The Israel Hayom Summit in New York took place Wednesday, bringing together senior figures from Israel and the United States, government officials, business leaders, heads of organizations and prominent members of the Jewish world.
Held for the second consecutive year at the InterContinental hotel in Manhattan, in the presence of Israel Hayom Publisher Prof. Miriam Adelson, the summit featured discussions, interviews and panel sessions addressing the major challenges facing Israel, the US and the Jewish world.
Avinatan Or, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and released after more than two years in Hamas captivity, took the stage to recount his harrowing experiences deep inside the tunnels, his encounters with his captors and the need to defeat the enemy. He also spoke about the overriding importance of unity among the Jewish people. "I want to share a thought with you about darkness," Or began as silence fell over the auditorium. "In darkness, the brain goes into survival mode. You can no longer see anything, and your other senses become sharper. Smells grow stronger, sounds become more distinct. When you want to survive and you have nothing, you will do anything to find something, something to hold on to, something to believe in, something that gives you hope."
The former hostage continued: "In captivity, I could see no reality other than what our captors chose to show me. They decided what I would see, what I would hear, what I would smell and what I would know. They took away my freedom in every sense except one: In the darkness of the tunnel, I refused to surrender my freedom to choose. "The freedom to choose how to respond to the reality forced upon me. Every morning and every evening, even when I could no longer tell them apart, I held on to that freedom. It was my responsibility to choose how I would live my life each day."
"I understood who Hamas really is"
Or revealed a chilling encounter with one of his captors just days before his release. "A few days before I was freed, Abu Hassan, one of the Hamas terrorists, entered my cell and told me a deal had been signed and I was going home. He wanted to give me some 'advice.' He said, 'Go home, say goodbye to your parents, spend a few days with your family, pack a suitcase and leave Israel. "I asked him why, and he replied, 'As long as the State of Israel exists, this war between Israel and Hamas will never end.'"
"That conversation made it absolutely clear to me who we are facing and what Hamas is really about," Or stressed. "They have only one goal: the destruction of the State of Israel. Believe me, I was held by the enemy. I was behind enemy lines during a war. I heard what the world wants to do to the Jews. I heard their ideology, I saw their plans, I tasted their hatred. I experienced what war really is, and believe me, I hate war. That is precisely why this war must end with only one outcome. Our mission is to ensure that an enemy whose entire existence is devoted to spreading death cannot live alongside us. Because if they live there, we will not live here. We must complete the mission and destroy Hamas. The day Hamas no longer exists, the Middle East will be able to begin imagining a different, better future."
"More than two years completely cut off"
Or described the shock of returning to freedom after his prolonged captivity. "For more than two years, I had no idea what kind of reality you were living in. I didn't know what was happening on the streets of Israel, how the war was unfolding, what the struggle to bring the hostages home looked like, or whether and how the world was telling our story. When I came home, every day I learned a little more about everything I had missed. I heard about the horrors of October 7, about the shock and the national mourning. And then I heard the stories of all the heroes we simply call 'Israelis.' Teachers and bus drivers, engineers and artists, students and bankers. They all dropped everything and enlisted. They all became soldiers. They all became one."
"I remember that exact feeling when I crossed the border on my way home," he recalled. "Thousands of Israelis lined both sides of the road, waving Israeli flags, holding signs, singing, dancing and sending endless love. We were one again. Thousands of people I had never met, yet they were my family. A family that carried my voice when I could not speak. When someone holds you up when you cannot hold yourself up, that is solidarity in its purest form. That is Israel at its best, and it is a muscle we must keep exercising."
"We must not let hatred define us"
Or went on to warn against the return of divisive rhetoric in Israeli society. "Three years have passed since the ground shook beneath Israel, and sometimes it seems we need to remind ourselves just how extraordinary our potential is when we stand together, and how enormous the danger is when we are divided. While we sit here discussing the future, there are those who are trying to drag us backward, into the past. Back to an old, sad story that serves no one but themselves. The spin doctors who try to divide us and deepen the rifts between us. We must tell them clearly: We are better than that, and we are smarter than that. Our differences are a source of richness and an opportunity for acceptance. Diversity is a blessing, and the tension between us keeps us alive, and keeps us Jewish."
Or also addressed attacks on Zionism around the world. "We have seen how Zionism and Judaism are attacked in the name of false ideals and double standards. Antisemitism does not depend on context. Our responsibility is to present the facts so the world cannot distort the truth. If we do not, others will tell our story for us. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. Always remember: Judaism is not what the world wants to do to the Jews. Judaism is what Jews want to do in the world."
As his speech drew toward its conclusion, Or addressed Jewish communities in the Diaspora. "Diaspora Jewry is not a spectator in Israel's story. It is an inseparable part of that story, just as Israel is part of yours. Mutual responsibility and 'Love your neighbor as yourself' are not feelings that emerge only in times of crisis. They are a daily practice that must continue even in ordinary times."
"Today, a year after coming home, I am rebuilding my life," Or said emotionally as the audience applauded. "If this period has taught me anything, it is just how unpredictable life is and how we must never take anything for granted. I want to live life to the fullest, embrace my family and friends, and turn dreams into memories. The destination matters, but the people you walk alongside matter far more. I urge you: Choose to listen. Replace judgment with curiosity. And choose unity, a unity built on our right to be different from one another, together."
