On Wednesday, March 5, President Trump welcomed eight men and women who had been held hostage by Hamas into the Oval Office. Most were released since January, having spent 16 months, more or less, in brutal conditions. To a person, they expressed their profound gratitude to President Trump, saying that they believe that it was his election as president that led to their freedom. Among those presentwas 20-year-old Naama Levy, an IDF soldier who had just arrived at the Nahal Oz base from her training course two days before Hamas attacked. She told the President that when she heard on the radio (in captivity) that he had been elected, this lifted the spirits of all the female hostages with whom she was held. They believed that President Trump had the power and determination to fight for their freedom. And he did.

(At the beginning of this podcast, you will hear the audio from this meeting with President Trump. To watch the video as well, please go to our YouTube channel. The link is below.)

This is the story of the tireless efforts of so many to ensure that the desperate plight of the hostages remains at the forefront of Israeli and international public attention, especially in America. There are legions who work quietly and anonymously on this life-saving mission of keeping the hostage story “fresh”. Among them is Moshe Lavi, brother of Lishay Miran Lavi, whose husband, Omri, remains in Hamas Hell. Moshe works closely with the Hostage Family Forum in Tel Aviv, an NGO that formed almost immediately following the October 7 massacre. His tenacity and dedication reflect the best of humanity. We speak with Moshe about how the Oval Office meeting came together, working with hostages, and his interactions with so many newsmakers behind the scenes, among them President Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff. It’s a fascinating discussion.

Listen here to the podcast version or tune into our YouTube channel below for the full audio-visual experience. And please, “like” our work on your platform of choice. Share. Comment. Thanks for listening.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Podcast Notes

* Video of Moshe Lavi speaking at CPAC Conference, NYC, Feb. 20, 2025.

* S3 E9 of State of Tel Aviv Podcast, featuring Lishay Miran Lavi:

* Full episode of Uvda (with English subtitles), featuring an hour-long interview with Eli Sharabi, which aired on February 27, 2025.

* “Sign of life” video video of IDF soldier and Hamas hostage, Matan Angrest, released by Hamas late last week

Representing the Lavi and Miran families is Moshe Emilio Lavi. .Moshe, IDF Captain (reserves), was born and raised in Sderot on the Israel-Gaza border and moved to NYC in September 2023, where he works as a management consultant. Since October 7, he has been advocating alongside his sister, Lishay, and Omri's father, Dani, in Israel, the US, and Europe to bring his brother-in-law Omri and all the hostages home with elected officials, diplomats, the traditional and social media, and the wider public.

Omri Miran, 47 years old, kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Omri, a husband and father of two young daughters, was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. His wife, Lishay Lavi Miran, 39, and their two daughters—Roni (3 years old) and Alma (1.5 year old)— survived the attack. The harrowing events unfolded when sirens sounded in Nahal Oz, waking the family. As hundreds of Hamas terrorists and their accomplices invaded Nahal Oz, they eventually barged into their house and held them captive for hours in their home and later on in the home of the Idan family. Omri was separated from Lishay, Roni, and Alma and was taken hostage with Tsachi Idan, Judith, and Natalie Raanan. Lishay and the girls were rescued by the IDF that evening after enduring unimaginable trauma.

The pace of events here is impossible. I’m keen to keep you updated and for now that means more podcasts than usual. Today I was lucky to catch a regular State of Tel Aviv guest and a man with deep knowledge of security and military issues… politics too…Ya’akov Katz. My head has been spinning from the pace of reports being made public by the IDF into the total failure of October 7 and I turned to Ya’akov to make it make sense. He did his best. We discuss the reports, which confirm what we already knew – but in writing. And then there was the unseemly brawl that broke out in the Knesset halls yesterday when bereaved family members were banned from entering the Visitor’s Gallery for a plenary session of Parliament. This was done at the direction of the Knesset Speaker, Likud MK Amir Ohana. Finally, we touch on the breakdown of the ceasefire with Hamas and the uncertain fate of the remaining hostages.

