Wartime Diaries: Tzvika Mor

A father advocates against a prisoner swap that would release his son from captivity

Forty-seven-year-old Tzvika Mor is from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron. His son, Eitan, was kidnapped from the Nova Festival, where he had been working as a security guard. In fact, Eitan was only kidnapped in the afternoon of October 7th, after spending nearly nine hours evacuating injured party-goers to safe locations nearby. During that whole time, Eitan heroically returned to the festival grounds again and again, under fire, to save complete strangers. At around 3:30 in the afternoon, he was himself taken by terrorists and driven into Gaza, where he’s remained ever since.

Tzvika is an outlier among the families of the hostages. As campaigns across the country and throughout the world call upon the leaders of Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would release the hostages, Tzvika believes that the Israeli government should keep on fighting and reject any offer that includes a ceasefire, even if it comes at the cost of his son’s freedom, perhaps even his life. He established a small group of like-minded relatives of hostages called Forum Tikvah, or the Hope Forum. They stress the importance of the nation and the state over the life of any individual, even if that individual happens to be your loved one. And in that, ironically, their right wing position echoes the left wing socialist and collectivist sentiments that were dominant in the early days of the state.

The end song is Akedat Yitzchak (“The Binding of Isaac”) by Naomi Shemer. (Licensed by Israel Story through Acum.)

Produced in partnership with The Times of Israel.

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