‘The terrorist who murdered my family has been set free — but I back the Israel-Hamas deal’

Oran Almog never imagined in his worst nightmares that the man who masterminded the killing of five of his family members would see freedom again.

Sami Jaradat — the architect behind the 2003 terrorist attack on Maxim restaurant in Haifa which left Almog blind — had been served 21 life sentences. One for each life he took. He planned the fateful day when a suicide bomber disguised as a pregnant woman blew himself up in the centre of the casual beach-view eaterie.

But Jaradat was one of the 110 Palestinian prisoners released one week in January as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal. So far, more than a 1,000 have been freed. By the end of phase one on March 1, it will be 1900, many of whom have been charged with terrorism and murder.

Oran's little brother Tomer and their father Moshik. (Courtesy of Oran Almog)[Missing Credit]

One might expect Almog to be indignant with rage. But on the contrary, he would cast his vote again and again for the deal.

“Even if Jaradat were to stay in the jail forever, my family who were murdered will never come back. They will never return alive. But the meaning of his release is that living Israeli hostages can come back home,” he told the JC.

“I was in shock, I was speechless. I had this feeling that something in my heart was broken,” he said, describing the moment that he opened his WhatsApp to learn that Jaradat would no longer be behind bars.

(From left) Oran's little sister Aldi, little brother Tomer, and him. (Courtesy of Oran Almog)[Missing Credit]

“But still, I understood the full meaning, the bigger picture: that living Israeli hostages will come back home. For me, life is more important than death. Yes, it’s painful. But I needed to put my pain aside to focus on the life and not on my pain, because that is not the issue.”

Growing up in the northern port city of Haifa, Almog’s childhood was the “Israeli version of the American dream”, spent cycling around his neighbourhood, playing football, and running to play on the sandy beach on Saturdays.

That all changed one day when he was ten years old on a normal Saturday. He and his family had gone to the beach and stopped by Maxim to get some food. It was when Almog was ordering that the bomb exploded.

An Israeli policeman stands guard in front of Haifa's Maxim restaurant after the terrorist attack on 04 October 2003. (Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

“It's almost impossible to describe what a terror attack looks right after the blast. And especially for me, since I lost my eyesight almost entirely in the moments right after the blast,” he said.

“But unfortunately, I could still see a little bit. The shattered windows, the blood, the bodies of people who until a few seconds ago had been eating near me in the restaurant, the bodies of people who I had known all my life.”

Oran was blinded by the 2003 terrorist attack when he was 10 years old. (Courtesy of Oran Almog)[Missing Credit]

Almog woke up in the hospital a week later, blind, and then heard the most terrible information of his life. That his father Mushik, his eight-year-old brother Tomer, cousin Assaf, and grandparents Ze'evik and Ruthie were killed.

It was only after the death of his little brother Tomer that Almog realised how unusually close they were. Considering their age gap, they should have been non-stop-fighting. Instead, they were best friends.

Oran and his little brother Tomer, aged eight when he was killed in a 2003 terrorist attack. (Courtesy of Oran Almog)[Missing Credit]

He sees Jaradat’s release as a heavy price, but one he’d pay again and again if it means the continued return of Israeli hostages to their loved ones’ arms — dead or alive. Thursday saw the agonising return of deceased young brothers Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and peace activist Oded Lifshitz. At the time of writing, the body of Shiri Bibas - the red-haired children’s mother - still had not been handed over by Hamas. Israel braces for her return. 

"I and the rest of the Israeli citizens are absolutely appalled and horrified. This is yet another proof that Hamas is even worse than ISIS — Hamas is the devil.”

The year 2003 was not Almog’s only brush with tragedy. Just two weeks after the 20th anniversary of the Maxim restaurant attack, Hamas operatives invaded the home of the Almog-Goldstein family in Kfar Azza kibbutz on October 7. They shot 48-year-old Nadav in the chest and murdered his daughter Yam, while his wife Chen, and their three other children Agam, Gal and Tal were taken captive.

After 51 painful days, Chen and the children were returned to Israel in the first hostage release on November 26. Almog’s hell was over.

“I will never forget the moment when we got the message from my cousin that all of them were included in the deal,” he said. After a few hours at around 6pm, Almog received the first photograph of the hostages with Israeli forces, and that evening, Chen, Agam, Gal and Tal felt the loving embrace of their family.

“The joy and the happiness of their release from Hamas hell… it’s something that I can't describe.” Having experienced that elation himself, it’s what he craves for the rest of the Israeli nation, which is why he can put his own situation aside and swallow the pain of Jaradat’s freedom.

Essential to Almog’s philosophy is that life is far more precious than death. He was dealt a terrible hand, but he continues to lead life to the fullest as a stand against the terrorist who tried to take all from him.

“I don't want to survive. For me, it's not enough. I understand that I got dealt really bad cards, but the question was, how will I play them?”

After spending a year in hospital following his attack enduring dozens of surgeries, Almog wasted no time. “I came back to my life, but in a different life.” He learnt how to live as a blind man, graduating from Hebrew Reali High School in Haifa using a computer with a screen-reading programme and a phone with assistive software.

Central to his rehabilitation has been sailing. He learnt to conquer the waves with the non-profit Etgarim and went home with bronze in the Blind Match Racing World Championship. He’s carried the Independence Day Torch, served in a special unit in the IDF, and spoke at the UN Security Council on terrorism prevention. Today, Almog is a managing partner at Focus Wealth Planning and Management and at several start-ups, and gives regular talks on his extraordinary life. 

Among his achievements, Oran came third in the Blind Match Racing World Championship and has spoken at the UN Security Council. (Courtesy of Oran Almog)[Missing Credit]

Almog knows his loved-ones will never return from the dead, no matter how long their killer remains in jail. The family will continue honouring them — through a yearly basketball tournament for Asaf, and an annual sailing competition at the maritime school Almog’s grandfather managed — though nothing will bring them back.

But he’s seen first-hand how life has gone on for former hostages like Chen, Agam, Gal and Tal, and that’s why the truce must continue. “Despite all the difficulties that they had in captivity, I know from my family that it's possible to live life again, to live the good life, even,” he said.

“I know it from their situations and even from mine. I know that if you have a strong will and lots of support, it’s possible. I really hope that the other Israeli hostages who are released from Hamas’ hell will live the good life.”