Every Christian needs to read this book, HOSTAGE — I was deeply honored to interview Eli Sharabi for THE ROSENBERG REPORT and ALL ISRAEL NEWS about his 491 days in Hamas Hell
Our ALL ISRAEL NEWS BOOK CLUB pick for November
HERZLIYA, ISRAEL — This is a story that every Christian needs to know.
This is a book every Christian needs to read.
This is the story of Eli Sharabi, an Israeli civilian who was captured from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri — right on the border of Gaza — on the morning of Oct. 7. Dragged into Gaza, Sharabi spent 491 days in Hamas Hell.
Tortured.
Beaten.
Nearly starved to death.
All the while not knowing what had happened to his strong and lovely British wife, Lian, and his two beautiful and spirited daughters — Noya, 16, and Yahel, 13.
It’s a story that every Israeli knows.
Why?
Because Eli Sharabi has become one of the most famous of the surviving Israeli hostages, and arguably the most famous of all the 251 hostages that were seized by Hamas on that dark and dreadful day.
Not only did he become a major story with all the other hostages over the past two years.
So far, Eli Sharabi is the only hostage to write a book — a powerful, terrifying, haunting, yet also extremely hopeful and inspiring memoir of how he was captured, what exactly happened to him, precisely what he witnessed in those terror dungeons under Gaza, and what in the world gave him the strength to survive, and to actively and effectively encourage other hostages to survive, as well.
When released in Hebrew in May, HOSTAGE became a massive best-seller.
Indeed, it’s the fastest-selling and biggest-selling book in the history of modern Israel, with more than 100,000 copies sold already.
When it released in the U.S. on Oct. 7 of this year, it quickly became a New York Times best-seller.
It's a story Eli Sharabi has recounted to world leaders at the United Nations Security Council.
He’s shared it with the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street.
He has also shared it with American President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office.
On Monday, I had the tremendous honor to meet and sit down with Sharabi for a nearly an hour, hearing his gripping and painful account firsthand.
We met at a hotel here in Herzliya, on the glistening shores of the Mediterranean, and chatted on camera for 45 minutes.
Tonight, on THE ROSENBERG REPORT at 9pm eastern on TBN — the most watched Christian television network in the U.S. — I’ll share Part One of our conversation.
We’ll focus on how he was captured, how he was tortured — losing nearly half his body weight over 16 months — and what happened to his wife and daughters.
Lord willing, I’ll share Part Two next Thursday evening — Thanksgiving Night — as we go into more detail on the tortures he faced, his religious and spiritual views, and his Oval Office meeting with President Trump.
While every Israeli knows Eli Sharabi’s name and story, most Evangelical Christians do not.
But you should.
I read HOSTAGE from cover to cover.
It was one of the most fascinating and terrifying — and yet hopeful — books I have ever read.
I hope you’ll watch my interview tonight and next week.
But even more, I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of HOSTAGE in hardcover, e-book format, or on audio and read or to listen to it for yourself.
Go on the journey through 491 days in Hamas Hell.
And then give copies of HOSTAGE to family and friends.
Ask them to go on the journey, as well.
Don’t listen to the liars and lunatics and antisemitic propagandists about what happened on Oct. 7 and for the next two years.
Listen to an eyewitness who experienced it first hand.
Above all, I hope it will move you to pray for Eli Sharabi, that the God of Israel will supernaturally heal him physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
And pray for the Lord to bestow on him the grace and mercy and wisdom to know how to rebuild his life and give him great purpose and great influence to help others.
I praise God that Eli Sharabi is alive.
He is a miracle.
A living, breathing testament to the prayers of millions of Jews and Christians who were pleading with the Lord to remember His promises in Isaiah 61:1-3.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
Read this book.
Study this book.
Let yourself be moved by this story.
And then share it with others.
HOSTAGE is our November pick for the ALL ISRAEL NEWS BOOK CLUB.
Find out why.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.
