Former Hostage Seeks Meeting

Braslavski: "Get me Gilad Shalit urgently"

Freed hostage who has criticized the government now trying to reach Shalit for podcast interview: I desperately need to reach the king of the hostages

Gila Isaacson

SEP 29, 2026 17:22

2 min read

Rom Braslavski Appeals for Help: Get me Gilad Shalit Urgently

Rom Braslavski, who was freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza and has since become an outspoken voice on public affairs and government policy, is now turning his attention to a different figure: Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas for five years after his 2006 abduction.

In recent weeks, Braslavski has publicly criticized Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over the level of government support for returned hostages. He has also shared his complicated feelings toward Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, saying that while the prime minister worked to secure his release, he still owes answers and an apology for the failures of October 7.

"Willing to sacrifice a great deal for a meeting"

Now Braslavski has taken to X (formerly Twitter) with an unusual public appeal: he is trying to reach Shalit for a conversation about their shared experience in Hamas captivity.

In a post addressed to his followers, Braslavski wrote: "I desperately need to reach Gilad Shalit, the king of the hostages, I need a conversation with him, I'm willing to sacrifice a great deal for a meeting with him, for an episode of my podcast, how do I reach the guy."

The attempt to connect the experience of October 7 survivors with that of Shalit, who spent five years in Hamas hands, has drawn significant interest as part of the ongoing struggle of returned hostages to process their ordeal and the public burden that comes with it.