Eli Sharabi, Former Hostage at the Ma'agaim Event in Palm Beach- January 2026

Ladies and gentlemen, it's now my

distinct honor to welcome to the Beimma

Ellie Sharabi.

>> Ellie, welcome to Palm Beach Synagogue.

>> Thank you very much. Thank you.

You know, when I read your book, I was

impressed with your memory that you

could remember all these details. But

when I met you tonight, I said, "Do you

remember when we met?" And you

immediately remembered, "Yes, we met in

Far Makabia when you came to Israel and

just a few days after you came out of

captivity." And I'll never forget when

we met you in the lounge, your skin and

your bones were so fragile that you were

sitting on a cushion cuz you couldn't

sit on a chair,

>> right? because your skin was so raw and

to see you here looking so healthy and

strong,

it's just the greatest pleasure in the

world.

>> Thank you very much. Thank you,

>> Ellie. Your story and especially the way

you published this best-seller book has

been riveting. Everyone I spoke to said,

including myself, once you read the

first page, you couldn't put down the

book till the last page. But the book

starts with when the terrorists enter

your home on October 7th.

I want to go back

before the terrorists came into your

home. Tell us about your wife, Leanne,

your two beautiful daughters, Noya and

Yahel. Yahel, tell us about your life in

the kibbutz.

What was life like before October 7th

for you and your family? Who was Ellie

Sharabi before the whole world got to

know you?

I arrived on age 16 to Kibbutz Berry. um

arrived from Tel Aiv

and I found in Berry amazing community,

very supportive

and caring and loving and

I decided to stay there.

um

finished school and after that the army

and um become a member of the kibuts and

met Leanne um a year after the army. She

arrived for three months to to Berry as

a volunteer from England

and we fell in love and she stayed and

we got married and raised amazing two

daughters.

Um,

Noa and Yahel.

Um, Noya was amazing girl that um

um volunteered with disabilities um kids

and she loved music and um

and Yahel was the

our boy. Um she played soccer and um she

jumped from airplanes and did a scuba

diving course and um she was very

challenging

and we loved every minute of her. Um and

she was very very funny.

Um Lean and I just uh you know um had a

simple um peaceful uh family life. Lean

used to work in Berry Print 20 years um

as a in the account man as account

manager and um then she made a change to

be an dentist dentist assistant

um and she loved every minute of this

change. She worked in the berry clinic

and I was the a manager in in Berry

Print and then the CFO of the kibuts.

Um that was our life.

So now tell us how you woke up on the

morning of October 7th. We woke up half

past 6 in the morning uh from red alarm

in kibuts. Um we used to eat from time

to time so we didn't panic. We picked up

our girls from the rooms to the safe

room with our dog. We were sure it's

going to be 5 minutes, not more than

that.

Uh but the the alarms didn't stop for a

minute and after half an hour um we got

a message from uh the emergency team of

the kibuts that is a possibility of um

terrorist uh infiltrated berry.

Um it look very weird this um message.

Um but then they promised us that the

army is on his way and we were sure it

will finish in half an hour an hour

later.

Um but I think an hour after that we

start to see the videos coming on the

news on television and we've seen the

videos from Mr. wrote from aim from the

Nova festival of young people running

for their lives there and we start to

understand the situation. It's much much

bigger um than we understood and it's

really not in control.

Um but yet we didn't believe that it's

going to come massively inside the

kabuts.

But around 9:00

uh more than 2 and a half hours in the

safe room um we start to get some

messages from kids in the WhatsApp group

of the kibuts

and these kids just shouted in these

messages. Somebody shot dad, somebody

shot mom. um our house is burning

and um when you know these kids and you

know their their parents it's very very

difficult to read these messages

and that was the time that I was um

start to whispering lean because we all

all of us were very busy with our phones

to um um answering friends and family

and I approached Leanne and start to

whispering her that we are not going to

resist because they're

shooting everybody and um

so we must protect the girls and do

exactly what they telling us. We presume

I'll be kidnapped. Uh but um our plan is

was that when they're coming in we'll

tell them about the British passport of

Lean and Noya in the hell and that's we

must protect them and that was our plan.

uh4 to 11 more than 4 hours in the safe

room. Um they arrive inside the house 10

terrorist

um start shouting and breaking things in

the house. Um open the safe room door

very easily. Our dog uh bugged and um

probably stressed them and just start to

shoot in the safe room. Lean jumped on

Noya and jumped on Yahel. uh shout them

to stop and um after 10 seconds they

stopped. We just check nobody got hurt

and um they want us they want they told

us to bring them the our cell phones and

we give it to them. We gave it to them

and um four of them took no to the

kitchen area. Two of them grabbed me and

the rest waited that Lean will get

dressed because we were jumping on from

our bed.

