Keith Siegel says Hamas captivity strengthened his faith
Former Hamas hostage Keith Siegel told the Haredi radio station Kol Barama on Wednesday that his faith was strengthened during the almost 500 days he spent in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
“As a boy, Judaism did not speak to me, but in captivity, I reconnected,” Siegel said in the interview, two days after he joined a special prayer service at the Western Wall late on Monday night for the release of the remaining 50 hostages still in Gaza after 690 days.
“Every day, I said ‘Shema Yisrael’ and I recited a blessing over the food. Since my release, I have continued with this spiritual strengthening,” revealed the former captive, who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship.
Throughout his captivity, which he said took him to 33 different places in Gaza, terrorists tried to convince him to convert to Islam, he said.
“They told me to repeat after them a sentence whose meaning I did not know,” Siegel continued. However, “the more they tried to make me convert, the stronger my feeling became that I am part of the Jewish people who have endured so much suffering.”
The former hostage explained he “drew great inspiration from all the Jews who suffered so much throughout the generations, and then I began to bless and to pray—and that truly strengthened me.”
Siegel in the interview urged the Israeli government to attempt to broker another hostage deal with Hamas, saying that “we have an opportunity to save people and bring the fallen to a sacred burial.”
Keith Siegel, 62, and his wife, Aviva Siegel, 64, were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel. Aviva was released on Nov. 26, 2023, as part of a ceasefire agreement.
‘I began to bless and to pray—and that truly strengthened me.’
Siegel was freed in a hostage deal on Feb. 1, 2025, along with Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon, after 484 days in Hamas terrorist captivity.
Siegel on Monday addressed U.S. President Trump in a video from the Western Wall, urging Washington to broker a new hostage agreement.
“President Trump, I am standing here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, the holiest place on earth for the Jewish people, the Western Wall, where tens of thousands of people have gathered tonight to pray for the safe return of all of the hostages, the hostages that are alive, the deceased hostages,” he said.
Siegel called on Trump to “bring an agreement together with Israel, the Israeli government. I trust that you can reach an agreement that will bring all of the 50 hostages home as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Fifty hostages remain in captivity in the Strip, including 20 to 22 who are believed to be alive.
