Episode 49: Finding hope in the tunnel of Hamas, with Eli Sharabi

Episode 49: Finding hope in the tunnel of Hamas, with Eli Sharabi

On October 7, 2023, Eli Sharabi's home was surrounded by Hamas terrorists. As he was dragged into Gaza, he shouted to his wife Leanna and two daughters Noiya and Yahel that "no matter what they do to me, I'll be back."


It was only in February 2025, as he arrived back in Israel after enduring 491 days of physical and psychological torture at the hands of his captors, that he learned that his family was murdered that day.


Eli's new book, "Hostage," is the first comprehensive account of the experience of an Israeli hostage. It contains unique insights about the experience of captivity, about how hostages supported one another and searched for hope in the dark tunnels, about the world-conquering fantasies and fondness for American movies of their Hamas captors, about near-lynchings by ordinary Gazans, about Hamas's expectation that the war that followed their attack would be a short one and their desperate hope that Trump will force an end to the war.


This episode was sponsored by Doug and Fabienne Silverman in memory of the Jewish community of Rhodes, which was all but destroyed in the Holocaust. Fabienne’s mother Maggy’s family came from the ancient Sephardi community on the island, which the family visited in the summer of 2025 to learn about their roots.


If you like this podcast, please join us on Patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/AskHavivAnything⁠.


If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠.


Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

Avsnitt(106)

101: Will Trump finish the job in Iran? With Prof. Dan Schueftan

101: Will Trump finish the job in Iran? With Prof. Dan Schueftan

Trump says a deal may be coming to end the Iran war. Netanyahu says it could protect Israel’s interests. Iran’s regime says little that can be trusted. So what is really happening? Prof. Dan Schueftan...

25 Mars 1h 5min

100: They escaped Europe — then parachuted back in, with Matti Friedman

100: They escaped Europe — then parachuted back in, with Matti Friedman

In 1944, as the gears of the Holocaust turned toward Hungary, 32 young Jewish volunteers did the unthinkable: they parachuted into the genocide. They were a motley bunch, including a celebrated poet a...

22 Mars 47min

Episode 99: Are we winning?

Episode 99: Are we winning?

The rules of engagement just shattered. From the death of Ali Khamenei to the elimination of wartime mastermind Ali Larijani, Iran’s leadership hasn't just been eroded—it’s been erased. As the regime ...

18 Mars 38min

Episode 98: What Israel’s founding fathers knew about terrorism, with Dr. Bruce Hoffman

Episode 98: What Israel’s founding fathers knew about terrorism, with Dr. Bruce Hoffman

Terrorism scholar Dr. Bruce Hoffman joins the podcast to guide us through one of the most morally explosive chapters in Zionist and Israeli history: the Irgun, Lehi, the British Mandate, and the viole...

15 Mars 1h 16min

Episode 97: Can America and Israel finish the job? A conversation with John Spencer.

Episode 97: Can America and Israel finish the job? A conversation with John Spencer.

What is this war really about, and how does it end? We sit down with warfare scholar John Spencer to explore not just the military campaign itself, but the larger stakes of this war: Whether the US, I...

11 Mars 57min

Episode 96: The first war Israel fought in English, with Yaakov Katz

Episode 96: The first war Israel fought in English, with Yaakov Katz

Military analyst Yaakov Katz joins the show to break down the "first Israeli war fought in English" -- a total merger of Israeli and American military might against Iran. From the high-stakes testing ...

9 Mars 56min

Episode 95: The idea that broke the Middle East, with Dr. Micah Goodman

Episode 95: The idea that broke the Middle East, with Dr. Micah Goodman

In the middle of war sirens and missile attacks, Haviv Gur sits down with Israeli philosopher Micah Goodman for a sweeping conversation about one of the biggest questions of our time: Why have some so...

5 Mars 1h 6min

Episode 94: America's war, not Israel's

Episode 94: America's war, not Israel's

As missile sirens wail over Jerusalem and families crowd into bomb shelters on the eve of Purim, this episode steps back from the noise and the slogans to ask a harder question: What war are we actual...

2 Mars 36min

Populärt inom Historia

massmordarpodden
p3-historia
historiska-brott
kod-katastrof
motiv
olosta-mord
historiepodden-se
rss-historien-om
rss-seriemordarpodden
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-brottsligt
rss-massmordarpodden
krigshistoriepodden
rss-historiska-brottslingar
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
militarhistoriepodden
rss-arkiv-stieg
nu-blir-det-historia
palmemordet
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter