A freed hostage has spoken publicly for the first time about the severe psychological and religious pressures he faced during his prolonged detention in the Gaza Strip. Rom Braslavski revealed that his captors systematically attempted to force him to abandon his Jewish faith and convert to Islam throughout his time in captivity. His account sheds light on the internal spiritual struggles endured by those held by Hamas terrorists and Palestinian Islamic Jihad during the ongoing war.
The survivor detailed how his captors subjected him to relentless religious indoctrination from the moment he was taken into the enclave. "All day they talked to you about Muhammad, the Quran, 'Come join us. You're wrong and we're right,'" Braslavski recounted when describing his grueling daily routine. He emphasized that the pressure was constant, stating, "They tried to convince me to convert to Islam many times".
According to his estimates, a large portion of the captured population felt forced to superficially yield to these demands to ensure their survival. "At least 60% of the Jewish hostages converted to Islam in captivity. They said it was just a game," Braslavski explained regarding the widespread phenomenon. He noted that the temptation to comply to ease the harsh conditions was immense, adding, "And I admit that I also considered it".
Despite the intense pressure to conform, the young man ultimately chose to resist the demands of the Hamas terrorists. "But I told myself, 'G-d in heaven is looking at you and knows everything. I will not play this game.' I decided not only would I not convert to Islam, but I would touch on their sensitive issues," Braslavski stated. This defiance marked a major turning point in his personal spiritual journey during the war.
His embrace of his heritage stands in stark contrast to his lifestyle before the mass cross border raids occurred. Before October 7, Braslavski was not a person of faith and did not keep Shabbat, despite growing up in Neve Yaakov, which is a very haredi neighborhood. He explained that he originally went against the current, noting that his family remains secular to this day, but declared, "On October 7, I fully returned to religion".
The survivor also recalled a specific theological exchange with a senior sheikh from Palestinian Islamic Jihad whom he approached for assistance with religious rituals. "I told him, 'Listen, I want to pray to G-d, but I don't remember the prayers, they're long and in the prayer book,'" Braslavski said. The senior sheikh advised him to take what he remembered and create his own personalized prayer.
Following that guidance, the captive established a strict routine of reciting biblical lines from memory multiple times a day to maintain his sanity. "Since then, I repeated, 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me,' several times a day," he shared. He combined those lines with a few other verses etched in his memory from the prayer book to pray three times a day.
When the captors noticed his consistent devotion, they attempted to alter his practices to align with Islamic tradition. The sheikh explicitly instructed him to pray five times a day, matching their own religious requirements, but Braslavski refused to yield his ground. "I said, 'No, we pray three times a day,'" he countered, maintaining his distinct identity.
Since returning to Israel, the former captive has remained completely committed to his spiritual awakening. He has transformed his survival into a permanent lifestyle change, strictly observing the Jewish day of rest without exception. "Today, there hasn't been a single Shabbat that I haven't observed. I observe every Shabbat, and I will continue to keep [Shabbat] for the rest of my life," he concluded.
