Recently released hostage Omer Shem Tov met with President Isaac Herzog this week and shared his experience of Hamas captivity. He revealed that the terrorist group would show hostages televised broadcasts highlighting significant divisions within Israeli society, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
“They showed the division in the most extreme way possible,” Shem Tov said. “It gives them strength—they talk about how Israel will destroy itself from within, and that’s what empowers them.”
President Herzog emphasized the urgent need to bring the remaining hostages home, warning against the dangers of national division.
“Each time we confront one another, and every time decisions draw us into a vortex of internal conflict, it tears us apart. That is extremely dangerous,” Herzog said. “We have brothers who are 40 meters underground—how can we breathe while they’re 40 meters deep? We must bring them home and make every effort until the last one returns.”
Shem Tov echoed that message, addressing the Israeli public with a call for unity.
“We must bring everyone home,” he said. “If I can ask one thing of the people of Israel—it’s unity, unity, unity. That was also the message my mother carried throughout this time."
Sheli Shem Tov, Omer’s mother, also called for national responsibility and leadership.
“I used to say that our beauty is in our lack of unity, but our strength is in our unity,” she said. “Omer told us that when they see us fighting each other, it fuels them. The responsibility lies with the country’s leadership—just as we model behavior for our children as parents, our leaders must model unity. At the same time, it's also the personal responsibility of each and every one of us as citizens.
President Herzog concluded with a reflection ahead of the Passover holiday.
“We always say: don’t judge your fellow until you’ve stood in their place,” he said. “We’ll never fully understand the hell you and your fellow captives went through—or that many are still enduring. We can only pray that this ends, and that everyone returns. Passover is coming—the holiday of freedom, of spring, of hope. We want to see them home.”
505 days in Hamas captivity
Shem Tov was abducted by Hamas at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and held in Gaza for 505 days before being released as part of the most recent hostage deal.
Earlier this month, Shem Tov spoke at a rally in Herzliya, sharing more about his time in captivity.
“On the 50th day, I was on the verge of complete despair,” he told the crowd. “After five days in total darkness, when all I had left to eat was one biscuit a day and a little salty water, I screamed to God to get me out because I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Five minutes later, my captor came and told me I was being moved to another place,” he said.
Since his release, Shem Tov has made it his mission to advocate for the remaining hostages.
“I know what they’re feeling, and I understand how urgent it is to get them out of the hell they’re in,” he said. “Every day there, you don’t know if you’ll live or die—from hunger, or from physical and mental abuse. We must get everyone out—those who are alive for rehabilitation, and those who are no longer with us for burial.”
“For over a year, I was alone, and now I’m learning to adjust to a new, unfamiliar life,” he added. “Blessed is He who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time.”