Thanks for being here. As always, we’d love your feedback. Have a listen.

You can listen to the podcast on the State of Tel Aviv site or, if you prefer, click on YouTube and have the full AV experience. Please like and subscribe. Ring the bell on YouTube. We’re working hard to build our YouTube presence and really appreciate your support.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to write a popular weekly column.

He is the author of three books: “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards—How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War.”

Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs.

In 2013, Yaakov was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Chaya and their four children.

Find Yaakov Katz on X @yaakovkatz

Every Saturday for the last 7 weeks Israelis have been riveted to their television screens, watching the release of hostages, alive and dead. I expect that many reading this introduction have followed the coverage and been horrified by the macabre propaganda theatre productions of Hamas. Today, after so much gut wrenching testimony, funerals, and cruel videos released by Hamas, State of Tel Aviv gets into this terrible time with a good friend of the podcast, Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow with FDD and so much more. We begin and end with a clip from a TV interview with recently released hostage, Eli Sharabi, that aired in Israel last Thursday. His appearance and what he revealed in his testimony shocked the world. Jonathan Conricus and I discuss the imperative of bringing every hostage home and how that squares with the competing necessity of destroying Hamas, once and for all. How did we get here, what is actually going on and where might we be headed?

Below is a link to our YouTube version of the podcast including the full five plus minute clip from the Eli Sharabi interview that went viral (an excerpt from the full, one-hour interview). You can watch this episode on YouTube if you prefer the audio-visual thing. Or keep it simple and listen to the audio-only podcast.

If you appreciate our work, please take a moment to like us on your podcast platform, YouTube, or wherever. And if you would subscribe to YouTube, that would be very helpful. We are working hard to grow. We - and the algorithm - need you! Thanks for your support.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank. He served in the IDF for 24 years, four of them as spokesman during the intense 11 days of the Guardian of the Walls Operation between Israel and Hamas. Now a reserve officer with the rank of Lt. Col., he is a sought-after speaker internationally and is frequently seen on major television news shows. Jonathan was born in Jerusalem to a Swedish father and an Israeli mother and spent his formative years in Sweden.

Jonathan Conricus on X: @jconricus

Ya’akov Katz and I pick up where President Trump left off. The horrific images of skeletal hostages released from Hamas captivity last Thursday were reminiscent of survivors of concentration camps during the Holocaust. President Trump and so many people reacted. Strongly. This insanity must stop. Release them all by noon on Saturday, he said... or else...

And that’s where PM Netanyahu and the Israeli government come in. Or else…what?

We get into the possibilities... and try to unravel what seems to be a tangled mess at the moment... if only Hamas would release the hostages remaining. If only…

You can listen to the podcast on the State of Tel Aviv site or, if you prefer, click on YouTube and have the full AV experience. The Viv and Ya’akov Show. Please like and subscribe. We’re working hard to build our YouTube presence and really appreciate your support.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to write a popular weekly column.

He is the author of three books: “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards—How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War.”

Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs.

In 2013, Yaakov was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Chaya and their four children.

Find Yaakov Katz on X @yaakovkatz

In late December, I met in Tel Aviv with Lishay Miran-Lavi’s brother, Moshe, who was visiting for a few weeks from his home in New York. He has been a prizefighter on behalf of his brother-in-law, Omri Miran, husband of his sister, Lishay, and father to two little girls, Roni and Alma. A few days after seeing Moshe, I drove to meet with Lishay at her home in southern Israel. Omri is not on “the list” of hostages to be released in the first phase of the so-called “deal” with Hamas. This rightly enraged Lishay. She works tirelessly to maintain attention, in Israel and internationally, on the plight of her husband and all the hostages. And she has a lot to say about the erosion of values that have always sustained this beleaguered nation: solidarity and the valuing of human life above all else. In her torment, Lishay questions whether Israel still embodies the ideals on which she was raised.