Ellie, how many members I mean you the

CFO?

>> Yes.

>> Kibutz. How many men, women, and

children lived in Kibutz B on October

7th?

>> It was more than,200 people in Berry. Um

unfortunately this day um more than 100

um been murdered

and more than 30 was were kidnapped.

Um

and um

I remember that

when they um I think 5 minutes after we

went out from the um from the safe room,

I start to hear um the leader of this

terrorist um telling the two guys to

that hold me to take me out of the

house. And that was the moment I

understood I was kidnapped.

And

>> could I ask you to read the first page

of your book?

>> Okay.

Five terrorists enter with weapons

drawn. We are in our pajamas.

They come with uniforms.

Balaclavas and Kalachnikos. They found

us.

Me, my wife Leanne, our beautiful

daughters Noa and Deel and our dog.

We were in our safe room, a range force

shelter in our house that is supposed to

protect from rocket attacks.

Not introdu not introducers intruders

like this. The dog barks in distress.

She doesn't like strangers.

The sound drone, the terrorist fire.

And the sounds of their of the gunshots

ricochets of the walls. It's defending.

It's deafening. Lean and I jumped onto

the girls to shield them, checking they

are not hurt and shouting at the

terrorists to stop, begging them.

Don't be afraid. They replied uh in

Arabic and demand that we hand over our

cell phones.

I look into my daughter's eyes. No is 16

years old. Yahel is just 13.

I try to reassure them telling them

everything will be okay. They don't

scream. They don't cry. They don't even

speak. They are frozen in terror. I will

never forget that look of terror in

their eyes.

Thank you,

Ellie.

Do you often replay

that scene in your mind and do you often

think about it and say, "What could I

have done differently?"

Do you have any

regrets?

Um,

of course, I'm thinking about it again

and again about this day. Uh first of

all, I will never forget uh this look

and these fears in my daughter's eyes

and and I promised myself all 491 days

in captivity

that enough it's enough and when I come

back

um

I will probably um take them to live in

other place

um I believe it will be in in London. I

was sure you know in that time that it

will be the best um safest the most safe

place for them.

And um

and I remember that um

a week after in Sheba hospital when

afterward I was released I went to the

graveyard and went to apologize for them

that I didn't protect them well. So of

course I have um always thought about um

maybe I could uh do things differently.

>> But you know you could not have done

anything differently. You did everything

you could as a father and as a husband.

>> Probably I don't know. I just I will

always think about it.

>> When you said to your wife and kids, I

will be back. Were you saying it to make

them feel good or did you really believe

you would come?

>> Because I knew they look at me um um

they were behind me and they look at me

and they look how they dragged me from

the house. So that was the moment I was

uh just uh turned my head to them and

just told shouted them I'll be back not

to make them worried. Um and of course

that was the last time I've seen them.

And when um you know the first thing

I've seen outside it was um my friend's

house um burning that was Yonat and Dor

that been murdered probably 5 minutes

before my kidnapped

um and then that took me to um to the

fence um 200 m to for my house and all

this um walk I've seen hundreds of

terrorists coming in, coming in and out

from every house in our neighborhood and

celebrating, filming themselves,

laughing. Uh, some of them tried to hit

me on my way um to the car

and finally I arrived to the car and

they um put something on my eyes um to

cover them and they push me in the back

of the car and put the blanket on me and

at that time I did two uh things.

one of them automatically I don't know

why because I'm not religious person I

start to say my Israel

and since then I said that every day

and I felt it protect me and um and the

second thing I understood that I'm in

surviving mode now and I need to count

some minutes in the car just to

understand what they taking me because

Barry is in front of central of Gaza

And I wanted to understand well if they

take me up north or the south or I'm

staying in the central of Gaza

and um

200 m um after bi the car stopped after

after a few seconds of drive and they

put someone on top of me and um

and then we continue to drive to to

Gaza. Um and after 20 minutes we arrived

to um our first stop. Um it was in a

mosque

and they took the one that was on top of

me, they took him out of the car and um

inside the the mosque and when they came

to take me, a mob of civilians that was

there sick to take me away from them and

start to lynch me. And I remember just a

man with bare hands and kids was on top

of me hitting with hitting me with their

shoes.

