With the hostages coming home, a JD Academy member reflects

Following the release of Or Levy, Eliyahu Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami on February 8, 2025, Alison Comite, a JD Academy Member living in New York City, shared her reflections: 

"It’s difficult to articulate the overwhelming sadness after reading everything and viewing all of the images of this hostage release.

Admittedly, I did not know their names. I know their stories now.

The overarching story highlights the striking similarities between these conditions and those of the Holocaust. My grandmother, of blessed memory, was liberated from Auschwitz in 1945. The emaciated imagery from that time will forever haunt my memory. The before and after pictures of Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi are eerily similar. The world has not learned.

These hostages were actually kept in tunnels. They had no access to the media and therefore did not know which family members or hostages were still alive. They thought Hersh and Almog had been freed. Their reality was so warped because of Hamas’ cruelty.

Or just wanted to go to a music festival and be free. Instead, his wife was murdered on October 7th. Or found out today. On his whiteboard, he wrote to his 3 year old son, Almog, “Mogi, daddy is coming home ❤️”

The video of Ohad Ben Ami hugging his daughters is so beautiful and heartwarming. One of his daughters enlisted in the IDF during Ohad’s time in captivity, but the world didn’t know until today. Israel was worried that Hamas would punish him for it. I, too, have a special connection with my dad and I can’t imagine what Ohad’s daughters went through while he was in captivity.

Eli was forced to read from a script today saying how excited he was to see his wife and daughters. The terrorists laughed. His wife, Lianne, and daughters’ bodies had been found in a tight embrace. Even in her final moments, Lianne aimed to protect her daughters. But Hamas murdered all of them on October 7th. It was a barbaric final form of humiliation for Eli.

I’m disappointed in the world. It feels unforgivable. I’m also furious at mainstream media. CNN, how dare you publish the headline, “Three freed Israeli hostages appear in poor health. Many Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel have also seemed emaciated upon release.”

The world does not care. The world has not woken up. But Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, means hope. We must continue to have hope and faith in G-d. BZH the remaining hostages are coming home. We can only hope."