"I understand what you are going through because I was there too," writes nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was released on Nov. 26, in a birthday card for Kfir.

Hamas has said that Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri were killed in the Israeli offensive that ensued, while their father, Yarden, survived. But in the absence of Israeli corroboration, relatives and friends back home have refused to let hope die for the whole family's safe recovery.

At the opening of the event, Prof. Reichman praised the Adelsons for having helped build the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship and the university, whose students rank seventh place in the world in the number of unicorns in colleges with fewer than 15,000 students. Sheldon Adelson's widow Dr. Miriam Adelson told the audience that Israel will prevail in the war, because "a nation that sanctifies life chooses life. Hamas cannot defeat the Start-Up Nation."

The attempt before the war to rehabilitate relations between Israel and Turkey stemmed from a clear Turkish interest. Erdogan wants to pave the way to American hearts under Democratic rule – especially since President Biden won the presidency – and is mainly interested in trade and military trade relations with the United States. The way there as Erdogan saw it: putting some warmth back into Turkey’s relations with Israel.