And um fortunately the two terrorists

that been with me in the car succeeded

to take me into the mosque again.

Then they undressed us and that was the

first time I've seen who was kidnapping

me. It was guy from Thailand that used

to walk in our fields.

his name was gone.

They start to interrogate us. Um

and um that was the first time uh my

Arabic become fluent. I don't know why I

didn't say more than one sentence before

and um at that time um I start to answer

them in Arabic fluently to all their

questions and then just started them

start to shout at them from probably

from the Mossad or Shabbach and um

and I've seen you know um on the corner

at K uh that couldn't answer their

question and I start to hit him. Um, so

I start to ask him in English and I gave

him I gave them their his age and his

name and it calmed them down a little

bit.

Then they chained us on our hands and

start to move us uh in streets of Gaza.

another three or four stops, changing

cars, changing teams uh to confuse the

the IDF.

And finally, after half an hour of um

slow drive in middle of Gaza,

uh we arrived to a Palestinian family

house.

In the book you described how you try to

keep this uh Thailand worker strong to

give him courage and that's where you

see your leadership that even as a

captive you were a source of strength

for him. Did you always know that you

had that leadership strength quality in

you that you were able to under such

circumstances be able to be a support

for someone else while you yourself were

torn away from your wife and beautiful

daughters being held captive? Did you

know

>> your inner strength and resilience?

>> I didn't know about this resilience. um

you know nobody's um

um practice you to something like that

uh like um captivity

but for me helping others it was um

something we got from our parents uh

this values um you never can't be in a

place that somebody's um having trouble

and not to help him and it was very

natural for me um to help him.

Definitely when I understood that he's

from Thailand and he doesn't understand

anything what happening there. He didn't

understand the situation at all. Um he

start to hit himself and banging his

head to the wall and I was um I had to

help him. Um after a few days in

captivity I asked from them uh paper and

pen to draw him what is this war? I

start to draw Gaza and Israel and

missiles and try to explain to him

what's happening try to calm him down.

Um

and they said they kept saying to him

that is it was you know his kidnap was

an error and is not belong to this

conflict.

Um and when it will be a ceasefire they

will release him.

Um that was our days there. We just

waited um for the first ceasefire.

You mentioned that when you were taken

in the car the first thing you did

instinctively was said is hashem

and you said you were not a religious

observant Jew. When was the last time

you said shama before October 7th?

>> Wow. um probably just in holidays in

synagogues and things like that when we

pray. Um of course I'm coming from um a

traditional family

and until age of 16 um every Friday

kadouch and uh every holiday we going to

synagogues and things like that. But

after I arrived berry 35 years I was

unreligious. Um

but again when I went to my parents

house or my brother's house and sisters

of course we did kadouch. Uh I've tried

to do kadush in with in my house. For me

it was something like for family um like

become a family not something religious.

Um I knew all the blessing by heart and

um except of Israel. Um

definitely in uh in when we went to the

tunnels and I met other six Israeli

hostages there. Um for us a part of our

routine was to say every morning shah

and um all of us were unreligious but

all of us waited just waited patiently

um to um to Friday that you can say

kadouch I was starting with ashet ky to

my mother and my sister

and my wife.

It was very very emotional moments for

all of us.

And then we say kushian water and we

used to kept um we used to keep a

quarter of pita bread from a day before

because we didn't know if they give us

more and the day on on Friday. So we

kept that from a day before to dominar

and all these blessing and ceremonies.

um was um very very um special for all

of us because that was the time that we

remember our family and we believe that

they are sitting

um like us around the table and together

praying for us and fighting for us and

that's what we believed and um it was

very very important for us all these

things gave us a lot of strength

You know, tomorrow is January 27th,

International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The day that Awitz Burkanau was

liberated. And this was like a

modern-day Holocaust. But after the

Holocaust, a lot of Jews lost faith in

God. But yet it seems that almost all of

the hostages came out and said that

their strength grew and gained and

became stronger in captivity.

And often after the Holocaust survivors

would say, "Where was God? How could God

let this happen? If there's a God, how

could you explain what happened?" But I

never heard you or others question God.

