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Omer Shem Tov spent 505 days in Hamas captivity after he was captured at the Nova Music Festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, living in the terrorist group's elaborate tunnel system under the Gaza Strip before President Donald Trump assisted in his release.
Now, the Israeli is a free man and delivered a speech at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Arizona, championing his message that the war in Israel is a war of good versus evil that is spreading across the world. The event has drawn widespread attention and support among conservatives following the tragic September assassination of its founder, Charlie Kirk.
"This fight is between good and evil. A fight against terrorists will turn hospitals into torture chambers, schools into military bases," he said. "Who starve their own people. Who murder young people at a music festival. Who kill Jews because they are Jewish, and Christians because they are Christian. This evil is spreading."
Shem Tov spoke to Fox Digital in a Zoom interview ahead of his speech, previewing that it would underscore that the war in Israel is a growing war on Western civilization overall, pointing to horrific attacks such as the fatal National Guard shooting in November in Washington, D.C. He also recounted his 505 days in Hamas captivity in the reflective interview and eventual release in February under the Trump administration.
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"As soon as Trump was elected, I saw the fear in their eyes," Shem Tov said of Hamas following the U.S. election in November 2024. "They knew that everything on ground is gonna change, that something else is gonna happen, and they were scared. They were very scared."
Shem Tov said that for roughly the last five months of his captivity, he lived in Hamas’ tunnel system beneath the Gaza Strip, where he was worked mercilessly.
"I was digging for them, and I was cleaning for them, and I was moving around bombs from place to places, and (carrying) food. I can tell you, just so you know, crazy amounts of food. Amounts of food that I've never seen before," he recounted.
Shem Tov learned about the American presidential election from his Hamas captors, who watched Al Jazeera on a TV kept in the tunnels. He said he overheard the terrorists discussing the election and "how they want Kamala to win."
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Once the election was decided, Shem Tov said, the terrorists changed the way they treated him, even offering him more food. He said he mostly survived on small biscuits throughout his captivity, despite Hamas controlling large amounts of food.
"Thank you, President Donald Trump, for our freedom," Shem Tov said as the crowds began breaking out into chants of "USA." "He fought for us. He brought us home."
Shem Tov told the crowds Friday in his speech that he had not prayed or spoken to God much before his capture.
"Alone in the darkness, I began to pray," he said, receiving praise from the crowd. "Every day, I spoke to Him. I whispered, ‘God, how are You? How was your day? Are you okay?" he said. "And in that darkness, I felt His presence. I thanked Him for everything. I thanked Him for everything. For the food, even when there was almost none. For the water, even when it was salty. For my life, even though it was in danger every single day."
The 23-year-old told Fox Digital that the assassination Kirk on Sept. 10 left him "completely shocked" even after experiencing his own horrors for months in Gaza.
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"I couldn't believe it at first, but ever since I got out of captivity, I noticed Charlie's work and what he's done for us. And it's just, it's amazing to see someone who is not Jewish, yeah he is a Christian and is American, is not related to Israel in in any way possible, and he's just is so supportive of us," he said.
"But then it reminds me what we're fighting for. It reminds me that, there is extremists … we just have to stand in front of them and and just fight for everything we've got," he continued.
Shem Tov said that he hopes his TPUSA speech and ongoing advocacy for Israel following his captivity leaves readers and listeners with the message that he and others are fighting on behalf of Western civilization in the face of terrorism.
He reflected on that message in his speech, pointing to the terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia that killed 15 and injured dozens of others, as well as the National Guard shooting in D.C. ahead of Thanksgiving that killed one and injured another.
"We have seen these same radical terrorists commit violence in Israel, in Europe, in Australia, and even here in the United States, including the recent attack in Washington, D.C., where two National Guardsmen were shot. This is the evil we are fighting. This is not a distant conflict," he said.
"And that is why Turning Point USA matters. Because you see the truth. And you stand for freedom," he told the crowds.
Shem Tov underscored his support of Trump in his interview with Fox News Digital, explaining that he did not know much about Trump and stayed out of politics ahead of his capture beyond that he was a supporter of Israel.
"I always knew that Trump was a big supporter of Israel. And for us as Israelis, you know, we … love Trump," he said. "He supports us, he's he's a great man, I think. I I also met him nine days after I was released, like I've said, and and I can truly say that he's he's an amazing person. He really, really cared about us."
"I personally told him that me and my family, and I would say all of Israel, believe that he was sent by God to release those hostages and to help Israel," Shem Tov recounted of what he told Trump during his meeting in February. "And he made that promise. He made that promise, he said that he will bring back all the hostages."
All hostages have been released except for the remains of slain police officer Ran Gvili. There were 168 hostages who survived in Gaza, and 83 who died. Israel released some 2,000 prisoners in October as part of a hostage exchange deal with Hamas to secure peace in the region.
English (US)