In Berlin, ex-hostage Alon Ohel plays piano in appreciation of support

Former hostage Alon Ohel performed two songs about love and second chances on Monday at the Berlin residence of Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, as a tribute to the many German organizations and activists who worked for his release throughout his captivity.

Ohel is a dual Israeli-German citizen through his grandmother, Tzipi Ohel, a Holocaust survivor who was born in Berlin.

The 25-year-old was released from captivity in October 2025, after being taken captive by terrorists from the Nova desert rave. He was released last October after 738 days of captivity.

Ohel sat at the piano in the Israeli ambassador’s residence, accompanied by his brother Ronen on guitar, and spoke about how music and the songs he replayed in his mind helped him survive the harsh conditions of Hamas captivity in the tunnels beneath Gaza.

“I didn’t have the privilege of giving up,” he said. “I couldn’t move or speak, but I still had the right to choose what to think about. I chose to think about music, about my family, and about the fact that I had to come home.”

Ohel suffered shrapnel wounds to his eye, shoulder and arm during the October 7, 2023, attack when terrorists threw grenades into the roadside field shelter where he had fled to escape the festival. He was kept shackled and confined to underground tunnels for weeks and months at a time.

The former hostage spoke about the chance to be safe and to find love once he was out of captivity.

“I thought to myself, ‘Okay, maybe there’s a chance,” said Ohel, speaking haltingly in English. “Maybe when I go back home, maybe it’s close.”

Ohel and his brother then performed Shalom Hanoch’s “Song Without a Name” and “I Have a Chance” by Eviatar Banai.

Ohel has often spoken about humming Yehudit Ravitz’s cover of the Hanoch ballad while in captivity, and the song became an anthem for Ohel and his release.

“There are evenings when history is not only written in books, but sits here among us; tonight is one of those evenings,” said Prosor. “After two years of fear, hope, pain and uncertainty, the fact that we can be here together is truly extraordinary.”

Ohel’s mother, Idit Ohel, who was at the forefront of the public struggle for her son’s release, thanked those present for their ongoing support throughout the family’s ordeal.

“From the moment Alon was taken from us until we saw him again, these were two years of struggle, hope, and prayer,” said Ohel. “It is not something to take for granted that people choose to help, to fight, and to stand with us. It takes great courage to stand alongside Israel and the Jewish people during times like these.”

Idit Ohel paid special tribute to Bella Zchwiraschwili, director of the World Jewish Congress Representative Office in Berlin, thanking her for her steady, calm presence throughout the two years of Ohel’s captivity.

The WJC, alongside other institutions, businesses and individuals, was recognized for supporting Ohel and his family.