The Ben Mulroney Show - Ben talks with the Brother of a hostage in Gaza

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

Ben talks with the Brother of a hostage in Gaza Guest: Michael Levy, Brother of "Or Levy" a hostage in Gaza If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy

There are some conversations as hard as they, as I know they're going to be, we have to have on this show. I think it's important to hold a mirror up to ourselves and to some of the darker aspects of who we are. And if there's one thing I want to be known for on this radio station and indeed on this radio network, it's that I have stood up, I hope, with respect, but unfailingly for my Jewish family and friends and the people of Israel and the hostages that were taken so brutally on October 7th of last year. One of those hostages is a young man by the name of Or Levvy, who was at the Nova Music Festival with his wife. His wife was murdered, and he was taken into the tunnels below Gaza.

His brother, who has been holding out hope and reminding people almost daily that there are still over 100 hostages in Gaza, is joining us now. Michael, thank you so much for joining us on The Ben Mulroney Show. Thank you for letting me share the story. I'm so sorry. Please allow me to just say that off the top, that you and your family have been dealing with the loss of your sister-in-law, as well as the unknown of what is happening to your brother.

Can you talk to me about the last time you heard his voice, the last communication you had with him? Yes. it was at 7.39am inside a bomb shelter next to the Nova Festival music festival site. Paul and I now ran into a bomb shelter to hide from the missile attack.

But they were basically trapped in a death trap inside this bomb shelter, surrounded by over 30 terrorists, armed with RPGs, grenades, and AK-47s. He called my mother completely terrified and just repeated the sentence, Mom, you do not want to know what's going on here. That was the last thing we heard. And that was obviously on October 7th of last year, so he's been

in captivity every single day since then. Talk to me about what kind of relationship you had with him. What kind of brother was he? Yeah, yeah. Although we have eight years between us, we were very close.

We had the same hobbies. We went to basketball games together. We used to talk about life, about family, about day-to-day things. The same as pretty much everyone, I guess. This is what I miss the most, picking up the phone and talking to him about ordinary things.

Michael, we know how brutal Hamas is. We know their complete disregard for human life. We know how they treat their own citizens they use them as human shields they have no problem putting them in the in in harm's way and knowing that about how they treat their own people i i i have to ask clearly that there's no

way that they are treating these hostages in any way that would be aligned with basic human decency and because he's been gone so long i just have to ask is there and i please i i apologize if this comes off as insensitive but is there a part of you that worries that he's no longer alive? I wake up every morning wondering if he managed to survive another day. That's how we live for 151 days. Just imagine 451 nights where you wake up every morning, if you manage to sleep, and wondering if your brother is still alive. Because he's held in a tunnel which isn't suited for even animals. I mean, he's always six foot three,

and some of those tunnels are less than six feet tall. Just imagine trying to live in a place where you can't even stand up. And so you're living with this pit in your stomach, this worry for him every day. And then in parts of the world, in far too many parts of the world, eruptions of joy and celebration erupt, not just in the Middle East, but across the West, at schools and universities,

people calling for intifada revolution and from the river to the sea. How does, when you see that, when you see the eruptions of joy in the faces of people who should know better, what would you want to tell them? I want to invite them to

live here with us for a month. Just live in Israel. Just bring your kids to watch how difficult life can be here. I mean, just imagine living in a constant fear where you can get murdered, you can get murdered, you can get kidnapped, you can get hit by a missile or by a terrorist that decided to stab you in the middle of the street.

Just imagine how you can live like this. People who celebrate or having the joy from death, I mean, I don't have anything to tell them. Michael, you actually had a chance to speak at the United Nations Security Council. What did you say to them, and what did you hope would happen after you spoke? I wanted them to hear from a family member what it's like to have a family member or a loved one in captivity. I wanted them to hear about his son,

who had to celebrate his third birthday with no parents. Going to life milestones that every parent is waiting for without his parents. And I wanted to remind them that their job is to protect people like my brother and want them to do something because they are not. What needs to change on the ground? And I don't know whether it's at the United Nations, in Israel, in the White House. What has to change to get these hostages home? Where is the sticking point as you see it? The way I see it is that the international community has to wake up

and put pressure on the countries that can put the pressure on Hamas and make them release the hostages. Countries like Qatar, like Egypt, like Turkey, like Iran, those are the countries that can bring this suffering to an end. They can put an end to this war as well, for both sides, not just for the Israeli side. I don't want people in Gaza to suffer as well. No. I only have a short time left, so are you optimistic that you're going to get your brother back?

There is no other way. I will get my brother back, no matter what I have to do. Michael, I want to thank you so much for coming and sharing the story of your brother. And on behalf of everyone here at the show, our hearts go out to your nephew, to your entire family. And I do hope, I hope and I pray that 2025 brings you your brother, brings your brother, brings all the hostages home, and brings an end to this war. But thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.