Freed Hostage Mia Schem Recounts Gaza Captivity, Criticizes 'Sheep Mentality'

Mia Schem, who was held captive by Hamas for 55 days after being abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, has spoken out about her harrowing experience in Gaza and the global rise in antisemitism. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Schem described the brutal treatment she endured, stating that her captors taught their children from a young age to hate and become terrorists, with parents taking pride in their children who killed Israelis. She recounted instances of severe deprivation, including being given food only once every two to three days by the wife of her captor, who was jealous of Schem being held in the same room as her husband.

Schem also detailed the cruelty of her captors' children, who would taunt her with food. She described being treated like an animal in a cage and noted that her captors' ideology glorified death, contrasting it with the Jewish value of being a good person first. Schem expressed disappointment with the musician Drake, who she previously admired and who once gave her a jacket, for his recent song that included a prayer for Gaza. She called the widespread antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment a "sheep mentality," where people follow others without understanding the reality of the situation.

Recounting the physical trauma, Schem revealed that her arm is shorter than the other because she was shot at close range and it was nearly severed. She managed to reattach it herself, losing approximately five liters of blood. Schem described the rapid onset of the abduction, going from dancing with her best friend, Eyal Tolepano, to being in Gaza within moments. She expressed her desire to move past the trauma, get married, build a home in Israel, and have children, acknowledging that she needs to heal herself before she can open her heart to a relationship.