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Former Hamas Hostage Emily Damari Undergoes Hand Surgery for Injury Sustained During Oct. 7 Attack
Former hostage Emily Damari is reunited with her mother, on Jan. 19, 2025. Credit: Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit.
Former hostage Emily Damari underwent surgery in Israel last week for a hand injury inflicted upon her by Hamas terrorists when she was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, and in a chilling post on Instagram, she shared details about the inadequate medical care she received during her captivity.
The 28-year-old – who lost her two middle fingers while being taken captive during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks – said on Monday she takes pride in her disability and also shared photos from the surgical room at Sheba Medical Center’s Department of Hand Surgery, where she had her procedure this week. Remembering her time in captivity, she talked about being transported by Hamas to the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip for a different kind of “surgery.”
“‘Hi, I’m Dr. Hamas,’ that’s what the doctor at Shifa told me before the ‘surgery,’” Damari recalled. “Seventeen months have passed since then, and now the moment I’ve been waiting for has arrived — the real surgery, at Sheba Medical Center.”
“Today, after 17 months, my moment has arrived — to replace Shifa with Sheba and finally receive proper treatment,” she wrote. “I have come to terms with my injury, truly. I know there is still recovery ahead, but this time, I am surrounded by family and friends I love, and that’s what matters. I am proud of my scars, and with them, I will triumph.”
A British-Israeli dual citizen, Damari was one of three civilian hostages released from Hamas captivity in mid-January as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization. She was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Her two middle fingers had been shot off by Hamas-led terrorists during the Oct. 7 attacks and she was also shot in the leg. In her Instagram post on Monday, she talked about the procedure she had at the Shifa hospital in Gaza the same day as her abduction.
“I remember sitting in Shifa on October 7th, looking at a small window there, feeling my hand shattered and my leg shot from the bullet that hit Choocha, my beloved dog, the most precious thing I had for 11 years,” she added. “In all the chaos, I didn’t even have time to process it. After all, I was kidnapped to Gaza along with two good friends, my neighbor was murdered, I left my mother, my brother, his wife, and their daughters behind — who knew what would happen to them.”
“Then that moment came — they took me into the operating room, with a corpse in front of me,” she added. “I saw the blue sky, which should have been gray on such a day. I prayed to God to protect me. And then I woke up to Dr. Hamas informing me that I no longer had two fingers, and that the wound on my leg remained open with four stitches instead of sixteen.”
Damari concluded her Instagram by quoting a Hebrew Psalm which means in English: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” She also thanked the “incredible” doctors at Sheba Medical Center who treated her as well as the “amazing team of nurses.”
In a post on X, Damari shared a photo of herself after her recent hand surgery, showing off her two new fingers. In the caption, she again talked about “embracing” her scars, saying, “to me they represent freedom, hope, and strength.”
“I thank G-d, the IDF, and everyone who fought to give me my life back. Now let’s bring all the hostages home,” she said.
The post Former Hamas Hostage Emily Damari Undergoes Hand Surgery for Injury Sustained During Oct. 7 Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.