“I am Omer Shem Tov, and I am free,” he told participants at the protest rally in Herzliya.
By Rachel Avraham
Omer Shem Tov, who was abducted from the Nova Music Festival and recently released from Hamas captivity, addressed a protest rally in Herzliya, which has been held every Thursday in Dancers Square since he was abducted, Arutz Sheva reported. However, this time, Arutz Sheva noted that he attended the protest rally himself in order to announce his freedom to the world.
“Blessed is He who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time,” Shem Tov told the rally, Arutz Sheva reported. “I am Omer Shem Tov, and I am free. I have no experience on stage, and the last time I stood on a stage was on Hamas’s stage, so forgive me if I’m emotional about this moment.”
“If anyone wants a kiss on the head, they can come over here,” he adds, referring to the moment in his release when he was directed to kiss two of the masked Hamas gunmen on the top of their heads, the Times of Israel reported. His mother takes him up on the offer, and he kisses her forehead. “I am Omer Shev Tov, and I am free!” he says to applause, the Times of Israel reported.
“I was kidnapped on October 7th, and for 505 days I was held captive. I never lost hope. I always believed I would return home, and I always felt the protection and guardianship over me, despite there being very difficult moments,” Omer Shem Tov said at the rally, Arutz Sheva reported. According to the Jerusalem Post, he was initially held hostage with his friends Maya and Itay Regev, who were released in November 2023.
“After Itay was returned, I felt very lonely,” he recounted. “I was transferred to a tunnel 40 meters deep, alone, in a closed cell for 50 days, with little food and no light. I had a flashlight that I found, and I used it for a few minutes each day so the battery wouldn’t run out. On the 50th day, when I was on the verge of complete despair, after five days in total darkness, when all I had left to eat was one biscuit a day with a little salty water to drink, I screamed to God to get me out of there because I couldn’t take it anymore. Five minutes later, my captor came and told me I was being moved to another place.”
The tunnel he was transferred to next was slightly better than the previous, the Jerusalem Post reported. As Shem Tov told the crowd, “Even in tunnels – there’s a bad situation, and there’s a very bad situation. Thank God, in the new tunnel I had light, and the amount of food increased.”
According to Arutz Sheva, he told participants at the rally, “I spent the next 400 days there alone, and every day I imagined the moment of my release and the things I would do when I was free. I imagined resting my head on my mother’s knees as she stroked my hair, just as I always loved. I imagined riding with my father on his motorcycle, feeling the wind and freedom. I imagined how Dana, Amit, and I would sit in the living room watching a movie together with popcorn, and the walks I would take with Lucas in the fields.”
“Then imagination became reality, and thank God I am here – and I am here for all those left behind,” he told the participants at the Herzliya rally, Arutz Sheva noted. “I know what they’re feeling, and I understand how urgent it is to get them out of the hell they’re in. Every day there, it’s unclear if you’ll remain alive or die from hunger or physical and mental abuse. We must get everyone out of there – the living for rehabilitation, and the deceased for burial.”
He concluded at the rally: “And to you all, I want to say thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for supporting, wrapping, and embracing my amazing family. Every prayer or energy you sent me – I felt it, even when I was in the darkest place. I felt a spark of light, and that’s thanks to you. I thank you for all the love you shower upon me, and I know each and every one of you deserves a big hug. Thank you for understanding that I need a little more time. I really love you all. Am Israel Chai!!!”
