Posted on 05/06/25
Jerusalem, Israel - May 6, 2025 - A gala welcome ceremony for the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, was held at the Media Center of the Friends of Zion (FOZ) Museum in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion museum, initiated and hosted the event.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee received the Friends of Zion Award as a reported quarter of a billion viewers watched the live stream event. Attending were hundreds of guests from Israel and abroad, Ambassadors, ministers, and Knesser members.
After receiving the Friends of Zion award menorah, the Ambassador mentioned he had been to Israel 100 times. "No honor better than being called a friend of the Jewish people," he said. The Jewish people were created to bring light and law into the world. "I tell my Jewish friends- I owe you. Without you, my faith doesn’t exist."
He then spoke to Omer Shem Tov, seated in the front row with his parents, " Omer, I was taken away by your smile. After all the things you’ve been through, you can smile. G-D is in you. You are stronger than the hate that surrounded you for 505 days.
We pray for every hostage. I pray for Guy to come back home.
"Yesterday, my wife took her cane and hiked up the snake path in Masada. I’m proud of the hike. Her motivation was that she took pictures and biographies of the hostages with her and prayed for them." The Ambassador concluded his remarks, "Normally, we come to Israel for several weeks and go home. This time we are home."
Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped on October 7, shared: "I was 505 days at Gaza in captivity. When I was there, my belief in G-D came so strong, every day I woke up and thanked G-D that I have air in my lungs, little food on my plate, and that my family is safe in Israel. I did kiddush every Friday night. My faith and belief in G-D kept me going. Thank you, Ambassador Huckabee, and thank you, President Trump. I am here today, standing near Mike Evans because of you. And today, I am the happiest man alive. We have to bring my brothers and sisters home as soon as possible. I believe and I know you can bring them home. So please do everything you can."
Shelly Shem Tov, Omer's mother, said: "For us, it’s a miracle. Omer was born again on February 22. Every time I’m trying to tell people how we felt when Omer was in captivity I say there is one thing that parents cannot forget - when their child gets lost. There are five minutes when you panic and you don’t know what to do with yourself. For the parents of the hostages, it is more than 1 million minutes that their children have been in hell. hell!!!. And you, Ambassador Huckabee and President Trump, you have the power to give to all of the families of the hostages, let them feel what we feel. So please do everything you can to bring them back home."
Also speaking at the event, Ilan Dalal, the father of Guy Gilboa Dalal, who was kidnapped from the Nova festival and is still being held captive by Hamas: " Guy has been held in Gaza now for 578 days. I'm looking at Omer, and I’m praying every day that my son, too, will come back home. Guy went with his best friends from kindergarten to the music festival. None of them came back home. Guy is held hostage in Gaza with his best friend, Evyatar. Every moment could be their last. Time is running out for them. We must bring them home as soon as possible. Ambassador Huckabee - I wish you great success in your new role. As a representative of the strongest country in the world, you have an important role. You have the power to influence the parties to achieve a release agreement. Please, my son's life is in your hands. The U.S.A. is the greatest country in the world. Thank you for standing by us, may god bless you."
The audience stood to sing national anthems to conclude the program. The Shem Tovs and Gilboa-Dalals were surrounded by well-wishers, some with tears in their eyes, others offering hugs of support, as the Huckabees were escorted away.
