Israeli hostages in Gaza: A man's campaign to bring his brother home

Years ago, Michael Levy was in good spirits after winding down a Passover Seder at his parents’ home in Rishon Lezion. Levy, then 20 years old, shared a mischievous smile with his baby brother Or, then 12, and the two in unison rushed their middle brother who laughingly ran away to hide in one of the bedrooms, and the two brothers gleefully chased him – all three of them giggling along the way. 

Their mother, exhausted after cooking a meal for the whole family, let out a weary chuckle at her boys, who never seemed to grow up when they were around each other.

At one point, while Or and Michael tried to get into the room, they charged against the door so hard that it broke off its hinges. 

“We couldn’t stop laughing that night, we were wild,” Michael Levy said with a faraway smile. “I can’t stop thinking about that random day. When I close my eyes, I can’t forget how happy we were then.

“I’m usually very serious, but when I was with Or, I felt like I could be a little kid again, young and carefree,” he said.

It’s one of the many crystal clear memories of his little brother that Levy keeps replaying in his mind. Or was abducted by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7.

OR LEVY was on his way to the Re’im Supernova music festival with his wife, Eynav. They packed up their bags early and left at the crack of dawn. When the young couple showed up at 6:30 a.m., they quickly understood that instead of attending a celebration of music, they had arrived at the gates of hell.

Terrorists infiltrated the scene, and rapid gunfire obstructed their ability to think clearly. Or attempted to escape the carnage – and for a short while, he did. At 9 a.m., he called his mother and said, “You have no idea what’s happening here. It’s bad.”

That was the last time the family heard from Or. 

Authorities informed them that Or was most likely being held in captivity and that his wife had been murdered.

Their two-year-old son, Almog, is now being taken care of by family members, with the toddler frequently asking when he’ll be able to see his parents again.

“I didn’t even know Or planned to be there that day,” Michael said when he heard the news. 

A campaign to bring home his brother held hostage by Hamas in Gaza

Like most Israelis, Michael was concerned when sirens broke that fateful early morning, but it wasn’t until his mother notified him later that Or was at the music festival that he realized this tragedy was one that very much hit close to home.

For the first few weeks since the attack, Michael has been studiously viewing all the footage of the massacre available to the public, trying to piece together what happened to his brother.

Now he’s moved on to the most important task: bringing Or home.

“My head functions by having certain missions to complete. My first mission was to figure out what happened to him. Now my mission is to bring him back. If I have to turn the world upside down to do so – so be it,” Michael said. 

As such, he flew to New York to visit officials and members of the local Jewish community to tell Or’s story – one of the some 230 stories of the tragedy that has befallen men, women, children, and infants snatched from their loved ones, whose fate is as yet unknown.

In New York, he communicated a specific message to whomever he met.

“This isn’t about a war, or politics, or Jew vs Arab,” he said. “This is about good vs evil. Darkness vs light. This is not an Israel problem. Today it’s us. Tomorrow it’s them. It’ll be London, Paris, and New York. If you let terrorism win, it will be at your doorstep.”

THE TWO brothers, although they love each other very much, were not very close as adults due to life with its daily obligations often preventing them from meeting or catching up properly.

“We would talk every other week,” Michael said. “We were busy, you know? Life gets in the way. We would speak on the phone, here and there. I wish I had more time with him,” he said regretfully.

Even though Or was the little brother, Michael was always in awe of his abilities. 

“Everything in life sort of came naturally to Or,” he said. “Friends gravitated toward him – he had so many, and they were close friends from all eras of his life.

“He was interested in everything. Even as a kid, he loved to break something only so he could figure out how to put it back together again.”

Naturally, then, Or, who never enrolled in higher education, was a self-taught computer programmer.

When the CEO of the start-up he worked for attended Eynav’s funeral, he approached Michael’s father and said, “‘Or was the best programmer I ever had,’” Michael recalled.

“‘How is that possible?’ my father asked, ‘since Or never went to school for computer programming,’” he said. “The CEO just nodded and said he stood by his statement. That’s really a testament to how smart, dedicated, and well-liked my brother is.”

Noticing the tenses used when Michael told this story, this reporter asked him if it was hurtful for him when people spoke about his brother in the past tense.

“I do it sometimes, too,” he said, shaking his head. “But I have to believe he’s still with us. That he’ll come through that door any minute now. That we’ll see a basketball game together abroad like we always talked about. That my mother will cook his favorite dish, that she’s been planning to make for weeks.”

“What would you say to Or if he were to walk into your home right now?” I asked.

With a smile, Michael responded, “I’ll hit him for everything he put us through.

“But if I could speak to him now, I’d tell him to be strong. We’re coming for you. I promised my parents he’s coming home,” he said resolutely.

Yet even under the levity, the pain and anguish of the past month have taken a toll on the eldest Levy brother, who is carrying the weight of the family’s hopes and fears on his shoulders.

“I feel like I’m living somebody else’s life. I don’t even recognize myself. Everybody who sees me now speaking to the media is surprised because I’m not a very outgoing person,” he said. “I’m certainly not one to talk about my personal life in the press. 

“But this – this is important. I have to rise to the occasion because our goal is for Or to come home.” 