis that tests their bonds and the national mood alike, as the fear of what may happen to Liat weighs heavily on everyone they know.

Yehuda intensifies his public campaign against the Gaza war and the looming hostage casualties. He travels with his youngest daughter, Tal Beinin, to the United States in the hope of gathering support, only to discover that American politicians’ unconditional backing for Israel mirrors Netanyahu’s approach. The journey exposes the complexities of international politics and the divisions that ripple through families torn between personal peril and broader political loyalties.

In Portland, ceasefire demonstrations unfold, and American academic and historian Joel Beinin offers a perspective through a public lecture about the Nakba. Through video chat, the brothers’ old disagreement over the basic principles of the state of Israel resurfaces, as Joel argues that the Kibbutz’s original socialist ideal was overshadowed by a colonialist agenda. The conversations reveal a long-standing debate about origins, ideals, and the costs of conflict that echo across generations.

Blood found on the Kibbutz is confirmed to be Aviv’s, but the IDF still does not know the whereabouts of his body. The Kibbutz community mourns, and a palpable sense of outrage grips Israeli society. As the first ceasefire is announced, relatives await the final list of released hostages, and Tal Beinin expresses her dissatisfaction with the Israeli and American positions in a public meeting about the ceasefire. The weight of bereavement and the pressure of political stances intersect in a moment that tests the family’s resolve and the country’s shared memory.

Liat is ultimately released by Hamas. [Yehuda Beinin] and [Chaya Beinin] receive a call from American President Joe Biden, to whom they express gratitude. Liat reunites with her parents at the hospital, telling them she realized something bad must have happened to Aviv. At his funeral, Liat delivers a speech and the family dances in his memory. Returning to her kibbutz, she watches the ceasefire demonstrations in Tel Aviv on TV. Three months later, at a Holocaust memorial, Liat weighs the ongoing war and the Palestinian lives on the other side of the fence.

Last Updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:49