Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host arts and culture editor Jessica Steinberg speaking with Idit Ohel, mother of hostage Alon Ohel.

Ohel talks about her son, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival.

Ohel discusses what she knows about the injuries sustained by Alon on October 7, including shrapnel in his eye, and she firmly demands that he receive medical attention.

She says she deeply believes that despite his injuries and captivity, he is surviving and will continue to do so until he's released home.

She explains what she's heard from released hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, who were kept captive with Alon, and we hear how Alon endures, playing imaginary piano on his chest as a musician, whistling favorite songs and talking about his family.

Ohel says that her son, like her, has always meditated, and she assumes he is still doing so as one of the many methods that has allowed him to survive so many months underground.

She discusses what it's like to mark another Passover without her son, and the need for the entire country and Jewish nation to rally behind the remaining hostages, in order to push the government toward an extension of the hostage deal.

So this week, we ask hostage mother Idit Ohel, what matters now?

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Idit Ohel, mother of hostage Alon Ohel, speaks during a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

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