If Israeli Hostages Were From Any Other Country, The World Would Be Outraged

If a 22-year-old American or British man was kidnapped, starved, and forced to dig his own grave, the world would go crazy. But when it happens to an Israeli Jew, the world looks away. Why?

Israeli woman in disbelief on October 23rd, 2023, background illustrating Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Shutterstock)

Facing Brutality and Global Hypocrisy

Evyatar David was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023. He was only 22. He stayed behind that day to help wounded people escape. That kindness may have cost him his freedom.

Now, almost two years later, he’s still alive—but just barely. Hamas released a video of him this week. He’s shirtless. You can see every bone in his body. His face is hollow. His arms are thin. In the video, he crosses off the days on a calendar in a dark, underground tunnel.

And here’s the most chilling part: Evyatar was forced to dig his own grave.

Yet while Western capitals raise voices over "Palestinian child hunger", call for arms embragos on Israel, and threaten to recognize Palestine unless Israel stops the war, they remain eerily silent about the starvation of Israeli hostages—about Evyatar and dozens like him kept in underground tunnels. The same mainstream media outlets that almost every week publish on their front pages images from Gaza to accuse Israel of "starving Palestinians", seemed to skip publishing the image of a starving Israeli hostage. That silence screams hypocrisy.

If Evyatar was Italian, Australian or American—every human rights NGO, every headline, every media outlet would just explode in rage. International outrage would form. Hamas brutality would fill the airwaves nonstop. But Evyatar is Israeli. He’s Jewish. So instead of outrage, we get silence.

That silence is disgusting. And dangerous.

His sister, Yaela, begged people to pay attention. “Hamas is not like ISIS,” she said. “It’s worse. They’re starving the hostages, and their own people, just for propaganda.” She’s right. And still, the world doesn’t care.

Instead, the media plays the same game over and over. They report on the situation in Gaza while skipping the Israeli hostages in Gaza. They point fingers at Israel, but ignore the crimes of Hamas. The truth? Israel has allowed aid into Gaza. Hamas is stealing it. Hamas is using starvation as a weapon. Against both sides.

Evyatar David. LEFT: Before captivity. RIGHT: In Hamas captivity for over 667 days

Why Doesn’t the World Care About Jews?

There’s one answer: double standards. When Jewish people suffer, the world looks for excuses instead of justice.

This isn’t new. History is full of times the world ignored Jewish suffering until it was too late. We said, “Never again.” But now it’s happening again. And the silence is shameful.

Hamas filmed Evyatar during the last hostage deal too. They forced him to watch other hostages being freed. Forced him to beg for his life. And while he suffers, the world talks about “proportionality” and “context.” Here’s the only context that matters: He is a human being. He deserves to live.

Former hostage Omer Wenkert—who spent over 250 days underground with Evyatar confirmed: “Hamas is stealing supplies, not Israel… I lost 37 kg and my captors stayed fat.”

Western media cover what they call "Gaza famine" but largely ignore the deliberate bait and starvation tactics Hamas employs against Israeli hostages.

How Would The World React If Hostages Were Not Israeli

Picture this: a British hostage is filmed emaciated, days from death, digging a grave in Syria or Iraq. Within hours, the UN convenes. The BBC leads with it. The U.S., U.K. and EU issue statements demanding immediate rescue. The families are quoted endlessly. Politicians face pressure to assist.

Jerusalem, Israel - December 22, 2023 Posters of the face of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 are displayed in the streets of Jerusalem (Shutterstock)

Yet Evyatar, born in Israel, Jewish, on scanners? Where is that same outrage for these hostages? The West gives lip service to universal human rights, but only selectively applies them.

Let’s call it what it is: antisemitic devaluation. US Rep. Ritchie Torres rightfully pointed out: “The world’s silence about the deliberate starvation of Israeli hostages… is as deafening as its hypocrisy… A humanitarianism that devalues Jewish life is no humanitarianism at all…”

A Call for Truth and Action

To those who say, “We don’t know enough,” or “We can’t choose sides”—wake up. Choosing not to speak out is a choice. Staying neutral in the face of evil is siding with evil.

Would you be quiet if your own brother was held in that tunnel? Would you say nothing if your son looked like a walking skeleton, digging his own grave in the dark?

This isn’t just about Evyatar. There are dozens of other Israeli hostages still trapped in Gaza.

Enough with the excuses.

Evyatar David is a human being.

He is starving.

He is suffering.

And he must be saved.

Now.