Eli Sharabi: Surviving Hamas and Choosing Life

Unpacking Israeli History

Unpacked

Judaism, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In one of the most powerful episodes of Unpacking Israeli History, host Noam Weissman sits down with Eli Sharabi, survivor of 491 days as a Hamas hostage, to share his story of faith, endurance, and unimaginable loss. In his bestselling memoir Hostage, Eli recounts life 50 meters underground—facing starvation and terror while clinging to small acts of hope. He speaks about refusing to abandon his Jewish identity, finding strength through prayer, and rebuilding life after learning his wife and two daughters were murdered on October 7 and burying his brother, murdered in Hamas captivity. Eli’s message—for Jews and non-Jews alike—is clear: stand united against terror, confront ignorance with truth, and never let despair win. Hostage, by Eli Sharabi Please get in touch at noam@unpacked.media. Check us out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, an OpenDor Media brand. ------------------- For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jewish History Nerds⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Soulful Jewish Living⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stars of David with Elon Gold ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wondering Jews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, I'm Noam Weissman, and this is Unpacking Israeli History, the podcast that takes a deep dive into some of the most intense, historically fascinating and often misunderstood events and stories linked to Israeli history. This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Carol and Adam Reich. To sponsor an episode of Unpacking Israeli History History or just to say, what's up?
0:23.9	Be in touch at Noam at Unpacked.media.
0:26.3	As always, check us out on Instagram,
0:29.2	on TikTok, on YouTube, all the places.
0:31.4	Just search Unpacking Israeli History and hit the follow or subscribe button.
0:34.4	Okay? Yala.
0:36.0	Let's do this.
0:57.1	Anomathir Zimbabot. Thank you. subscribe button. Okay? Yala. Let's do this. are prepared and anxious to meet the representatives of our neighbors without any preconditions. There are people in Israel and elsewhere say it's impossible to make peace between their ups and Israel or the Jewish people.
1:06.3	I think they're home.
1:10.0	If you followed unpacking Israeli history for a while, you know I'm drawn to patterns,
1:15.8	study history for long enough, and it's hard not to see them, echoes, cycles, recurring themes.
1:21.8	If you had asked me before October 7th to name a thread that runs through Jewish history,
1:27.4	I don't know, I might have said
1:28.4	resilience, education, family, and they're all right. But I tell you something, I'll tell you
1:35.1	something right now. I would not have said captivity. The story of the Jewish people begins
1:40.5	with captivity, with Israelites enslaved and beaten. The Jewish people became a nation the
1:46.4	moment we were led out of bondage. The exodus from Egypt is the birth of the Jewish people,
1:53.0	the foundation upon which all of our other stories are built. The Jewish people, we refer to this
1:59.5	moment automatically, without thinking much. Once we were slaves, now we are free. The Jewish people, we refer to this moment automatically without thinking much. Once we
2:02.5	were slaves, now we are free. But the pattern did not end in Egypt. Centuries after Moses led the
2:08.6	children of Israel out of bondage, the Assyrian Empire paid the Jewish people a visit. They didn't
2:13.5	manage to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah, but they laid waste to the Israelite
	...

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