A former Hamas hostage told Fox News Digital that he warned Australian leaders to take antisemitism more seriously months before the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.
Eli Sharabi, who spent 491 days as a hostage in Gaza, said the attack on Bondi Beach was "crazy," but far from unpredictable. Sharabi told Fox News Digital that while in Australia in June, he met with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong and warned them that rising antisemitism would lead to something worse.
Sharabi recalled telling the officials that a hate crime would take place in Australia and that he would "see the fears" of Jewish people walking on the streets. He urged them to speak out against antisemitism before it was too late.
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He recounted to Fox News Digital the moment he told Marles and Wong, "When it happens, a hate crime here, it will be your responsibility because you have to have a stronger voice against antisemitism." Though, Sharabi said he did not know why he told them that at the time.
"Unfortunately, it happened. And that's crazy, it's crazy. Really, I'm so sorry for that," he said.
A spokesperson for Wong said that she "deeply appreciated her meeting with Eli Sharabi and thanks him for sharing his insights and experiences."
"Minister Wong has consistently condemned antisemitism and antisemitic attacks," the spokesperson said. "In response to the horrific antisemitic terror attack at Bondi, we are further strengthening laws against those who spread antisemitism and online abuse, ensuring our education system properly responds to antisemitism, and lowering the threshold to cancel visas for those who come to Australia to spread antisemitism."
The spokesperson also conveyed Wong's sympathies to the loved ones of the Bondi Beach shooting victims.
Sharabi told Fox News Digital that the attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that left at least 15 dead and dozens wounded, reminded him of the persecution of European Jews in the 1940s.
"Suddenly you feel like it's the 1940s again, and we are in 2025, 90 years later, all these things are happening again," Sharabi said.
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On Feb. 8, 2025, Sharabi was released from Hamas captivity, 491 days after he was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. He did not know until after he was freed that his wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Noiya and Yahel, had been killed when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel.
Since his release, Sharabi has traveled the world speaking to Jewish communities, world leaders and various audiences about his experience as a hostage, something he recounted in his book, "Hostage," which has been translated into multiple languages.
After he was released, he learned that while he was in the hands of terrorists, there were people around the world praying for him and demanding he and the other hostages be freed.
He said that while he was in the hospital in the days following his release, he was slowly exposed to the work that people in Israel and around the world did to advocate for him and the other hostages. It started with revelations about his family and friends, then his realization that people in Israel and around the world also took part in the fight for his release.
He soon joined the fight, advocating for the release of all hostages, including Alon Ohel, someone who Sharabi bonded with during his time in captivity.
"It was an amazing feeling to see him released. He's like my son," Sharabi told Fox News Digital.
Sharabi said that he and Ohel have seen each other a few times as free men and that they try to speak every day.
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Sharabi told Fox News Digital about his life after captivity. Now a free man for nearly a year, he said he appreciates every moment.
"First of all, I'm alive. Second, I'm free, and I've learned that freedom is priceless," he said. "Every morning I wake up, I say thank you very much for what I have and for my freedom, and I can be able to choose whatever I do that day and not to ask permission from anyone to eat or drink or speak," he told Fox News Digital. "I'm happy with my life. The memory of my wife, my daughters and my brother will be with me until my last day."
Sharabi told Fox News Digital that while in captivity, he promised himself that he would move his family to London, where they could live a peaceful life. He said that he made the decision because of the fear he saw in his daughters' eyes on Oct. 7.
While his plans on relocating to London have changed, Sharabi envisions himself living a quiet life and focusing on his own healing once the body of Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage in Gaza, is returned to Israel. However, Sharabi said that he cannot go back to Kibbutz Be'eri and that he will likely seek a fresh start a bit further north in central Israel.
"I can't go back to Be'eri. It's something I need to solve with myself and with my therapist, of course. How can I get into my house again? For me, living in Be'eri, it's not an option. In every corner, I can see the tragedy," Sharabi said. "I need a new place, a new restart for my life, so it cannot be in Be'eri."
Fox News Digital reached out to Marles' office for comment.
