The annual Israeli American Council summit began on Thursday with a packed lineup of survivors and family members who shared their accounts as part of the commemoration for victims of the Oct. 7 massacre.

The three-day conference’s opening dove headfirst into the horrors of Oct. 7, centering the event on the power of communal unity and perseverance through the most nightmarish of situations. Key speaker Andrei Kozlov, a hostage freed in the Arnon operation, stole the show with his poise in recounting eight months of captivity. He quickly dismissed any concerns that the event would not share harrowing details as he summarized his hostage experience.

“Every day in Gaza was terrible. One night, I heard 486 bombs. Some people count sheeps to fall asleep. I counted bombs. That night, I did not sleep. I fought to keep the fear away, including my greatest one, that I would never see my family again, that they would never even find my body,” Koslov said.

Prayers for Israel and the return of the captives were led by Rabbi Adam Raskin, the leader of Potomac’s Congregation Har Shalom, and Efrat Yahalomi, the sister of Ohad Yahalomi, who has been a Hamas hostage since being kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz. They made sure to remind attendees that the oldest hostage was 85 years old, and the youngest was shockingly nine months old.

A video began playing with a recap of events since Oct. 7. Footage from the Israel Defense Forces and pro-Palestinian protests doubled down on the division and chaos of Jewish life over the last 11 months. A montage of hostage posters flashed across the main screen, conveying the stunning number of lives damaged on Oct. 7. Then, four people came on stage.

The spotlight flashed on the speakers one at a time. Avishay Ben Zvi, raised in Kibbutz Nir Oz and wearing a shirt saying “sign the deal NOW,” entered the light. He spoke on how Oct. 7 affected his 80-year-old father Amitai, who had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and became unable to leave his bed. Ben Zvi highlighted his father’s caretaker, Jimmy Pacheco, and the courage it took to stay at his father’s side.

“My father begged Jimmy to leave him and run for his life, but Jimmy refused. My father was shot to death in his bed. Before setting the house on fire, the terrorists abducted Jimmy and took him to Gaza. Jimmy was released after 49 days in captivity as part of a deal,” Ben Zvi shared.

Standing in front of a picture of the burned remains of his father’s home, Ben Zvi noticeably tensed and slowed his speech as he revealed his father’s fate. Gasps rang out across the crowd that a stricken elderly man could receive such brutality. An audience member recording the event turned around suddenly, seeming distressed. He reached toward his eye and reacted to the tears like they were blood, stunned by their presence.

The light panned over to the next speaker, Martin Cooper, whose voice was shaky as he revealed the stories of his own parents in the Kibbutz Nir Oz attack. 

“My parents, 85-year-old Amiram and 79-year-old Nurit, were brutally abducted from their home shortly after my last conversation with them that morning. My mother was released, but my father, one of the kibbutz founders, was killed after surviving four months in captivity and his body is still held in Gaza,” Cooper said.

The crowd sat on the precipice of weeping, ravaged by the vivid detail being presented by family members in the same room. Both stories, tragically all too familiar to the thousands in attendance, carried the same punch as their initial reports. 

People begin wiping the tears away. There was almost a sense of surprise that their eyes could still cry, gushing from raw emotion without any thought. Each story, although well-known in Israeli-American circles, possessed the same heart-wrenching anguish they did when reports first emerged. 

Roni Eshel’s aunt spoke next about the attack on the Nahal Oz base. Her niece had been doing all she could to aid in the response to the Oct. 7 attacks, manning positions within the base’s situation room alongside fellow soldiers. Roni’s aunt described how Hamas’ barbarity has affected her family.

“After several hours, Hamas terrorists overtook the situation room and set it on fire with the girls trapped inside. The family misses Roni very much. With each passing day, her absence is felt even more. Roni was just 19 years old, a young woman with her entire life ahead of her,” Eshel shared.

A picture flashes onto the main screen with a man and two children. Michal Waldman, the last speaker, prepares the most brutal blow, discussing the story of Yair Yaakov. Hamas raided his home, kidnapping him along with his wife Meirav and their sons, Or and Yagil. While Meirav and the kids were freed after a November hostage deal, Yaakov did not join them, remaining a hostage until his murder three months later.

“In February, we received the shocking news that Hamas had filmed the torture and murder of Yair,” lamented Waldman, who also shared that Hamas continues to hold onto Yaakov’s body.

“We are shattered. The mental torture of fighting for his return while feeling utterly helpless as we try to live our life each day is nearly unbearable. His son Or wrote, ‘Dad, please watch over me from heaven,’” she concluded, struggling to remain composed as the speech continued.

The speakers shuffle off the stage, the audience still reeling from the raw descriptions of personal tragedy within the Oct. 7 massacre. The lights dimmed and soldiers took their places. In a stunning, unannounced appearance, the Israel Defense Forces band flipped the script. Images of Israeli strength since Oct. 7 flash across the screen, and the band covers Andra Day’s “Rise Up,” upending the negativity into a beacon for shared unity and strength. The crowd joined in singing as the gut-wrenching stories created a powerful communal moment. Strangers linked arms, united in their passion for Israel.

Andrei Kozlov’s speech built upon the theme of overcoming adversity with a full account of life as a hostage, separating himself as the only former hostage to speak. The Russian-Israeli opened with a list of facts.

“I was a hostage of Hamas for 246 days. Thank you for having me in America. I was rescued by IDF soldiers and elite counter-terrorist operators. Arnon Zamora saved me and he was shot while rescuing me.”

Kozlov proceeded to lead a moment of silence for Zamora, the Israel Defense Forces commando who sacrificed his life to rescue Kozlov and three other Hamas hostages. He then shifted to the heart of his speech, segmented around four dates. The first, Aug. 28, 2022, highlighted the Russian-Israeli’s passion for his new home.

“It’s a land my Jewish grandfather always told me about. I felt like I started a new life,” Kozlov shared.

Kozlov flashed forward to the infamous Oct. 7 to describe his experience that led to captivity. He explained an assortment of smaller stories from his attempts to escape, such as jumping off of a cliff and having barbed wire slice his t-shirt open. A pained Kozlov, reliving the mindset of survival over everything, finally arrives at his first moments as a hostage.

“We were brought to Gaza hands tied behind backs and blindfolded. Then, one of them removed my blindfold and signed with his hands that he will kill me the next day.”

After building his narrative with the first two dates mentioned, Kozlov brought out the heaviest words for his Nov. 2 ordeal, illustrating the terror of possibly being in line for a bombing.

“All our guards left. One of them stayed with a big knife and rubber stick, reading his Koran and praying. We were waiting for the house to be bombed, expecting to die during an hour and a half. This was one of the scariest moments I can remember.”

As the IAC promoted rising up, Kozlov’s final day of the four, June 8, 2024, did just that, explaining the significance of freedom.

“I was one of the few lucky hostages that were rescued. I remember that feeling, one of chance to gain freedom you just have to reach for. Only after a helicopter out of Gaza did I feel like I was finally free. My parents arrived from Russia the next day. Only then could I breathe again. It’s a feeling I fought for, the feeling I survived for and the feeling the remaining hostages must have as me. I am still that regular guy who I was before.”

Finally, with thousands of people deeply compelled by his inspiring story, Kozlov imparted a message to his rapt listeners, appealing to civilians and the politicians in attendance.

“Nobody can understand the feelings of hostages. But we have to remember 101 hostages are still in Gaza. They pray every day to come back home. They think about death every day as me. They are angry, sad, weak and defenseless. All of this accompanied by hopelessness. I’m appealing to all leaders, please. Bring them all home. We must find a way to bring them home before their time runs out.”