50 creators of Batman call for release of Bibas family held captive by Hamas

Read this article in:

Approximately 50 creators associated with the iconic superhero Batman have formally petitioned Qatar and Egypt to assist in facilitating the release of Israel's kidnapped Bibas family.

Yarden and Shiri Bibas, together with their young sons Ariel (4) and Kfir (then 10 months old), were brutally kidnapped by Hamas terrorists who invaded their home in the southern Israeli community of Nir Oz, on Oct. 7.

The creators of the American superhero series were apparently touched by an image of the Bibas family taken before Oct. 7, showing both parents and their children dressed in Batman clothing. Ariel is reportedly a big Batman fan.

“As members of the community of Batman writers and artists, we are contacting you concerning the young Batman fan who was taken hostage by terrorists and held in Gaza since last October 7,” the Batman creative team wrote on Friday in their petition to the embassies of Egypt and Qatar in Washington, D.C.

Qatar and Egypt have played a significant role in negotiating agreements between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization.

“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.”

Shiri and her two young children were separated from Yarden during the Hamas attack. While most women and children have been released from captivity, the Bibas family has become a symbol of the ongoing hostage tragedy in Gaza. Hamas has so far refused to release any of the Bibas family members.

In November, Shiri’s cousin, Yossi Schneider, expressed concerns about the fate of the kidnapped family.

“We don't know if they are alive or wounded; Yarden was wounded when he was abducted,” he said.

Around the same time, Hamas claimed that Shiri and the young children had been killed in Israeli military strikes in Gaza. However, the claim is unverified. The terror group has a history of using psychological warfare tactics, including making false statements about the deaths of specific hostages who were later released alive.

“The barbarism and cruelty of Hamas is on full display to the world,” the IDF’s spokesperson’s office stated at the time.

“Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable. Hamas’s actions continue to endanger the hostages, which include nine children. Hamas must immediately release our hostages,” the IDF statement read.

One of America’s most iconic superheroes, Batman was created in 1939 by the Jewish American artists Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

The Batman team petition initiative was led by Dr. Rafael Medoff, a historian who heads the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. He noted that American superheroes like Batman and Superman were created as symbols of freedom fighters fighting injustice.

“These comics creators have spent decades developing a hero who fights for the innocent and stands as a beacon of hope for his community, and we’re trying to channel that spirit through this effort,” Medoff told the Times of Israel.