Rubin Report - Dave Rubin - Brother of Hamas Hostage Shares His Heartbreaking & Personal Story

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March 12, 2024 - Rubin Report - Dave Rubin

21:02

Brother of Hamas Hostage Shares His Heartbreaking & Personal Story | Ilay David

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ilay david

16:09

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Speaker	Time	Text
unidentified		Thanks for watching.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		on Saturday, he said that they're shooting on them missiles and bombs, and they have to run away to the vehicles and escape.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		And about 8 a.m., the connection with him lost completely.
unidentified		Later, my daughter, she posted on Instagram his photo and asking if somebody saw her.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Some unknown number texted her and sent her a video and we saw him handcuffed on the floor of a dark room.
		It was very painful.
		Hamas is ISIS.
unidentified		Look at the scared look.
unidentified		One of many who went out to celebrate life at a party and became a tool in the hands of a despicable organization.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Leviathan, we love you.
		Keep that in mind.
		It's only a matter of time and stay strong.
unidentified		Wish we were meeting under better circumstances.
		I suppose you probably hear that a lot.
		Yeah.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		All the time.
unidentified		Yeah.
		I mean, just tell us your story.
		We just want to listen for now, and maybe we'll ask you some things at the end.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		So, my name is Eli David.
		I'm 26 years old, and I'm here to talk about my brother, my younger brother, Eviatar, which is a gentle, very gentle young man Living his life, I think, to the fullest.
		He loves music.
		He plays the guitar.
		He's very talented on the guitar.
		He loves to celebrate.
		He goes to parties with his friends all the time.
		That's his thing in the family.
		He's that person that... If you are his friend, you know that he's the one to go and talk to about your problems.
		If you need any advice, he will always be there to listen.
		And I meet his friends all the time.
		Unfortunately, I didn't know his friends that good before.
		But that's the story they keep telling, that right now their psychologist isn't around.
		And I actually miss the most the times that we used to play together and sing together.
		I play the piano, he plays the guitar, and every Friday night we sit together to play and sing.
		And that's what I miss the most.
		So, on October 6th, I got home to my parents' house.
		It was Friday night and we had Shabbat dinner every week.
		My brother was really in a hurry because he wanted to go early to the festival and built his tent and everything before the festival starts so he barely touched his food and I gave him a hug and a kiss and I said Shabbat Shalom like every week and he took my mom's car and picked up his friends and just went south and we woke up at 6 30 a.m.
		on October 7th to the sirens actually We live not far from Tel Aviv, a little bit up north from
		here, and the rockets got to us as well.
		So we ran to the bomb shelter and my mom immediately...
		...told us to go away, but they didn't know at that time what was really going on.
		Nobody did.
		So, we didn't panic at first.
		And only at 7.42 when he sent his last message, he sent something like, we're escaping, we're going to the cars to escape.
		That was his last message.
		And after that, we saw what's going on on the news.
		We saw all the killing.
		And we saw many people are hiding.
		And at 9am, one of his best friends, one of his best friends, Ron, she called her mother, crying, screaming.
		About shooting around her, explosions.
		And we understood that something terrible is about to happen.
		I actually, at that point, I had a stupid game with my younger sister.
		I asked her, what does she prefer?
		A dead brother or a hostage brother?
		And I was prepared in my mind for the worst.
		Like I was prepared in that point to really bury my younger brother.
		Um, cause that's how my mind operates.
		And it's 2 p.m.
		We got screenshots.
		Um, just someone sent my sister, A screenshot from a video which I would like to show you.
		so you can see what I saw at that moment.
		And she screamed that all of us should come and see what she saw.
		And we all recognized my brother immediately.
		And then we asked for the full video and that person sent us two links to different videos.
		Both of them Hamas posted on Telegram.
		At the first one, we could see my brother being held, dragged inside Gaza by a terrorist.
		And his shirt was torn and he was tied up behind his back.
		And on the second video we saw him.
		The screenshot was taken from that video.
		We saw him beside four other young men.
		They were all tied up.
		Some of them were beaten.
		Some of them sitting.
		Some of them lying on the floor.
		The cameraman was making sure that we will see their faces and recognize them.
		And one of them was my brother, looking straight into the camera with primal fear, really.
		I think I never saw someone that terrified in my life.
		And next to him was his best friend from kindergarten.
		And I felt at that moment, I felt mostly angered.
		Mostly anger I think I was furious.
		I was cursing like five minutes straight.
		I was angry about what happened to my younger brother.
	I was angry about myself because I felt like I failed.
	To protect my younger sibling.
	And I felt helpless, like there's nothing I can do.
	Like really, the floor was crumbling under my feet.
	But I think a day after that, I actually saw on TV Two women talk about another hostage and they showed a video and it was the same video clip that I saw my brother in so they left the phone number on the screen and I immediately called her and it was that other young man's older sister and I was like, I was crying to her on the phone and she was crying to me on the phone