On the contrary, I saw you come closer

and I remember when I met you for the

first time and it's coming up on the

first anniversary in a few weeks,

February 7th of your release. And I

remember you told me that since you came

out, you started putting on fill in

every day.

>> Yes.

>> And so how do you explain that in a

tunnel 50 m 60 m beneath the ground

you come closer to God?

Um

you know when you're 49 191 days in

captivity um

and you face

something like 10 times moments of death

and life and every time I'm alive after

that and I start to understand that

something is protecting me and I have

this ashkapit

and um for me 50 m underground finding

uh the faith in God again. Um there's a

puk of imama keratika.

Um

>> I call out to you God from the depths.

>> Yes. And it was um amazing. And one one

of the four that we've been together 14

months in the tunnels. One of the four

of the group asked us how can you

believe God after what happened to us or

what happening to us now they're

starving us and all this and we are

chained 24/7 and we humiliated every day

and how can we continue believe in God

and I remember that it was immediately

it was me and the answering him you know

that

um

we Um the

even um the when when it's really really

hard for you, that's where um your um

testing your how much your faith is deep

and um because when it's easy, it's not

it's not a problem to believe in

whatever you want. But when it's hard

and difficult for you, um this is your

test actually.

Unbelievable. Now mentioning that

tomorrow was the day that Awitz and

Burkina was liberated from all the

images of the hostages that came out.

The one that most was the most haunting

image, the one that reminded everyone of

the hol of the Holocaust was the image

of you coming out of captivity. I

remember m Shabbat when I turned on my

phone and I saw the way you were walking

out like a skeleton. It literally

reminded everyone of the Jews who left

the concentration camps and the hunger.

Why is it that

from some hostages came out? I guess

they didn't look like they were as

emaciated. What happened to you that you

had such starvation?

Was it deliberate towards you? Was it

circumstances?

Um

unfortunately um the people that held us

it was um in Userat in in this refugee

camp in center of Gaza. Um

there were um

in the beginning they gave us food twice

a week, twice a day

um every um noon and evening. And when I

say a meal, it's a bowl of pasta or bowl

of rice or one and a half pa bread. That

was a meal. Uh but it was twice a day

and but until in July 24 uh one day they

arrive and

they said that um

that from now on we are going to suffer

because their prisoners suffered and we

didn't understand what they want from us

or what happened outside.

And um

I remember the young um guys that been

with me were very stressed about that

and asked for me to talk with them. Um I

was the translator of the of the

uh group. I translate from Arabic to

Hebrew and from Hebrew to Arabic. And I

said to them, I'll speak with them but

not now. We need to let them um calming

calm down a little bit.

And after three or four days, I've tried

to speak with them and it didn't help.

And they reduce our um 2 m to 1 mil. And

um I think after two or 3 weeks we've

started to feel really really dizzy and

we've seen our bodies shrinking uh

drastically

and we said we have to do something um

to shock them and to tell them that we

are going to die. And but it's some it

needs to be something very visual uh

that will shock them

and it was more it was more than obvious

that I'm going to take this on my on me

this action um because we we analyzed

them and uh we understood that if they

worried about someone physically it will

be about me because my age I was um 52

years old then and all the best been 25

and um

and again I was the translator of the

group so I was very important for them

so I said I'll take it on me I took a

razor blade that was with us um that use

um they want us they wanted us every six

weeks in the shower and when I say

shower it's half bucket of cold water

this is a shower every six weeks

and um They asked from us um to use this

blade uh to shave our armpits. It was

very important for them. And I took one

morning this uh blade and cut my eyebrow

and let the blood um wash my face. And I

asked to go to the bathroom and I faked.

Um me fainted in the corridor of the

tunnels

and they started running towards me and

um

took me to sit and wash my the blood

from my face. We've seen how much they

were shocked. Um they gave us dates

immediately and they decided to give us

half a pita bread more a day and it was

um a great savior for us um because we

kept this half a pa bread for the night

and we could eat it before the sleep uh

and not waking up every half an hour

from hunger. It was very important.

Unfortunately, it's um it's last just

for a week, but again, it was another

small victory for us in our survivor and

surviving it's um

it's built from only small victories.

It's never one big hero victory. And um

I remember that you know

before October 7 I was more than 70

kilos and on the day of my release

February 8 um 25 I was 44 kilos.

You met a lot of a number of other

hostages in the tunnels. Tragically,

some of them did not come home like Ori

Denino and Hersh Goldberg

>> and Moi.

