Transcript [00:00] I spent 55 [00:04] days underground in terror tunnels. [00:08] There was no fresh air, no sunlight, no [00:13] sense of time. I was weak, dehydrated, [00:18] and starving. [00:20] I had to find a reason to leave. I had [00:24] never really spoken to God before. [00:27] But alone in that darkness, I began to [00:31] pray. [00:33] [applause] [00:34] >> Last month, I had the opportunity to [00:36] attend Turning Point USA's big [00:39] convention in Arizona called America [00:41] Fest. And there was a lot that went on [00:42] there. Maybe you heard about some of the [00:43] speeches in the media. But the most [00:45] inspiring speech given at that entire [00:48] event was given by Israeli freed hostage [00:52] Omar Shmtov, who was held in Kamas [00:55] captivity. He was kidnapped from the [00:57] Nova Music Festival on October 7th and [01:00] he blew my mind. You got to watch this [01:03] speech. We'll talk about it in a few [01:05] minutes. [01:07] And today I stand before you as a free [01:11] man. [cheering] [01:17] [applause] [01:20] But not long ago, I was a hostage in [01:24] Gaza. [01:26] On October 7, 2023, I was at a music [01:29] festival in Israel. [01:32] One moment I was dancing with my friends [01:36] and the next I was at a back of a pickup [01:39] truck being dragged into Gaza. [01:44] I spent 55 [01:48] days underground in terror tunnels. [01:54] There was no fresh air, no sunlight, no [01:58] sense of time. [02:02] Just darkness, [02:04] pitch black, [02:07] 24 hours a day. [02:12] I couldn't see my hand in front of my [02:15] face. At one point, I thought that I [02:18] have gone blind. [02:21] The hunger was constant. [02:25] I was weak, dehydrated, [02:29] and starving. [02:31] Many days all I had was a single cracker [02:35] and few drops of salty water. [02:40] But the hardest part was the loneliness. [02:45] Some hostages [02:47] were held together. [02:50] I wasn't. [02:52] For more than a year, I did not see [02:56] another hostage. [02:58] No voices, no faces, no human [03:02] connection, [03:04] just silence, [03:06] darkness, and fear. [03:10] I had to find a reason to leave. [03:15] Before my captivity, I never really I [03:19] had never really spoken to God before. [03:22] But alone in that darkness, I began to [03:26] pray. [03:29] Every day, [applause] [03:35] [applause] [03:38] every day I spoke to him. I whispered, [03:43] "God, [03:45] how are you? How was your day? Are you [03:49] okay?" [03:51] And in that darkness, I felt his [03:55] presence. [03:57] I thanked him for everything. [04:01] I thanked him for everything. [04:05] For the food, even though even though [04:07] there was almost none. [04:10] for a water even when it was salty, [04:14] for my life even though it was in danger [04:18] every single day. [04:22] About 100 days into my captivity, the [04:26] IDF fought just above me. [04:31] And when they moved on, they left behind [04:34] books. My my capttors brought them to me [04:38] and inside I found a small card with [04:42] Psalm 20. A card I somehow managed to [04:48] hold on to and I memorized it. [04:52] Some trust in chariots and some in [04:55] horses, but we will trust in the name of [04:58] the Lord our God. [05:03] >> [applause] [05:09] >> I didn't know it then, but while I was [05:13] whispering those words in Gaza, my [05:16] mother was reciting the same song in my [05:20] bedroom in Israel, praying for my [05:23] return. [05:25] [applause] [05:32] The psalm continues, "Lord, answer us [05:36] when we call, [05:38] God answered us. In those tunnels, I [05:43] found God and he saved me." [05:47] >> That's unbelievable. You know, Omar [05:50] Shamtov was held in captivity. He was [05:52] someone from a secular Israeli [05:54] background as he said that he had never [05:56] really prayed before. Let's also [05:58] remember that October 7th was a Jewish [06:00] festival. People who were already uh [06:03] very much practicing the faith were in [06:05] synagogue that day. They weren't at a [06:06] music festival down south. And Omar's [06:09] story is not unique. In fact, there's [06:13] been so many stories in Israel of [06:16] hostages who've come out and have [06:18] reconnected with faith. Just some of the [06:20] notable examples, Ellie Sharabi, who [06:22] wrote a book about being a hostage, an [06:24] amazing book. You should go find it. He [06:26] was a hostage for 491 days. And he [06:28] described himself as basically secular [06:32] before October 7th. And he said that [06:33] while being a hostage, daily prayer [06:36] became his emotional lifeline, giving [06:39] him structure, giving him hope when he [06:41] thought he might not survive. Or a [06:42] Gamburgger, [06:44] she was in captivity for 482 days. and [06:48] she has spoken about observing Shabbat, [06:52] observing the Sabbath in Gaza and [06:54] refusing to cook or perform certain [06:56] tasks on the Sabbath as an act of [06:59] spiritual resistance against her [07:01] capttors. And then there's the uh you [07:03] know, Aviva and Keith Seagull, a secular [07:05] Israeli couple. They were really from [07:07] one of the secular uh towns that was [07:09] attacked on October 7th. Aviva was in [07:12] captivity for 51 days. She came back in [07:15] in the first hostage deal near the [07:17] beginning of the war and she said that [07:19] she started reciting psalms from memory [07:23] uh that she remembered from earlier [07:25] years in her life. And she was psalming [07:27] she was reciting these psalms during [07:29] moments of extreme fear. [snorts] And [07:32] later also like what you heard from [07:34] Omartov she discovered that the same [07:36] psalms she was reciting were being [07:38] recited by her family members and her [07:41] husband Keith Seagull. He was held for [07:42] much longer. He was in captivity for 484 [07:46] days. And he he is described feeling [07:48] God's presence most intensely [07:50] underground, saying that this new found [07:53] faith gave him a sense of inner freedom [07:56] even when he was physically imprisoned. [07:58] Now, since October 7th, it's not just [08:00] the hostages and their stories and their [08:02] resilience, but throughout the state of [08:05] Israel, there has been uh a surge in [08:09] faith. there's been a surge in return to [08:11] Jewish practice and return to observing [08:13] the Sabbaths and and prayer and public [08:17] events to this uh to this effect. [08:19] There's really been a kind of revival [08:21] going on in the Israeli population ever [08:23] since October 7th. So, this is another [08:25] part of the of the untold story, sort of [08:28] the collateral stories that have [08:30] happened along with everything that's [08:32] happened since since October 7th. [08:33] there's been a lot more people attending [08:35] synagogue and many previously [08:38] non-religious people are openly speaking [08:41] about prayer and faith. Uh, and it's [08:44] it's one of the effects uh of everything [08:48] that Israel has been through since [08:49] October 7th.