	But at that moment I understand how big this event is.
	I understood that it's huge and I'm not alone in that situation.
	So after the first week, which was really terrible, I joined this place, the Families Forum.
	And I really, I try to do the best to fight for the life of my brother and the other hostages.
	We know right now, we currently, beside the videos, we have no sign of life.
	And we actually have no idea about their well-being.
	And we can only assume, and we heard also from the hostages that came back, All the terrible things that happen there.
	The mental abuse, the physical abuse.
	And I personally feel that the time is running out.
	And every day that we're waiting, every day that passes, the danger to the lives increases.
	And I also understand that we cannot do it alone.
	and we need all the support we can get and we have to fight
	We have to fight it.
	We have to fight evil and bring them back home, all of them, as soon as possible.
	And I thank you for coming here and listening and supporting us.
	That's important.
	And you can ask whatever you want.
unidentified		Yeah, I mean, I'm speechless.
		I don't know what to say.
		It's a.
		What do you what do you?
		I don't know if this is the right question, but what do you want to happen right now?
		Is there anything you think could be done differently right now?
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Actually, I don't know.
		I really don't know.
		I'm not a politician.
		I know nothing about strategy and war and negotiation with terror organizations.
		So, I don't know.
		I can only believe that my authorities and other authorities are doing the best they can.
		But I feel like every minute that they're not here, it's failure.
		All of us, we are failing right now.
		as bringing them back home.
unidentified		I don't know, really.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		There's a better way.
unidentified		How do you feel about just sort of what's happened in Israel since then?
unidentified		Like what's going on here at the Square, what's going on literally in this room, and just the feeling in the country right now?
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		At first it felt like everybody, we connected again, all of us, all the parts of the Jewish state, Arabs and Jews and, you know, religious and non-religious.
		And also us, all the hostages' family, we became, it's more than 100 families right now, and we became like a family.
		Like a big community.
		The saddest community ever.
		And I think that's the magical things.
		One of the magical things that happened here at the Hostages Families Forum.
		That sense of togetherness and supporting each other I even slept a couple of weeks at the square.
		We had like a family gathering there and something like 10 or 20 family members were sleeping there for several weeks.
		And I keep speaking with many, many groups.
		I think I spoke to more than 1,000 people in the square.
		And schools and even soldiers, like everyone who was willing to come and listen.
		I was there to speak with them.
		And they give us also the sense of meaning that we're doing something meaningful.
		We meet people like you.
		which we hope you can actually have influence.
unidentified		Yeah.
		What do you want the world to know?
		What would you want to tell everyone?
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		It's been so many days.
		So many days.
		And I was sure it will be Much, much, much shorter.
		It will end in a week or two.
		And here we are, five months after that, and my brother is still being held captive by the organization.
		And he and other 133 are being held captive.
		And it's impossible that we live in a world which people who just lived their lives or
		went to celebrate at a peace festival were stolen from their lives.
		Just people having fun or living their lives.
		And right now they're going through hell for so many times.
		And we just keep with our lives.
		And the world didn't stop.
unidentified		And that's crazy.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Because my life stopped.
		My family's life stopped.
		And so many others.
unidentified		So... You don't have to answer this if it's too personal, but I wonder if it's changed you religiously or spiritually or however you would answer that question.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		That's a good one.
		I think I more appreciate now prayers.
		I I don't practice religion, but I have many friends that do, and also family members.
		And I truly believe that it has something to do with reality.
		I mean, right now we need all the help we can get.
		But me personally, I didn't become a better believer in God or something.
		I do believe that it will end and it will have a good ending.
		I can feel my brother breathing and alive and I know that he will come back to us
		and I know that we will take care of him and that he will be okay.
		Because if I would believe otherwise I just...
		Couldn't wake up in the morning.
unidentified		How do you keep your sense of humor?
		Why are you still funny?
		Um...
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Maybe... maybe it's a defense mechanism.
		I mean, there's so many defense mechanisms that I think I'm using right now.
		But that one specifically, it helps me to live my life.
		To go through all that.
		I mean, it's a nightmare, so I have to do something to make it a little easier.
		Like I try to eat and sleep and exercise, and it's all for my brother.
		I know that he will come back and I need to be there for him eventually to support him.
		So that's like, I only think about him.
unidentified		Well, thank you for sharing that.
unidentified		I mean, how many times have you told this story now?
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Dozens of times.
ilay david ▲ ● ▼		Maybe even more, really.
unidentified		And it's not easier.
		Yeah, it doesn't get easier.
		Well, thank you.
		We really appreciate it.

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