Freed hostage Segev Kalfon has announced he will be launching a “Chabad House tour” across the US, where he will share his firsthand account of more than two years in Hamas captivity.
Kalfon was taken from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and was freed in the final hostage deal on October 13, 2025, over two years later.
During his captivity, Kalfon said he endured psychological and physical torture, including beatings, and being pressured to convert to Islam to be spared the abuse.
He said he was held in a tunnel with two other Israeli hostages under unhygienic conditions and was forbidden from communicating with fellow captives.
The 27-year-old said he also experienced starvation during captivity, at one point eating only a can of beans over a period of two days.
Why is Kalfon touring now?
For 738 days in captivity, Kalfon held onto a dream of one day being able to stand on a stage and shout “Shema Yisrael,” and now, on his Chabad House tour, he will finally get that chance.
His tour is being facilitated by Merkos 302, the Chabad World Headquarters in New York.
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302, said, “For two years, Jewish communities across the globe have prayed for the hostages and advocated for their freedom - this will bring them face-to-face with the miracle they have so tirelessly fought for.”
During his captivity, Kalfon watched Ohad Ben Ami’s release on a screen and imagined his own moment of freedom.
He dreamed of stepping onto the stage and declaring to his captors and the Gazans gathered to watch: “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad,” (Hear O’Israel, Hashem is God, Hashem is One - the first line of one of the most important Jewish prayers.)
Hamas stopped holding these public ceremonies before Kalfon’s release. "They didn't let me shout Shema Yisrael in Gaza," Kalfon said. "I'll shout Shema Yisrael in New York."
Why Chabad Houses in the US?
Throughout Kalfon’s time in Hamas captivity, his father prayed at the Rebbe’s Ohel in New York. After his release, Kalfon joined him there to recite Psalms in gratitude.
Despite his captors’ attempts to convert him to Islam, Kalfon said he continued observing Jewish practices in Gaza, including Yom Kippur, reciting Shema daily, and Shabbat.
Kalfon took it upon himself to "sanctify Hashem’s name." The Chabad House tour is how he plans to do it.
He said his message focuses on the faith that sustained him through 738 days of captivity.