UCLA’s student government condemned a recent campus event featuring former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, labeling the speaker selection as “selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence” and “a troubling disregard for Palestinian life.”    

In an undated letter to UCLA administration, as well as the organizers of the event — UCLA Hillel and the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies — and “affiliated campus stakeholders,” the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council wrote that it “condemns” the April 14 event, held on Yom HaShoah, which was titled “505 Days in Captivity: Omer Shem Tov’s Testimony of Resilience.” 

The council represents over 29,000 undergraduates at UCLA. 

“While we affirm the humanity of all people impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence. Israel is currently continuing to carry out what has been widely identified by human rights advocates as a genocide in Gaza, while also expanding its illegal military campaign into Lebanon. In this context, elevating a single narrative, absent of critical political and humanitarian framing, serves to legitimize and normalize these ongoing atrocities,” the letter states.

“Institutional sponsorship of this event reflects a troubling disregard for Palestinian life … Universities must not be complicit in the production or amplification of one-sided narratives that erase systems of oppression and occupation,” the letter continued. “USAC calls on UCLA to immediately reconsider its role in sponsoring future programming that advances incomplete and harmful representations of ongoing violence.” 

“Hillel at UCLA would like to apologize for absolutely nothing,” the group’s executive director, Daniel Gold, told Jewish Insider. 

“Members of UCLA student government have once again shown they are anti-dialogue, anti-learning, anti-truth, anti-student, and anti-Jewish in condemning our beautiful event last week with Omer Shem Tov,” Gold said.

Shem Tov was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023, and held captive in Gaza for 505 days. 

A spokesperson for UCLA told JI, “The event’s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we support. We stand by UCLA Hillel, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UCLA Chapter of Students Supporting Israel’s invitation to have this very important dialogue.” 

“We will review the process by which this letter was issued. The condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community,” the spokesperson said.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk spoke at the event, introducing Shem Tov.

The federal government has been in a monthslong legal battle with UCLA, including a February lawsuit alleging that the campus failed to protect Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination. 

The IDF announced on Monday that it had uncovered the remains of deceased hostage Ran Gvili at a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City and would be bringing them back to Israel for burial — recovering the final hostage of the Gaza war and marking the first time since 2014 that no Israeli captive, alive or deceased, is being held in the enclave. 

Gvili, a 24-year-old member of the Israeli Police Special Forces, died in combat while protecting Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel during the morning of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. His body was then abducted by Hamas and taken into the Gaza Strip where he was buried by the terrorist group.

Dentists and forensic experts deployed to the cemetery were able to identify Gvili’s remains after the IDF had tested hundreds of bodies, according to The Times of Israel. In return, Israel is prepared to hand over at least 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the deceased hostage Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili, that their loved one has been identified and will be returned for burial,” the IDF said in a statement. 

Addressing members of the Knesset on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “My friends, members of the Knesset, a short while ago we returned Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. I commend the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and the ISA [Shin Bet intelligence agency] for the perfect execution of this sacred mission … We all wore the [hostage] pin, and now that the mission is complete, the time has come to remove it.” 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also thanked those “involved in the operation,” adding that the people of Israel are “moved to tears” and removed his own yellow hostage pin in a video. 

“Finally, Ran has been returned home to his family in Israel,” said Herzog. “After many difficult years, for the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza. An entire nation prayed and waited for this moment.” 

Hamas had held several Israeli hostages for over a decade, including Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who crossed into the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and were held alive by the terror group, as well as the remains of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. All four were returned to Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7, either through hostage-release deals or recovery efforts by the IDF.

Prior to Gvili’s return, Hamas had been accused of intentionally delaying the release of the Israeli hostages in order to prolong its survival and gain leverage. However, Trump told Axios that the terrorist group helped locate Gvili’s remains.

“[Hamas] worked very hard to get the body back,” Trump said in an interview on Monday. “They were working with Israel on it. You can imagine how hard it was.”

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that the recovery of the final hostage body proves the group is committed to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire. 

“The discovery of the body of the last Israeli captive in Gaza confirms Hamas’s commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, including the prisoner exchange,” Qassem said in a statement. “Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and ensuring its success.”

