US President Donald Trump met with former hostage Rom Braslavski at the White House, photos show.
According to Israel Hayom, the meeting was Braslavski’s first with Trump — he was unable to join the delegation of former hostages and their relatives that met the US president in November 2025 as he was experiencing mental health difficulties. At the time it was reported that Braslavski was suffering from PTSD and was concerned that the journey could be difficult.
In the photos, Braslavski can be seen wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “thank you very much, Trump” in Hebrew.
“Mr. President Donald Trump – you are the man who got me out from the hell of 738 days of captivity,” he writes on Instagram. “You are my hero, may God bless you, may God bless America.”
Braslavski was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, while working as a security guard at the Nova festival. He was freed in October 2025 after two years in captivity and has publicly spoken about the sexual assault and torture he suffered while held in Gaza.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
