{"id":13271,"date":"2024-02-11T20:04:41","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T20:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/?post_type=event&#038;p=13271"},"modified":"2025-10-09T06:17:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T06:17:17","slug":"motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/","title":{"rendered":"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":13282,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"class_list":["post-13271","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"type":"full","external_link":null,"headers_main_image":"","date":"20240211","time":"","booking_link":"","carousel":[13272,13274,13276,13298,13296,13294,13292,13290,13288,13286,13284,13282,13280,13278],"headline":"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage","subtitle":"The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem hosted Iris Haim on February 11 for her talk on \u201cIn Light and Not in Darkness.\u201d","meta":null,"description":"Iris is the mother of Yotam Haim, one of the hostages who was accidentally killed by IDF soldiers in December. She told the crowd how the tragic events of October 7 and the subsequent kidnapping and ultimate death of her son changed her perspectives on the nation she calls home. \u201cIt opened my eyes a lot. I am part of an amazing people.\r\n\r\nWe are part of the history of our people,\u201d she said. Iris shared with the crowd Yotam\u2019s upbringing, including the difficulties he had as a child, almost leading to his death at a young age. \u201cThe story of my son is one of resilience and tolerance,\u201d she told the crowd. The Haims are a family of musicians and artists, she said, and Yotam was part of the crop, excelling at the drums. His curiosity made him a lover of animals, especially cats and dogs.\r\n\r\nDespite his troubles, Yotam made his mark on the places he traversed. Iris showed the crowd videos of her son, including ones he took on October 6, showing tranquility that would soon be overtaken by darkness. When contact was lost with Yotam on the morning of October 7, after Hamas terrorists raided Kibbutz Aza, where he was staying, \u201cI prayed that he is a hostage\u2026 It is the most delusional thing to pray for but the alternative is worse.\u201d\r\n\r\nShe described how over the next few days, weeks, and ultimately months of his captivity, seeing the good was what kept her going. \u201cI only have one country, that is Israel. I have no other country, and this strengthened me,\u201d she said. This led her to begin saying \u201cthanks.\u201d She remarked, \u201cWe normally say thanks for what is good, not for what is bad.\u201d\r\n\r\nHowever, \u201cto change it allowed me to rest.\u201d \u201cHow much thanks I have to my nation\u2026 What a nation I have, we have,\u201d she exclaimed. Alluding to the title of her talk, Iris said \u201cI can see Yotam for darkness or light, and I choose to see him in light.\u201d In the end, Iris received the news she dreaded \u2013 that her son was tragically killed by Israeli soldiers who mistook him and two other hostages as terrorists. Despite this tragedy, \u201cI don\u2019t blame them, I am not angry,\u201d she said.\r\n\r\nUpon hearing the sadness of the unit for having killed the hostages, she even sent them a voice note, telling them \u201cI know that everything that happened is absolutely not your fault, and nobody\u2019s fault except that of Hamas\u2026 I want you to look after yourselves and to think all the time that you are doing the best thing in the world, the best thing that could happen, that could help us. Because all the people of Israel and all of us need you healthy.\u201d Iris told the crowd how proud she was of her son \u201cfor escaping captivity on his own\u2026 He is a hero of the nation of Israel, in life and in death. I feel he is with me all the time.\u201d Iris added a message to the nation of Israel, a hopeful tone for a trying time, proclaiming \u201cWithout this tolerance, we would not have a state. So I want to convey the message of unity and tolerance.\u201d","short_description":"The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem hosted Iris Haim on February 11 for her talk on \u201cIn Light and Not in Darkness.\u201d","good_to_know":"","additional_content_icon":"file","additional_content":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage - MOTJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage - MOTJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MOTJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-09T06:17:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/\",\"name\":\"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage - MOTJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-11T20:04:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-09T06:17:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/\",\"name\":\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d6\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05e1\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05db\u05e8\u05d8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05ea\u05e2\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d5\u05ea\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d6\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05e1\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05db\u05e8\u05d8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05ea\u05e2\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d5\u05ea\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/logo-he.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/logo-he.svg\",\"caption\":\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d6\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05e1\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05db\u05e8\u05d8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05ea\u05e2\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d5\u05ea\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage - MOTJ","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage - MOTJ","og_url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/","og_site_name":"MOTJ","article_modified_time":"2025-10-09T06:17:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/","url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/","name":"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage - MOTJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-11T20:04:41+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-09T06:17:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20240212-WA0042.jpg","width":2000,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/event\/motj-hosts-iris-haim-mother-of-fallen-hostage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MOTJ Hosts Iris Haim, Mother of Fallen Hostage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#website","url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/","name":"\u05de\u05d5\u05d6\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05e1\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05db\u05e8\u05d8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05ea\u05e2\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d5\u05ea","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#organization","name":"\u05de\u05d5\u05d6\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05e1\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05db\u05e8\u05d8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05ea\u05e2\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d5\u05ea","url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/logo-he.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/logo-he.svg","caption":"\u05de\u05d5\u05d6\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05df \u05d4\u05e1\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, \u05db\u05e8\u05d8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd, \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05ea\u05e2\u05e8\u05d5\u05db\u05d5\u05ea"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/13271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event"}],"acf:attachment":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13278"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13280"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13282"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13284"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13286"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13288"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13290"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13292"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13294"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13296"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13298"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13276"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13274"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motj-dev.moonsite.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}