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced earlier this month that President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan is moving into Phase 2, a shift from a ceasefire and hostage release to the demilitarization of Hamas and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip — a pivot that could be accelerated by the recovery of the last hostage.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement to Jewish Insider, “At long last, after 843 days, the body of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas, is home. It has taken far too long, but finally, all those who fought of the release of hostages can breathe a sigh of relief.”

“I will never forget meeting with the hostage families for the first time in Israel just days after Oct. 7. They have fought bravely and tirelessly for the return of hostages and did not give up until every single hostage was brought home. Today my heart is with all of the hostages, their families, and those who advocated for their return who can finally begin on the path to recovery and healing,” Schumer continued.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also expressed relief for Gvili’s return on social media, noting that the former policeman “epitomizes the heart and soul of Israel.”

“It is with joy and deep sadness that the body of Ran Gvili has been recovered by the Israeli government, allowing him to go home and receive a dignified burial,” Graham wrote. “He fought like a tiger and to the death, taking terrorists down with him. His love for Israel, the one and only Jewish state, consumed his being, and he made the ultimate sacrifice.” 

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, also welcomed Gvili’s return in a post on X, adding that “healing can begin.” 

“This is the moment we’ve prayed and fought for over the last agonizing 843 days,” Deutch wrote. “I’ve come to know so many families of the hostages over the past two years and I hold them all in my heart today.”

The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel left children living near the Gaza border with significant emotional baggage — whether they themselves were kidnapped, had a loved one taken hostage or killed, or had to evacuate their home — and their parents and caregivers tasked with helping them regain hope and resilience.

Lishay Miran Lavi, whose husband, Omri Miran, was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 738 days, sought to help children deal with loss and uncertainty related to Oct. 7 and beyond, with her new book, Mojo’s Return: A Story of Resilience and Hope, which was published in Hebrew and English in November.

On Oct. 7, Miran, Miran Lavi and their daughters, then ages 6 months and 2, were in their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz when Hamas terrorists attacked. Terrorists entered their home and forced a 17-year-old neighbor, under threat of death, to tell the Miran family to come out. The terrorists held the family and other hostages in a nearby home for several hours, broadcasting the scene on Facebook Live. They later kidnapped Miran and others to Gaza, leaving his wife and daughters on the kibbutz. Miran Lavi and her daughters, Roni and Alma, were rescued by IDF soldiers that evening and were evacuated to Kibbutz Kramim, near Beersheva, where they have lived ever since.

Miran Lavi began working on the book with her New York-based co-authors Melissa Stoller and Mary Millman about a year ago, with assistance from ANU – The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, as a way to discuss what happened to her family with her two daughters, who were by then 4 and 2. 

Proceeds from the book will go to children’s resilience centers near the Gaza border.

“It’s a tool to reflect what happened for the girls and help them deal with the fact that their dad [was] not there,” Miran Lavi told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “It’s for my girls and for everyone’s children who experienced Oct. 7 with a great loss, like a father or uncle who is not coming back because he was murdered, or fell in the war.” 

Mojo’s Return tells the story of a father, mother and two girls who were celebrating a holiday together when a storm hits their kibbutz. The storm upends the kibbutz, destroying many homes, and the father and the family’s dog, Mojo, disappear. Family, friends and strangers start hanging up signs with the father’s name and photo, and the girls would call out at night and say they love their father. Mojo makes his way back to the kibbutz, injured, but months pass and the father does not return. The mother and girls try to rebuild their lives and do fun things such as baking and going on picnics, and they draw pictures of what they did for their father to see when he comes home.

The story ends inconclusively, with the girls and mother sitting on their doorstep with Mojo, hoping that “a new day of sun will arrive.” 

The co-authors finished writing the book, which was also meant to bring awareness to the hostage crisis, when Miran was still held in Gaza, but it was published weeks after he was freed on Oct. 13, 2025.

Still, Miran Lavi chose to keep the open-ended conclusion to the story.

“The book came from my personal story and everyone’s story of Oct. 7, but it can be for anyone and anything, so any ending could happen. We got a happy ending, but that does not always happen,” she said.

Miran Lavi said that she and her daughters “lived with uncertainty for over two years and had to deal with it in different ways,” and the book addresses such situations.

