Freed Hostage Slams 'Farha' Film for Ignoring Oct. 7

Omer Shem-Tov, who was held captive by Hamas for 505 days, has penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal criticizing the film "Farha," which he believes overlooks the experiences of Israeli hostages and the events of October 7th. Shem-Tov, abducted from the Nova music festival, stated that while he has not seen the film, reports suggest it focuses on Palestinian civilian casualties during the war, largely omitting the Hamas attacks and the subsequent hostage crisis.

He recounted his own ordeal in Gaza, emphasizing the constant fear not only of his captors but also of potential Israeli airstrikes. "Israeli pilots above didn't know where I was," he wrote. "Sometimes, when my captors expected an Israeli strike, they would flee and leave me behind. If an Israeli bomb had killed me, Hamas would have won twice: I would have been dead, and Israel would have been responsible."

Shem-Tov contrasted this with what he described as the IDF's efforts to minimize civilian harm. He shared an anecdote where a captor's mother received a warning call from Israel to evacuate her home before an expected strike, while he, the captor's hostage, was left in a dangerous area. "There I was, a hostage, starved and tortured by her son, while my army tried to keep his mother alive," he wrote.

He argued that Israel's desire to bring hostages home was tempered by a commitment to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties, citing leaflets, messages, and evacuation orders as evidence of efforts to minimize "collateral damage." While acknowledging the gravity of Palestinian deaths, he stressed that Israel's risk-mitigation efforts should not be ignored.

Shem-Tov also described the standing ovation the film received at the Venice Film Festival as deeply painful. "As a former hostage, those minutes felt like a hail of knives," he stated. "Not because the film shows Palestinian suffering, which is real and deserves to be seen. What hurts is that the film, as reported, doesn't seem to see me."