Now, after the last few weeks of hostage releases —culminating in the macabre theatrics when masked and heavily-armed Hamas thugs tormented three cadaverous male captives last Saturday—there is widespread rage among so many in the civilized world. The hostages are out of time. They are wasting away and being tortured. Starved. President Trump on Tuesday made very sharp comments about Hamas savagery that have ricocheted around the world. If you missed his remarks, we include the most searing in this podcast episode.

Lishay speaks about the agony of uncertainty but also her ferocious love and devotion, as a mother. There I was, a stranger, in her home, asking her all manner of questions that would—in a normal life—be intrusive. But her life is anything but normal, and she will do anything to bring her beloved husband, Omri, home from Hamas hell. Lishay and her family experienced unimaginable trauma on October 7, which she discusses, as well as the enormous effort it takes to push through each and every day. Her determination and composure are heroic. We see these traits in many hostages and family members, but it is no less extraordinary each time. Every day is fraught in a way and to a degree that is incomprehensible.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Podcast Notes:

Below, we set out a few of Lishay Miran-Lavi’s more powerful “X” posts (although it’s not easy to choose). I suggest you check out her feed and follow her if you do not already. It’s an easy way to support her fight.

October 5: Lishay's One-Year Twitter Post

February 8: Lishay posts about how her daughters need their father, just as Almog Levy - a three-year-old-boy whose father, Or, was released last Saturday, needed his dad

February 9: Lishay's speech at the weekly rally in support of hostages and families at Shaar HaNegev junction in southern Israel

February 9: “X” post about the testimonies of Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, who were released last Saturday

At the urging of his Mid-East Envoy and longtime golf buddy, Steve Witkoff, President Trump will watch a 47-minute movie today before he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the story of how that movie came to be made and the extraordinary effort of one Israeli man, Mattan Harelfisch, who came up with the idea and plan to do so. Within hours of the shock Hamas attack of October 7, video clips and news reports documenting the unspeakable savagery being committed went viral globally. Equally shocking was that spontaneous street parties broke out all over Europe, the U.K., America, Canada, and Australia. People were jubilant, celebrating the massacre even while it was ongoing. They called for the destruction of Israel. And, bizarrely, as they celebrated the carnage, they also denied that Muslims would commit such barbaric crimes. Speaking out of the other side of their mouths, Hamas supporters said, well, even if they did do these things, it was legitimate resistance.

Still in the fog and chaos of this massive terror attack, Israel found itself butting up against a wall of denial. Governments, NGOs like the United Nations, and civilians are saying that it never happened. This is where Mattan Harelfisch comes in. An Israeli man reeling in the immediate aftermath, Mattan could not believe that international media referred to crimes—that were documented by Hamas terrorists themselves—as things that “supposedly” occurred. Supposedly. The world was denying the horror. And so, Mattan spoke to IDF Chief Spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, and by mid-October, the 47-minute film of the atrocities was produced and screened for 20 international journalists in Tel Aviv. This is part I of the fascinating backstory of how and why the 47-minute film was made—the objectives, the process, the ethics. Part II of this fascinating discussion will drop in the coming days.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Podcast Notes

Additional STLV podcasts that may be of interest that relate to this topic:

