After Captivity, Almog Meir Jan Says His Views on Coexistence Changed

Almog Meir Jan was once a believer in coexistence. But after spending 246 harrowing days held hostage in Gaza, his perspective has been permanently altered. Rescued in the daring Operation Arnon in June 2024, Jan has now gone public with raw, emotional testimony of his experience one that challenges illusions about peace and exposes the deep-rooted hatred he witnessed firsthand.

Before October 7, Jan hoped for a future built on mutual understanding. Today, that hope is gone. “My eyes don’t lie,” he said. “The people there are driven by hatred, and someone driven by hatred can never reach anything good.” Jan recalled his constant fear that the locals would discover his location and lynch him in the streets a fear that haunted him throughout his captivity.

Operation Arnon, named after Yamam counterterrorism commander Arnon Zamora who fell in the line of duty during the rescue, brought Jan home. The mission also saved Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. Jan was asleep when the IDF raid began. Moments later, he found himself standing over the bodies of his tormentors, finally free. “Honestly, yes, I was happy. More than happy. These were people who had tormented us terribly,” he said. “I said, ‘Thank God, blessed is He who has freed us.’ In that moment, I felt that suddenly I had value.”

The brutality of Jan's experience cannot be overstated. He described being blindfolded, bound, starved, and mocked by captors who had food but chose to withhold it. “Sometimes they’d tie our hands to our legs, like a pretzel. They played cruel games bringing us coffee only to replace it with foul water,” he said.

As painful as his physical suffering was, Jan said the emotional toll was just as intense. He was aware of political divisions back home and felt betrayed by the lack of unity in Israel while he and other hostages languished. “I was angry,” he admitted. “We needed you to be united.”

The cost of captivity extended beyond the walls of his prison. Just two hours after his joyous return, Jan learned his father had died that same day. At the funeral the next morning, he carried the weight of unresolved words and unspoken love.

His reflections on Palestinian society are pointed and sobering. “They’ve spent 50 years focused on revenge. If they had focused on education or sewage infrastructure instead of playing the victim and hating Jews, their lives would be different,” he said. “My greatest revenge is to succeed, to live, to travel, to smile.”

Jan rejected the notion that Gazan civilians were innocent, stating bluntly: “No. There are no innocents in Gaza.” He believes peace could come perhaps in two generations but only if hate and violence are uprooted from the culture. “As long as hatred and terror are the driving forces, it will never happen,” he said. “They did this with their own hands.”

Looking forward, Jan is channeling his trauma into action planning lectures, projects, and global travel. He’s headed to the Nova festival in Goa, and then to Thailand. But even in escape, he carries the memory of those who didn’t return alive. “We wake up every morning for those who aren’t here to be better people, and grow from the pain. If we’re united, nothing can defeat us.”

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