Freed hostage Eitan Mor, released last month from Hamas captivity, is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and plans to present him with a special dreidel symbolizing “light over darkness.”
His father, Tzvika, spoke about his son’s return to everyday life and the family’s new routine. “Eitan is finally enjoying his freedom,” he said. “He’s in rehabilitation with other former hostages, and the rest of the time he travels around the country and meets friends. He’s constantly with two very close friends and, of course, with the family.”
Tzvika said Eitan returned from Gaza speaking fluent Arabic — reading and writing. “He started writing his memories in Arabic, with a fully fluent Gazan-Palestinian accent,” he said. “There was a moment on his way to rehab: he took a taxi, and the driver was Arab. The driver spoke Hebrew to Eitan, and Eitan replied in Arabic. They began chatting, and when the driver asked where he was from, Eitan said, ‘Ana min Ghazza’ — ‘I am from Gaza.’ The driver got so frightened he pulled over, thinking he was transporting an illegal border crosser. Then Eitan explained how he ended up in Gaza.”
Asked how difficult it was to let Eitan travel to Washington, Tzvika admitted it wasn’t easy. “It’s tough, but he wanted it,” he said. “He bonded with his brother, his uncle and the whole group. They’re very close — especially Ziv Berman. Ziv and Eitan are best friends from captivity. I’m very happy for Eitan — that he’s free, happy, choosing when to wake up, where to go, what to buy.”
He confirmed there had been friction within the group around the flight. “Two former hostages demanded a private plane for the group instead of a commercial flight. It caused some aggravation. They also treated the head of the Hostages and Missing Families Directorate very disrespectfully — someone who could be their father, who works tirelessly for all of them. They later apologized. What matters most is helping them return to routine and find satisfaction in their lives.”
Tzvika said Eitan shares memories frequently. “He tells us everything. I keep saying, ‘Wait, wait — we have to write this down.’ When he returns from the U.S., I’ll sit with him and make sure nothing is forgotten. His memory is phenomenal — he remembers the exact day he was moved, what the captor called him. He went through extremely hard periods. Eitan suffered from hunger, lost 15 kilos of muscle. He was always health-conscious — and he was starved. He was thrown into a basement and so weak he could barely sit. He survived on three spoonfuls of rice for months.”
Eitan also endured near-misses during heavy bombardments. “He survived explosions, collapsing apartments, falling buildings,” Tzvika said. “He spent time with Az al-Din Haddad and constantly heard them planning the next October 7. Until the last moment, he was brought up from the tunnel, they were digging.”
On Eitan’s friendship with Ziv Berman, Tzvika said the bond grew naturally. “We haven’t met Ziv yet, but Eitan visited him. The circumstances forced them to be extremely close. But they didn’t need to try — they’re both easygoing. Eitan grew up in Kiryat Arba with strong right-wing views; Ziv grew up on a kibbutz with a completely different lifestyle. They’re best friends — and that’s not new in Israel. You see it in the reserves, and we need to bring that spirit into civilian life. Above all, we’re brothers.”