A Nation’s Sanity Held Hostage–Why Bringing the Hostages Home is Crucial for the Rehabilitation of Israeli Society

Join us for this important learning opportunity as we hear from Israeli leaders on the ground about how bringing the hostages home brings us all one step closer to mental wellness and safety.

There is nothing “post” about Israelis’ trauma. Each day that the 58 remaining hostages are kept in Hamas captivity, the mental health toll on each hostage, the released hostages, their families, and the entire nation of Israel increases.
Releasing all of the hostages is one step towards releasing Israelis from the daily mental anguish of waiting for the remaining 58 hostages to return.

During this learning opportunity with Bo’u, we’ll learn from Israeli experts about how Israelis build resilience even amidst ongoing trauma. The Bo’u initiative was born in November 2024, almost spontaneously, in response to a grassroots need to raise awareness and promote public activism around the urgency of bringing the hostages home, protecting Israeli society, and addressing the broader implications for the Jewish people in Israel and the diaspora.
Their goal is simple: To assist in bringing back all the hostages through an agreement, as soon as possible.

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Learn more about The Bo’u initiative: https://www.freeusnow.co.il/en

Event Speakers

Dr. Amir Blumenfeld Pediatric surgeon and Lt. Col. (res.), former Head of the Trauma Branch in the Israeli Medical Corps. Dr. Blumenfeld has worked extensively on the medical assessment of hostages through the Hostages’ Families Forum, and later during reserve duty, where he authored the official protocol for the return of hostages. Dr. Blumenfeld has conducted research on the physical and mental impact of tunnel captivity and is a frequent media commentator on the subject. In November 2024, he founded Bo-u (“Let’s Save Them and Us”), a civil initiative to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight and mobilize Israeli public support.

Prof. Shira Yalon-Chamovitz is Dean of the Faculty of Health Professions at Ono Academic College. An Occupational Therapist and Service Accessibility expert, Prof. Yalon-Chamovitz is known as an academic leader, researcher, and social activist. She is widely recognized for her contributions to inclusive education and accessibility research, especially for people with cognitive disabilities. Since the October 7th terror attack, Prof. Yalon-Chamovitz has been an active and vocal advocate for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Through Bo-u (“Let’s save them and us”), she has been combining her professional voice and personal commitment to human rights in efforts to raise awareness and mobilize public action for the immediate release of all hostages.

Nadav Rudaeff (in the photo, holding the microphone), 37, interior designer, born and raised in Kibbutz Nir-Yizhak which is located 3km from the Gaza Strip.
Since October 7th Nadav’s “job” is to tell his father’s story and his part in the fight to bring home the people that have been taken hostage by Hamas.

Nadav’s father – Lior Rudaeff, a 61 year old, was a volunteer at heart.
For over 40 years he volunteered as a member of the first responders team of the Kibbutz.
He was a volunteer medic and an ambulance driver at Magen David Adom for more than 20 years, and if anyone needed any help with anything you could count on him to be there with a solution.
That’s also what happened on October 7th: When Lior heard the alarms and gun firing at the distance he left Yaffa, his wife of 38 years, at their home safe room and went out to see if he could be of any help.
In the meantime, Ben, Lior’s youngest son was at the Nova festival running for his life.
Luckily, Ben managed to escape unharmed.

On May 7th, 7 months after October 7th, Lior’s family got the official notice that Lior was killed in battle and his body was taken hostage.
His body is held in Gaza till this day.