One-Year Anniversary: Ex-Hostage Bar Kupershtein Leads Slichot Service at Hostages Square

Former Gaza captive Bar Kupershtein led a slichot prayer service at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, marking one year since his October 2025 release from Hamas captivity.

Kupershtein, a paramedic from Holon who was abducted from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attacks, spoke about the darkness of his captivity and the sustaining power of faith and public support. He was released in October 2025 and returned to Israel wrapped in an Israeli flag on November 2, 2025.

Attendees and remote appearances

Also present at the service were Kupershtein's mother, Julie, and fellow former captive Rom Braslavski. Ayelet Samrano, mother of the late Yonatan Samrano, and Michel Ilouz, father of the late Guy Ilouz, joined the ceremony via a live feed from the slichot at the Western Wall.

Remarks from Kupershtein

"In captivity, I understood what it truly means to be in the depths. To be beneath the earth, in the darkness, when no one above you can hear your voice, and to believe. To keep believing."

Kupershtein thanked his family, God, and the IDF and other security forces involved in bringing hostages home. He specifically acknowledged those who returned with physical injuries or post-traumatic stress, and he urged that Israel continue to remember those who did not return.

Released hostage Bar Kupershtein, wrapped in an Israeli flag, embracing his mother and father upon his return home in Holon, November 2, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

He praised the nationwide protests, prayers, and public displays of support while hostages remained in Gaza, saying the public's sustained attention "kept the flame burning" until the return of some captives.

Call to continue the search

Kupershtein also called for continued efforts to find Haymanut Kasau, an Ethiopian girl missing since February 25, 2024. "I know what it is like when a family does not know where their child is," he said, urging authorities and the public not to give up the search.

Remarks from Rom Braslavski

"I am very happy to be here, at Hostages Square, a place that symbolizes war and pain, and to say thank you," Braslavski said. "Thank you to the people of Israel who fought, and because of whom we are here."

He closed with a solemn reminder to honor and remember hostages who did not survive captivity: "We will remember them, love them, and honor them always."

The slichot service served both as a personal moment of thanksgiving for those freed and as a public reminder of the many families still waiting for answers.