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By Donna Pinto & Tamar Siegel
At a time when historical truth is too often challenged or blurred, bearing witness to lived experience is more important than ever. Early in February, the San Diego Jewish community came together in large numbers to hear directly from Omer Wenkert and Yair Horn, survivors of the October 7, 2023 terror attack in southern Israel and prolonged Hamas captivity.
On February 3, 2026, Omer Wenkert addressed an audience of 500 people at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla. He recounted his journey from the Nova Music Festival to 505 days held captive by Hamas terrorists in an underground tunnel in Gaza. His testimony was not only a chronicle of suffering, but also a reflection on resilience, human dignity, and the will to survive.
Shortly after Omer and his friend Kim Damti arrived at the Nova Music Festival, rockets suddenly filled the sky. They quickly fled by car and stopped to take cover in a bomb shelter. Soon 40 people were crammed into a space meant for 15.
“Kim and I quickly got separated,” Omer recalled.
Terrorists stormed the shelter, throwing grenades and firing weapons. After each explosion, Omer called out to Kim. After the fourth grenade, there was no response.
“For protection, I had to place dead body parts over my head,” he said.
When the attackers set the shelter on fire, Omer began to lose consciousness and somehow found the strength to walk outside. “I thought I would rather die by a bullet than burn to death,” he said.
Next, the terrorists stripped him to his underwear, beat him, and threw him into the back of a pickup truck. Face down, with his hands cuffed behind his back, Omer said civilians also struck him with hard objects when he arrived in Gaza.
He was then taken into a narrow, dungeon-like tunnel. “This is my life now,” he told himself.
For 54 days, Omer was held underground with 18-year-old Liam Or. After Liam’s release in November 2023, Omer spent 197 days alone, enduring starvation, beatings, and psychological torment. His spirit and strength was restored when 3 other hostages, Tal Shoham, Evyatar David, and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, were brought into the tunnel.
Omer was released on February 22, 2025. Only then did he have confirmation from his mother that his friend Kim was killed in the shelter.
Omer’s final message was, “Am Yisrael Chai!”
Likely the entire audience agreed with Wendy Batterson, a regular volunteer with the House of Israel, who shared her thoughts, “To think how long we prayed for him and that we actually got to stand in a room with him free and healing and in San Diego no less! It’s just incredible!”
Two days earlier, on February 1, 2026, Yair Horn addressed an interfaith gathering sponsored by the StandWithUs Antisemitism Task Force, Christians United For Israel (Cufi) and New Covenant Tabernacle Church. People of all faiths from across San Diego gathered to hear his account of 498 days in captivity. More than 400 Christians and Jews joined for this event that kicked off with neutral worship music as the crowd locked arms and swayed and sang to the music. yair horn expressed that out of all the cities he has toured, San Diego received him the most warmly.
“They treated me like an animal. I was not human to them,” Yair said. “I was given barely any food or water. I lost 70 pounds.”
Yair became emotional as he described trying to protect his younger brother, Eitan, when both were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Despite the heavy emotion, yair leaned on humor to heal.
Asked how the community could continue to help, he said simply, “Showing up is the greatest support.”
Hearing Omer Wenkert’s story was a deeply profound experience for the 500 members of our San Diego Jewish community in attendance. It was impossible not to wonder: What would I have done? While we can never truly know how we would react in such extremes, Omer offered us a roadmap for how to live the lives we do have control over.
What struck many was Omer’s incredible self-awareness. He didn’t just tell a story of survival; he articulated his inner experience with surgical precision. He described the “transition points” of the human spirit—the moments when he felt himself slipping toward a breaking point, only to find a spark of strength to pivot.
Perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful example was his description of his 190th day in solitude. Omer shared that he had reached his limit; he began to “part ways” with himself, his parents, and his family, believing the end had arrived. Yet, that very day, he was reunited with fellow hostages Evyatar David, Tal Shoham, and Guy Gilboa-Dalal.
“The moment I saw them,” Omer recounted, “I realized they were my saviors.”
He recognized instantly that their presence was his survival. To this day, he tells them they saved him. It was a masterclass in understanding that even in our darkest moments, human connection is the ultimate lifeline.
During the Q&A, Omer was asked about his relationship with religion. His response was profound: he explained that while he was physically alone, he never felt lonely. He felt a constant Divine presence with him. For a young man to transform such an isolating experience into a testament of faith and “re-learning” who he is speaks to a level of maturity and grace that left the room in awe.
Omer’s story puts our daily inconveniences—the traffic, the parking, the minor stressors—into immediate perspective. But more importantly, it challenges us to look at how we support those in our own “isolated” moments of need.
Just as Omer found “saviors” in his fellow captives who helped him transition from despair to hope, many members of our local Jewish community are currently searching for their own lifeline.
Kindness Initiative is the only organization in our region solely dedicated to supporting our most vulnerable Jewish community. The Kindness Initiative works to transform lives and restore the very sense of dignity Omer spoke of so beautifully. Whether through their kindnessG’MACH—a free thrift store—or their dedicated concierge case management, they provide the essential support system needed to help our neighbors survive their own “darkest moments” and find a path toward stability.
The event was organized by Kindness Initiative. Co-sponsors were Calprivate Bank, Jewish Community Foundation, ADL, Hebrew Free Loan of San Diego, LFJCC, Ken Community, SAJAC, FIDF, American Jewish Committee, Jewish Federation and Stand with Us.
Donna Pinto is the founder of the nonprofits Give Wellness and DCIS 411. In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, Donna became an advocate for hostage survivors and for Israel. Her life-changing first visit to Israel can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/uKmfAPRQCCU
Tamar Siegel balances a career built on logic with a spirit fueled by storytelling. As an executive assistant navigating the professional world and a mother rediscovering her Jewish roots, she writes about her deep love for Israel and the beauty of passing a vibrant identity on to the next generation.
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