>> Could you tell us about the time you

spent with them and what their message

would be for us today if they were here

to talk to us?

Um,

unfortunately I've been with them uh

only three days from November 27, the

first day in the tunnels until November

29.

Um, I met three amazing kids. Um,

for me they are kids. Um,

very intelligent. Um,

lovely guys and

Uh all three of them been kidnapped from

Nova Festival

and um I knew I knew them just for three

days. um the impact they had on us uh

was amazing especially here's Goldberg

Poland um with his sentence um from

Victor's Franical book that he read and

it's probably from Niche um that he was

a why can bear anyhow and these words I

remember just gave um

gave meaning for our behavior here uh

because

we all used to talk who we're surviving

for, who we love and uh why we need we

never give up. Um and this sentence

stayed with us all the four that been

stayed in this tunnel for 14 months. Um

unfortunately um they moved them on

November 29 in the morning. They said to

them they're going home. It was the cuh

still the ceasefire the first ceasefire

and I don't know what is been uh got

wrong there. Um unfortunately they they

spend their next 10 months in other

tunnel and the end they've been murdered

with other uh with another three um

Israeli hostages. Among them is Carmel

Gat from Berry as well.

what would they say to us? What was

their message?

Um

they were happy. Um

they said um we all talked about you

know that uh it's only a stage that we

need to face now. It's um we need to

survive that to their um uh to arrive to

the next stage. um uh outside and um we

will deal with the what's happening what

happened outside we will deal when we'll

be when we when we'll release and that

was um step by step and they were very

very um optimistic um about life about

them um

doing you know um

cherish what really really important in

life Um, as I said, really great kid.

>> Your brother Yasi,

>> yes.

>> Was also taken abducted on October 7th.

Did you know that he was taken hostage?

>> I didn't know anything. Um, the last

time I was texting with him on October

7, he was still answering me. Um,

I realized I was announced um, two days

before my release on February 6. Um

the Hamas uh leader uh in that group uh

approached me with his phone and show me

Yos's photo and happily announced me

that uh he was kidnapped as well on

October 7 uh and he was killed um in

Gaza.

I didn't believe him in the beginning.

Um

but um Oh Benam that was with me um just

4 days before my release

uh took me to the side took a big uh bre

a deep breath and um and reassure me

that

um and he saw that Yos's video and he

saw Noar Gammani's video as well that

was with him and it fiery that was

killed as well was murdered as well in

captivity

and uh it was um horrible horrible

moment for me uh to understand that.

Would you ask your captors about the

fate of your wife and daughters?

Um

from day uh from day one in captivity um

I'm very practical person. I was

thinking about all the scenarios that

can happen on October 7. I really really

wanted to believe that Lean Noy survived

that day and our plan worked and their

British passport protected them. Um

but um

again I used to ask them and they used

to say to me at least three or four

times that they saw my wife and my

daughters in the protest in Tel Aviv uh

with my photo holding my photo and my

mom and um it was very emotional moments

for me. Um, I really really wanted to

believe that. But again, every time they

said that to me, I said to the my fellow

hostages that um

I never can count on them. I never trust

them. Um, and unfortunately, even in

that horrible ceremony on February 8,

the day of my release, one of the

question was uh on the stage that how I

feel that I'm going now to see my wife

and my daughters.

So take us to the moment that you're

picked up by the IDF soldiers.

Tell us how that conversation went.

Um and after after this uh horrible

ceremony uh they transferred us to um

the Red Cross

and um and 15 minutes later the Red

Cross um transferred us to the to the

IDF

and the social worker uh approached me

and said I'm Leah and um your mom and

your sister waiting for you in Raim

camp. And I said to her, just bring me

my wife and my daughters and uh

and she said, "My mother and my sister

will tell me." And of course u

uh at that moment understood everything.

I understood Leano and didn't survive.

Um

and then later in the hospital, I

understood they've been murdered only 5

minutes after um I was kidnapped.

And um

again I cried um for five minutes.

And um

and then again for me it was um a moment

that I can choose what to do. um for 491

days in captivity. I believed I can

choose um I didn't choose to be

kidnapped and I didn't choose what

happened to us, but I believed I can

choose how to react to things. And um

and every time I chose life and at that

moment

um at the border with a social worker um

I could let the grief and my loss

to wrap me and bury me and or to choose

to move on.