Mojo was inspired by the Miran family’s real dog, also named Mojo, who like his eponymous book character went missing after the Oct. 7 attacks. Miran Lavi thought Mojo was lost or killed, but he was returned to the family days after the attack. He died in May.

“Mojo was really part of the family,” Miran Lavi said. “Mojo’s return gave us a lot of hope after the early days of chaos and unclear emotions. We didn’t know if Omri was alive or not, but it was very symbolic for us that Mojo was found. … It gave us hope.”

Miran Lavi and her co-authors wrote the book in Hebrew and English simultaneously, and released it in both languages.

“The story of Oct. 7 is not just for Israelis,” she said. “The book touches on so many things for children who experienced loss anywhere in the world.”

Miran Lavi has received videos from other families who read the book.

“It’s moving to see the response to something that I created. There are children who said it made them think about lost toys, or a dog that died, or an uncle or father who fell in the war. Everyone takes it to their own place,” she said.

The first person to read Mojo’s Return to Alma and Roni was Omri, after his return from captivity. Miran Lavi recounted that 2-year-old Alma’s reaction was: “But dad came back.” 

“It raised a conversation,” she said. “It also made them miss Mojo. We talked about how dad came back but Mojo died. We talked about Mojo and death.” 

Now that the Miran family is reunited, Miran Lavi said that “it is a great joy, a lot of fun, but it is not so simple. It’s not like Dad is back and everything is O.K. We have a long journey ahead.”

The Miran family is one of many hostages’ families who have started crowdfunding for support after their loved one’s return.

“The State of Israel is really giving us a lot in the area of rehabilitation and psychological aid, but we set up the crowdfunding to allow us to dedicate ourselves to his journey of rehabilitation and lift ourselves up again,” she said.

Meanwhile, the family of four is still living in Kibbutz Kramim, and has yet to decide whether to go back to Nahal Oz: “We’re still not in the right place to make that decision. We’re at the beginning of our journey, and it’s still open,” she said.

Lishay Miran also mentioned Ran Gvili, the final hostage whose body remains in Gaza.

“In all of these months that Omri is back, we still feel like we cannot move forward as long as one of us is left behind, and we call for his return,” she said.

Nearly eight months after President Joe Biden gave a White House address laying out the terms of a proposed cease-fire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, he again spoke at the White House lectern on Wednesday, this time to announce that the two warring sides had “finally” agreed to the deal.

“At long last, I can announce a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said. “This is the cease-fire agreement I introduced last spring. Today, Hamas and Israel have agreed to that cease-fire agreement and the whole of ending the war.” 

He offered a veiled rebuttal to conservative critics who opposed the deal when he outlined it last year but are now more supportive of it following the backing of President-elect Donald Trump, whose aides were central to bringing the deal about. 

“This is the exact framework of the deal I proposed back in May. Exactly,” said Biden. But, he added, his administration and the incoming one have “been speaking as one team” while negotiating in the region in recent days. 

Trump announced the deal earlier in a post on his social network Truth Social, where he called it an “epic” agreement. 

The deal has three phases, the first of which will include a “full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded,” said Biden. “I’m proud to say that Americans will be part of that hostage release in phase one as well, and the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home.”

In the first phase of the deal, 33 hostages are set to be gradually released — including some who are not alive.

Phase one will also include the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israel, Biden said, as well as a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Many of those prisoners are believed to be Palestinians serving life sentences, some for murder of Israelis. During this period, Israel “will negotiate the necessary arrangements to get phase two, which is a permanent end of the war,” said Biden. 

At the start of phase two, there will be an exchange of all the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and “all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza,” according to Biden. “A temporary ceasefire will become permanent.”

Phase three will include the release of the remains of any additional hostages who were killed, and a “major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin,” said Biden. 

“This is one of the toughest negotiations I’ve ever experienced, and we reached this point because of the pressure that Israel built on Hamas backed by the United States,” said Biden, who touted Hamas’ military losses, the weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the U.S.-led coalition to combat the Houthis as significant achievements. 

“I’m deeply satisfied that this day has come — finally come — for the sake of the people of Israel and the families waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war,” said Biden. “In this deal, the people of Gaza can finally recover and rebuild. They can look to a future without Hamas in power.”