50 behind Batman call for Bibas family release

Fifty animators and producers responsible for the character of Batman in various productions over the years signed a petition calling on Qatar and Egypt, two mediators in hostage talks, to push for the release of the Bibas family.

The father, Yarden, 34, his wife Shiri, 32, and their two children, Kfir (who spent his first birthday in captivity) and Ariel, 4, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Ariel loved the Batman character and liked to dress up as him.

“As members of the community of Batman writers, artists and editors, we are contacting you concerning the young Batman fan who was taken hostage by terrorists and has been held in Gaza since last October 7,” the petition reads.

“Moved by the many anecdotes of Ariel’s affection for the iconic character who has become a symbol of hope and justice for so many, we implore your governments to exercise all possible leverage on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to immediately release the Bibas family, and all the Israeli hostages, from captivity,” it says.

“Every hostage is equally important, but naturally Batman writers and artists feel a special connection to this young Bat-fan and his family,” said historian Rafael Medoff, who organized the petition that was addressed to the ambassadors to the US of Egypt and Qatar. Medoff’s column appears periodically in The Jewish Star.