And at that moment um

I remember um who give me uh always

strength in that moments in hard moments

in difficult moment it always my family

my dear family um and I said to her um

please let's um go to see my mother and

my sister and after that in the hospital

I met another sister and my and my

brother Shaon

and Um since then I'm

um surrounding with circles of love and

support and they give me lots of

strengths and

thanks to them um I choose life every

morning from the beginning.

Thank you.

Ellie, nobody could forget the

interview, the first interview you did

in Israel,

and you talked about opening up a

refrigerator door and seeing a

refrigerator stocked with food. And what

wealth that is just to be able to open

the door of a refrigerator and choose

anything you want, a piece of cheese, a

fruit.

And for us, especially living with

abundance, with prosperity,

that comment really shook us all to make

us realize how blessed we are every

moment.

Talk to us about the gratitude you feel

every day that you're alive, that you're

free, that you could eat, that you could

be with your loved ones.

Tell us what that means to you. Extreme

experience like that, like a captivity,

um teach you um how to appreciate all

the basic things in life. Um freedom,

it's priceless. um to be free. It's

amazing um to be able to open your eyes

and to do whatever you want. And that's

um really um make me to appreciate that.

And of course u since my captivity, I

appreciate all the basic things in life.

I don't take anything for granted. Um

especially um the love I have for my

family and for my friends. Um

again in in captivity 50 m underground

in the tunnels

you don't miss um any material things.

You don't miss um you know you don't

care if you have 100 m square house or

200 m. You don't care if you have a

Subaru or Mercedes and you don't miss

your bank account. Um you miss your

lovers, your family, your friends and

you will to pay all you have uh just for

four five more minutes with them.

And um this is my message to you. Just

appreciate appreciate your family. Uh

hug your kids every day. Um,

things can change in a second.

>> Wow.

Ellie, I'm assuming you must have days

that you get depressed, that you're it's

hard to get out of bed, when you feel

like things are falling apart. What do

you do to stay strong?

I have to correct you. It's never days

for me. Uh it can be moments of um

uh I miss I miss Leano and my brother

Yosi um every day I miss them a lot. Um

I'm not depressed. I remember them

smiling. I remember the good they've

done all their life. Um

for me to be depressed it's it's not an

option. Um, not after my family, my

amazing family fought for me for 500

days. after my dearest friends stop

their life and support my family.

After I've heard what all the Israelis

did for the hostages and support the

hostage families

and then I start to after I met you in

Karma Kabia. Um I start to go abroad and

speak with Jewish communities all over

the world in UK, in United States, in

many places in Australia, in France, in

Germany. Um and to see the solidarity

from the Jewish people um it's warm my

heart. Um

so I don't have the privilege to stay in

bed and cry all day.

Ellie, it's almost a year since you came

out of February 8th. Have you gone back

to your home in Berry?

I've been in Berry in the Kibuts. Um,

I've been in a few funerals. Uh, I've

been in around my neighborhood. I didn't

come in uh to my house yet. It's

something I need to solve with my

therapist. Uh it's not an easy for me,

of course. Um but I'm quite sure I will

um I will do that in the future.

And um for me, Barry was home for 35

years. Um I love this community.

I'm Ellie. um

thanks

uh to Berry as well and not just to my

parents. Um

and but for me um going back to Berry,

it's not an option right now. I need a

new start. Um I can't see the tragedy in

every corner in Berry and you know and

to heal uh from my trauma.

First of all, on behalf of the

community, thank you for coming to give

us strength because

you give us tremendous strength and

inspiration and courage and resilience.

You wrote a best-seller book that was

published by Harper Collins that has

been read by millions of people, Jews

and non-Jews alike. when you sat down to

write the book,

what was your mission? What was your

goal? What did you want to achieve by

publishing this book? Um after I've been

in the UN um

very not nice place uh to Israelis to

Jewish

um I start to understand how important

is that um to write this book that um

nobody in the future will try to uh

change the evidence and try to write his

own history like people crying about the

Holocaust. Uh so for me so for me

writing this uh my testimony of October

7 and there's a lot of more of me um

it was very very important and the

process of writing this book it was very

therapeutic process for me as well and

then I understand I need to speak what

happened um and to tell people and it

was something as well that I promised

Lean Noya in the in the graveyard

uh that I will not let anyone to forget

them

and try to make them um proud of me.

