CIJR | Canadian Institute for Jewish Research
L'institut Canadien de Recherches sur le Judaisme

Isranet Daily Briefing

Daily Briefing: ISRAEL’S HOSTAGES AND THEIR FAMILIES: LIVING WITH TRAUMA AND UNCERTAINTY

Hamas open to extension of Gaza truce, release of more Israeli hostages | SOURCE: FMT
Hamas open to extension of Gaza truce, release of more Israeli hostages | SOURCE: FMT

DORE GOLD A’H:  July 25, 1953 – March 3, 2025 

Remembering Dore Gold – Visionary Scholar-Diplomat:  Dr. Dan Diker, Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Mar. 5, 2025 — The passing of Ambassador Dr. Dore Gold, among Israel’s great scholar-diplomats, is a terrible loss for Israel and the Jewish people. Dore embodied a rare combination of talents. He was a consummate scholar of Israel, the Middle East, and U.S.-Israel relations. He received the finest education, earning his BA, MA, and PhD at Columbia University. His doctoral dissertation under the renowned professor J.C. Hurwitz on Saudi Arabia provided him with a deep academic grounding in the Arab world and the Middle East. 

WATCH:  The Evidence that Jerusalem Is Jewish:  Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, YouTube, Dec. 10, 2017   On Sep. 5, 2017, Amb. Dore Gold presented 3,000 years of Jewish history in Jerusalem to the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London, England’s oldest think tank.

WATCH:  Jerusalem’s Past and Jerusalem’s Future:  Tikvah, Mosaic Magazine, July 2, 2018 — Among his other prominent roles in the public life of the Jewish state, Dore Gold has served as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and director general of the Israeli foreign ministry. In conversation with Eric Cohen, he discusses efforts to deny the Jewish historical connection to Jerusalem, 20th-century debates over the city’s fate, America’s decision to relocate its embassy, and the changing face of relations between Israel and some Arab states. (Video, 71 minutes. Options for downloading and streaming the audio are available at the link below.) 

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Schrödinger’s Trauma:  Pamela B. Paresky, Psychology Today, Mar. 3, 2025

‘Living in a Black Hole’: How Families of Hostages Grapple with Crippling Uncertainty:  Eve Young, Jerusalem Post, Feb. 20, 2025

‘Stripped of All Humanity’: Ex-IDF Mental Health Chief on the Trauma of Hamas’s Hostages:  Jerusalem Post staff, Jerusalem Post, Jan. 3, 2025

A Decade of ‘Unimaginable Suffering:’ Relief as Avera Mengistu, Hisham Al-Sayed Freed:  TOI staff, Times of Israel, Feb. 22, 2025 

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For Further Reference: 

Collective Ambiguous Loss After Mass Hostage-Taking in War: Exploring Public Mental Health Outcomes and Resilience: Einat Yehene, Shay Ohayon, Adi Yahav, and Hagai Levine, European Journal of Psychotraumatology, National Library of Medicine, Dec. 16, 2024 — Collective ambiguous loss can arise in communities facing the unresolved absence or presence of loved ones, marked by uncertainty and confusion. This study examines the impact of such loss on the general public in Israel after 251 individuals were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

How Long Can a Hostage Survive in Captivity? Expert Report on the Health Effects of 300 Days in Captivity Summary:  Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Oct. 7, 2024 — 300 days have passed since October 7, 2023, when more than 240 people were brutally kidnapped from their homes and a music festival in South Israel to the Gaza Strip, coincided with a massacre that killed around 1200.

Input for the Report on Hostage-Taking – Joint Submission of the IJL and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment:  IJL, Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Dec. 17, 2024   IJL and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum submitted a legal brief to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, calling for the recognition of the hostages and their families as direct victims of torture and inhuman treatment.

Former Gaza Hostages Face Severe Trauma, Children Suffer Most, Study Finds:  Adir Yanko, Ynet News, Aug. 12, 2024   Weight loss and complications resulting from poor hygiene are just some of the symptoms and effects diagnosed among 26 former Hamas hostages who were treated at Schneider Children’s Medical Center after their release in late November 2023 as part of the first hostage deal. The findings were published in the Acta Paediatrica journal.

Freed Israeli Hostages: What They Endured in Captivity and How They Survived:  AJC, Feb. 17, 2025   With the January 2025 hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas underway, details are emerging about the horrific conditions endured by living freed hostages during their captivity. Below are the profiles of the freed hostages and the known hardships they endured during their 15-months of captivity.

 

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