Former Hostage Agam Berger: “I Chose to Fast in the Tunnels on Tisha B’Av”

At a Tisha B’Av night gathering in Tel Aviv, former hostage Agam Berger gave a stirring address, sharing her personal account of captivity in Gaza and drawing strength from the historic resilience of the Jewish people.

“Exactly one year ago, on the night of Tisha B’Av, I was sitting in a Hamas tunnel, and I chose to fast,” Berger told the crowd. “I fasted because I understood that our collective memory, the memory of destruction and exile, can help us grow. The Jewish people have faced catastrophes that would have wiped out most nations, yet we endure.”

She reflected on how her experience echoed the trials of past generations, tying her suffering to centuries of Jewish perseverance. “From the destruction of the First and Second Temples to the Babylonian exile, the Roman conquest, Hadrian’s decrees, the Crusades, and the Spanish expulsion, our ancestors wept, mourned, and prayed, but they never surrendered to fear or victimhood. They knew they had a purpose. Every devastation eventually led to renewal.”

Bringing that legacy into the modern era, Berger said, “Just three years after facing the horrors of Auschwitz, the Jewish people responded with an affirmation of life, by founding the State of Israel. We never gave in to despair.”

She described the deep commitment to her Jewish identity that helped her survive her ordeal. “I was kidnapped simply for being Jewish. I risked my life to hold onto who I am. I faced the Angel of Death and refused to let him win. In captivity, they can take your freedom, even your humanity, but history shows they cannot put the darkness of captivity into the soul of a Jew.”

Berger recalled a moment of spiritual resistance deep underground. “We learned the Hebrew date, 6th of Av, and from that day, we counted. We knew when Tisha B’Av would fall. We fasted, we prayed. Even underground, we stayed part of our people’s journey.”

Turning to the current war, she emphasized that Jewish identity remains central. “Every soldier entering Gaza sees images of Al-Aqsa in homes, in buildings, in headquarters. Their eyes are on Jerusalem. We must answer that by strengthening our identity, reconnecting with our roots.”

She added, “This hatred against us isn’t logical or intellectual. Our generation is living through a defining moment in Jewish history. We cannot afford to falter after October 7th and all the losses we’ve endured. Our continued existence as a Jewish people, that is the victory.”

Concluding her speech, Berger made a heartfelt appeal: “Above all, we must stand for the release of the hostages. Bring them home. That is our most basic moral, national, and Jewish responsibility.”