We were fortunate to catch up with State of Tel Aviv regular and now a globally recognized A+ commentator and analyst on the Israel-Hamas conflict and more—Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus (Res.). He spoke to us on Saturday evening—after a very busy day doing media in Israel and abroad. The hostage release has been a spectacle unlike any other—when an Islamist terror group commands center stage on media worldwide—showcasing their grotesque propaganda machine and what appears to be surprising military prowess after 16 months of war. Hamas, which produced and choreographed three of the four release “ceremonies” to date, has shown the world that it remains a strong fighting force with discipline, might, and well-fed and outfitted terrorists—sartorially and in terms of weapons. Its smaller ally—Palestinian Islamic Jihad—demonstrated that they are far less “together.” During the release they organized last Thursday, two Israeli hostages, who had been held in isolation throughout their captivity, were nearly lynched by a braying mob that surged towards them. Conricus and I get into it all: who won, who lost, and what this all might mean for the rest of the hostages and the horrible war that never seems to end. And we also discuss the unfortunate reality that for months the Government of Israel rebuked its citizens for gathering at weekly rallies in support of the hostages and their families. It showed weakness, we were told, and the rallies played into the hands of Hamas. I never understood that analysis, but here’s what we know today: that those rallies were covered on Arabic radio and TV—and many hostages knew about them. And that advocacy was an invaluable morale booster for those in Hamas dungeons. It’s always fascinating speaking with Mr. Conricus. I expect you will find it so as well.

Below is a link to our YouTube version of the podcast; you can watch it there if you prefer the audio-visual thing. The introductions to the podcast and YouTube versions are different but otherwise the same content. We aim to please. If you appreciate our work, please take a moment to like us on your podcast platform, YouTube, or wherever. And if you would subscribe to YouTube, that would be very helpful. Numbers and algorithms—that’s what they tell me. Thanks for being here.

Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank. He served in the IDF for 24 years, four of them as spokesman during the intense 11 days of the Guardian of the Walls Operation between Israel and Hamas. Now a reserve officer with the rank of Lt. Col., he is a sought-after speaker internationally and is frequently seen on major television news shows. Jonathan was born in Jerusalem to a Swedish father and an Israeli mother and spent his formative years in Sweden.

Jonathan Conricus on X: @jconricus

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Israelis watched the video on October 7, 2023 in shock. A teenage girl, bloodied and terrified, was being pulled by her long hair from the trunk of a jeep by a heavily armed Hamas terrorist. Naama Levy, a newly conscripted IDF soldier, had been brutalized, and the short clip of her went viral globally. When they first saw it even her parents did not recognize their daughter. In a dramatic few weeks leading up to last Saturday, the fate of Na’ama—as well as four other female IDF soldiers also kidnapped on that dark day by Hamas—hung by a thread. Negotiations were so tense. So much was and is at stake. And Israel is forced to negotiate with one of the most barbaric terror groups in the world. Hamas is ISIS is al-Qaeda. Qatar, a backward country that supports Islamist terror financially and diplomatically, is the “neutral” mediator. It’s all like a bad hallucination, but true. Until the last moment on Saturday morning, there were so many snags that arose. Miraculously, they were overcome, and four of the five girls are home. Still to be saved are 90 hostages remaining in Hamas hell. Some are alive; many are not. We will get into the minefield that lies ahead in due course, but today we focus on the joy of the return of Naama, Daniela, Karina, and Liri. And what the return of all the hostages means for the people and state of Israel. It’s always enriching and interesting speaking with Yossi Klein Halevi, our fabulous guest today.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This interview with Karnit Flug was on January 2, shortly after the Government of Israel released all manner of economic statistics and announced some rather significant tax tweaks. Based on my anecdotal conversations with people in the professional, VC and tech sectors, there is growing concern that the new tax measures will have the most deleterious—and disproportionate—impact on small independent businesses in Israel. Karnit Flug, as you will hear, thinks otherwise. So, I will keep an eye on how this develops. And in the coming months I intend to publish more podcasts and YouTube videos focusing on the economy. It’s amazing how overlooked this critical topic has been throughout the war. Then again, our Minister of Finance is Bezalel Smotrich. He has a lot to say about annexing various territories, but he seems far less engaged when it comes to financial and economic matters.

