Father of former Israeli hostage joins Columbia as a Jewish history professor

Father of former Israeli hostage joins Columbia as a Jewish history professor

(JTA) — Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of a former Israeli hostage, has been appointed to join Columbia University as a professor of history with a course load that includes instruction about modern Israel. Dekel-Chen’s son Sagui spent 498 days in captivity in Gaza after he was taken by Hamas from Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. Dekel-Chen became a persistent advocate for a ceasefire deal and a critic of Israel’s prosecut…

Israeli Hostage Describes 491 Days Of Horror And Hope

Eli Sharabi — who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and spent 16 months as a hostage before his release last year — spoke to an overflow audience Wednesday night, at the Westport Library. He is on a US speaking tour. Former CNN journalist and Westport resident Alisyn Camerota moderated the event. “06880” correspondent Robin Moyer Chung reports: After being greeted with a standing ovation, Sharabi began his harrowing story of survival. A…