Ex-hostage Bar Kupershtein marks anniversary of release from Hamas captivity with slichot service

SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 02:07Former Gaza hostage Bar Kupershtein led a slichot prayer service as part of a night of thanks marking one year since his release from Hamas captivity at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday night. Kupershtein, a paramedic from Holon who had been kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the October 7 massacre, was released in October 2025.Also present at the prayer service was Kupershtein’s mother, Julie and former hostage Rom Braslavski.Ayelet Samrano, the mother of deceased hostage Yonatan Samrano, and Michel Ilouz, father of deceased hostage Guy Ilouz made a live appearance from the slichot service at the Western Wall.“In captivity, I understood what it truly means to be in the depths,” Kupershtein said. “To be beneath the earth, in the darkness, when no one above you can hear your voice, and to believe. To keep believing.”Released hostage Bar Kupershtein, wrapped in an Israeli flag, embracing his mother and father upon his return home in Holon, November 2, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)“Exactly one year ago, we were still there. We fasted on Yom Kippur. We prayed very, very hard. In a place where they tried to take everything away from us, faith was the one thing they could not take.”“It was what kept us going. And there was something else that kept us going in the tunnel,” he said, addressing the Israeli public. “You. When we came home, we understood how much you, the people of Israel, had kept that flame burning for us.”“With every prayer, every struggle, and every day that you refused to give up on us, you kept it burning until we came home.”Kupershtein thanked his family, God, the IDF and security forces involved in the return of the hostages, including those with PTSD and who have been physically wounded in the war, and added that while the hostages have returned, “we all have a duty to continue remembering those who did not get the chance to return.”He described the protests that had filled Israel’s streets week after week while hostages were still being held in Gaza.Not forgetting Haymanut Kasau“You went out into the streets week after week. You prayed. You cried out. You embraced our pictures as though we were your own children. You held up our families and did everything you could so that we could stand here today.”Additionally, Kupershtein made mention of Haymanut Kasau, an Ethiopian girl who has been missing since February 25, 2024.“I know what it is like when a family does not know where their child is. I know what uncertainty does to a family, day after day, night after night,” he said, urging for Israel to not give up on her either.“Haymanut is one of ours,” he said. “And we need her home.”Rom Braslavski calls to remember hostages killed by HamasIn his own speech, Braslavski echoed Kupershtein’s thanks for the Israeli public’s support for the hostages throughout his time in captivity. “I am very happy to be here, at Hostages Square, a place that symbolizes war and pain, and to say thank you,” he said. “Thank you to the people of Israel who fought, and because of whom we are here.”Braslavski ended with a call to remember the hostages who were killed by Hamas in captivity.“At the same time, I want to remember all those who are not here. Those who did not return alive from Gaza. I returned alive, but I will always carry on my shoulders the knowledge that there are those who did not,” he said.“We will remember them, love them, and honor them always. Thank you for fighting for them too.”Follow us on Google