In the shadow of a shocking loss, a new mother in Israel found herself with an early Christmas miracle — and a late Hanukkah gift — this week.
Jinky Aguilon Bolivar, a Catholic, gave birth 66 days after losing the “love of my life,” Israeli photographer Gilad Kfir, who was killed during the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7.
The 7.7-pound baby girl was supposed to be born on Christmas day but came early on Wednesday, the sixth day of Hanukkah, which is celebrated by Kfirs.
“Half of me died when they took my Gilad without seeing our unborn daughter,” Bolivar, 38, who is from the Philippines, told The Post. “He wasn’t with me during all these special moments – he should have been here.”
A few hours after delivering the little black-haired beauty at the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Bolivar took to Facebook and spoke on behalf of their “princess” to his lost love.
“Feel your presence, father, you don’t let me feel alone and suffer severe pain,” he wrote. “Like you told me you wanted me mini and it happened. Love you and miss you so much.”
The couple previously decided on the name Zoe, which means “life” in Greek.
Jinky Aguilon Bolivar, a Catholic, gave birth 66 days after losing her partner who was killed during the Hamas massacre on October 7. Courtesy of Jinky Aguilon Bolivar Jinky Aguilon Bolivar wrote on Facebook that she felt the presence of Gilad Kfir while giving birth to Zoe. Courtesy of Jinky Aguilon Bolivar Kfir was shot dead on the street by the entrance to a neighbor’s house. courtesy of Jinky Aguilon Bolivar
“She is the daughter he dreamed of and we are building a simple family,” he said.
Bolivar gave birth exactly two months after Kfir’s funeral.
Kfir was killed shortly after 8 a.m., minutes after taking his last picture of terrorists plunging into Israel and a Hamas missile intercepted in mid-air, said his father, Meir Kfir, compiling time stamps from photos and security camera footage.
He was shot on the street by the entrance to a neighbor’s house, and crawled to the front door, where he was shot again by terrorists.
The killer then moves out, saving the family that lives inside.
Kfir was carrying a gun at the time, and the terrorists may have thought Kfir was the owner of the house, whom they believed to be an armed IDF officer, Kfir’s father insisted.
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The neighbor “felt that his life and the life of his family had been saved,” Meir said. “And he relates this to Gilad’s sacrifice to save them.”
The Kfir family has now established a “brotherhood” with this family, he added.
The family also saw what it believed to be a sign that Kfir was struggling to survive and “wasn’t ready to die.”
“They told us they saw Gilad’s handprint trying to get up,” said Bolivar, who was supposed to be with Kfir on Oct. 7. but at the last moment, staying in the north, a decisive decision that might have saved both his mother’s lives. and daughter. Twenty residents of Nativ HaAsarah near the Gaza border were reportedly killed.
At a memorial last month in New York City, where the 48-year-old photographer lived for many years, friends expressed his desire for “his own family” and remembered him as a “loyal, kind and very humble” artist.
She longed for a family so badly, that she asked Bolivar on their first date if he wanted children.
“It was love at first sight,” he said. “The first day we met I thought he was the man for me and I was for him – it was his dream to be a dad.”
That dream almost didn’t come true. After Kfir’s death, doctors determined that Bolivar’s pregnancy was high risk because of the “stress” and “emotion” of the tragedy.
Jinky Aguilon Bolivar and Gilad Kfir are seen together in an undated photo. courtesy of Jinky Aguilon Bolivar
“I wasn’t at high risk until the attack,” he said. “I cry before bed and wake up in the morning.”
Bolivar felt comfortable visiting Kfir’s grave, and said he “spoke[s] to Gilead every day.”
The professional nanny is determined to raise Zoe in the Kfir homeland.
“I am not worried about security and violence because I know that war in Israel is normal,” he said, confident that “the holy land will always be safe and God will not let Israel be destroyed.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