We have included in the podcast notes links to two previous podcasts with Karnit Flug, from back in the days when judicial reform was seen to be the key economic threat. Then—and perhaps more so now—Flug is very concerned with the emigration of Israel’s most talented citizens to Europe, North America, anywhere but here. The pressure of serving most of the year in reserve duty, the huge stress this puts on families—and all that compounded by deep concerns with the political direction of the country and how that is impacting our economic power—well, many are voting with their feet. That trend is among the top economic issues and threats facing Israel today, in her view. Always enlightening to speak with Karnit Flug.

I had intended to publish this interview in the second week of January, but then all hell broke loose, as President Trump would say. His repeated warnings that the hostage issue had better be resolved by Inauguration Day made everything else seem less urgent. This entire country was on 24/7 hostage alert. The good news is that my discussion with Karnit was very macro, so the podcast remains as relevant today as it was a few weeks ago. Tune in.

Podcast Notes:

Two previous State of Tel Aviv podcasts with Karnit Flug:

Prof. Karnit Flug completed her five-year term as Governor of the Bank of Israel in November 2018. In March 2019 she joined the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University.

As Governor, Prof. Flug oversaw the design and implementation of Israel's monetary policy and served as the Economic Advisor to the government. She was widely credited for maintaining stability and supporting growth in the Israeli economy.

Prior to her appointment as Governor, Prof. Flug was the Bank of Israel’s Deputy Governor from July 2011. Between July 2013 and November 2013, she served as Acting Governor.

Previously, Prof. Flug became Director of the Research Department and Chief Economist of the Bank of Israel in June 2001 – a position she held for 10 years. She published numerous papers on macroeconomic policies, the labor market, balance of payments and social policies. In 1984, Prof. Flug started as an economist at the International Monetary Fund, before returning to Israel to join the Research Department of the Bank of Israel in 1988. In 1994–96, while on leave from the Bank of Israel, she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington D.C. as a Senior Research Economist.

Prof. Flug‘s contribution to social and economic policies in Israel has been significant. She served on a number of public and government committees, including the Committee on Increasing Competitiveness in the Economy, the Committee for Social and Economic Change ("the Trajtenberg Committee"), the Defense Budget Prof. Flug received her M.A. (cum laude) in Economics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1980, and her Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University in 1985.

In 2018, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University in recognition of her “exceptional stewardship of Israel’s monetary policy and economy.” In March 2019, Prof. Flug received the “Governor of the Year" Award for 2018 by the Central Banking Publication.

In each of her five years as Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Flug was ranked among the top 10 central bankers in the world by Global Finance magazine.

Prof. Flug is married with two children.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Ya’akov Katz is back to discuss the wild week we’ve had here. I caught up with him on Wednesday evening, Israel time, and had intended to focus on the resignation the day before of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. But, of course, we spent more than half our time discussing the terrible hostage deal that we agree was absolutely necessary. And we get into how the deal might unfold in the coming weeks. Then, we got into the Halevi thing. Herzi Halevi was in office on October 7, and shortly after the disaster, he said he was responsible and would resign. Soon. More recently he had indicated he’d step down in June, but that was suddenly moved up. It’s no secret that PM Netanyahu wants Halevi gone—and he has made it very clear that he assigns blame for October 7 to the IDF and Shin Bet. When it comes to his own government and the fact that he is the man at the top of the pyramid, Netanyahu balks. So. Halevi is going—but not until the first stage of this hostage deal is done. Minister of Defense, Yisrael Katz, is regarded as Bibi’s guy. He is also not taken terribly seriously by the defense establishment. That may or may not be fair, but it is a fact. The replacement for Halevi will be chosen by Netanyahu. Not Katz. And that person faces an unenviable challenge: restore public trust in the IDF and take a hard look at the army’s entrenched bureaucracy and how that needs to be revamped. As always, Yaakov and I spare no one and seem to agree on pretty much everything this week! Listen to the podcast here or watch on YouTube….link below.

State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to write a popular weekly column.

He is the author of three books: “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards—How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War.”

Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs.

In 2013, Yaakov was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Chaya and their four children.