Ellie, many of the people who lived in

the kibbutim near Gaza knew that they

were living very close to kamas.

What was your view and the community

members view of kamas before October

7th?

And now what do you understand that you

didn't understand before October 7th

about this terrorist organization?

Um

for us um

living by the border um we always

believed all the kibbutim in the area of

um of Gaza

um we really wanted to believe that we

need to live in peace with our neighbors

and we've done very active things to um

for this piece we donated money and

clothes and food and um it was time that

they were um they were coming in to walk

in Israel. So some of them walked in

Berry as well and um we used to take

some of them uh from the border to um

Israeli hospitals to take care of them

and

unfortunately after October 7 I

understood um that it's not just Hamas.

Um for me all the

all the places uh that I met civilians

uh now not even one of them were

uninvolved for me. Um and unfortunately

um to see different future in um

different um reality in the future or

peace process uh it's almost um

unimaginable to to happen. Um it will h

will need at least at least for me for

my opinion two generation of re-educated

the young generation there. Um

and um maybe then we'll have a chance.

How do you feel about the the second

phase that is beginning now with the

border of peace with the 35 nations that

want to rebuild Gaza? Are you optimistic

about the future of Gaza or

>> I'm trying not to well I haven't watched

even one minute of television. uh since

I was released. Um I don't have time.

I'm very busy. Uh and anyway, probably

it's protect my insanity my insanity. Um

so I'm not really involved. Um if

someone can think to change um uh the

reality in Gaza

um you know

it will happen like you know it's like

magic or something like that. I think

it's um it's too naive. Um I wish I wish

for a different uh reality for all

Israel.

>> Now that you've traveled around the

world to speak in communities as you

said in America and Europe, had you

traveled outside of Israel much before

October 7th?

>> I've traveled uh not like now, but I've

traveled u mostly uh to England uh where

my my wife came from.

Um, we've been around the world, but not

like um I'm doing now.

>> What did you learn about the Jewish

people in the diaspora since your

release?

>> Amazing. Amazing. Really um

I've never met uh so many people in my

life. Um I've never met um such love and

um most of you are very sic more than

the Israelis probably. Um thank you for

all your pray. Thank you for all your

support. It's really really important

for us as Israelis not to feel alone. Um

and you have a part of my release. So

thank you very much.

Final question, Ellie. And again, thank

you for coming here tonight. Nobody will

forget the honor of meeting a hero like

you. And we learned from you and your

book how we could be more grateful for

the simple things in life. How to

connect more deeply with our faith in

God. How to show more love to our fellow

Jews. To be unified as a nation. The

most important thing.

Today was an emotional day for every Jew

in the world to see the last hostage

251st hostage come home. But I'm sure

for you it was especially meaningful.

Could you share what you're feeling

today watching Ron Gavilli come back to

Israel?

>> It was amazing moment actually. Um um a

writer from Israel um from television

woke me up this morning and said to me

this news and if I want um to interview

about that and since then I've done

eight of that. Um

it's

it's very special moment. Um I can't

describe you um when you feel

uh in this hostage family um what's

happening there. Um and just to think

about Ron's family at that moment. Um

the relief they have. It's not an happy

moment for them. It's a very complicated

moment, but it's a big relief. And I'm

sure they are proud of their sons uh

that truly hero um that left everything

on October 7 in the morning and came to

fight um with us with um and to protect

all the citizens in Gaza and u around

the kibbutim around Gaza. Um

amazing moment. I always believed that

we will come to this moment. I fought

for that uh almost a year. Um and it's

probably something very special in this

place in Palm Beach because last time

I've been here, it was 4 months ago. Um

and it was 5 minutes before uh me coming

on the stage. I was with Alex Witkov um

in the green room and we just heard

about the agreement that's going to be

released. the last agreement and I was

in Palm Beach uh in my book launch

and to today I'm came to speak here in

Palm Beach again and I've heard about

Rang Villi. So it's probably something

very magical in this place.

I I I think I think it's a sign that you

have to keep on coming back because it

brings good news

>> on behalf of our community and the

Jewish people. everywhere. We love you.

We bless you. We wish you only strength

and peace. And may we only as a Jewish

people continue to stand together

shoulderto-shoulder

until with Hashem's help, we will see

complete peace and security for Amus.

>> Thank you.

>> As you know, we're fighting

anti-semitism around the world as well.

So, you give us strength to stand tall

and proud.