In a heartbreaking video released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), 22-year-old Rom Braslavski of Jerusalem appears frail, emaciated, and visibly weak.
“I’m Rom Braslavski, 22, from Jerusalem,” he says in the video segment released earlier in August. “I’ve been in Gaza for two years. I’m suffering in ways that can’t be described. Yesterday, I barely had a plate of rice. I can’t breathe. I can’t live.”
His parents, Ofir and Tammy, watched in agony as their son struggled to speak. “I can’t stand or walk to the bathroom. I’ve run out of food and water. If before they gave me a little, now there’s nothing. Today I ate three falafel crumbs —three crumbs.”
At one point, Rom addressed Israeli leaders directly: “You must stop what you’re doing. What’s wrong with you? Why are you doing this to us? Bring in food. I’m surviving on less than a liter of water a day. I lie on a mattress 24 hours a day. I’m on the verge of death.”
His aunt, Anat Braslavski, who lives in Woodland Hills, has been doing everything she can to raise awareness of her nephew’s situation. In an interview with The Journal, she spoke of the shock she felt after seeing the latest footage. “The difference in his appearance from four months ago, when we last saw a video of him, to today is unbelievable. You see a dying man. You can tell that emotionally he is broken. We are trying to do whatever we can. If he isn’t released soon, I don’t want to think about what will happen.”
Her mother, Rom’s grandmother Yael Niinikoski, lives with her; Yael is the daughter of Holocaust survivors who lost many family members in the concentration camps. After the war, they moved to Israel and settled in Kibbutz Yagur, northeast of Mount Carmel. She recently wrote a letter to the Red Cross pleading for help.
“I write to you because the International Committee of the Red Cross represents a beacon of humanity and is the guardian of the laws that protect human dignity even in the darkest of times,” wrote the 77-year-old. “As his grandmother, the terror I feel is indescribable. My heart has been torn open each and every day since his capture, and there has seldom been a day since then when my face wasn’t wet with tears. My mental health has been deteriorating more and more, and my only remaining wish in life is to see my grandson again.”
“As his grandmother, the terror I feel is indescribable. My heart has been torn open each and every day since his capture, and there has seldom been a day since then when my face wasn’t wet with tears. My mental health has been deteriorating more and more, and my only remaining wish in life is to see my grandson again.” – Yael Niinikoski
Shortly after Rom was kidnapped and taken to Gaza, Niinikoski attempted to apply for American citizenship on his behalf, hoping it might improve his chances of release. Because he is over 18, the effort was unsuccessful. His aunt, who has lived in Los Angeles for the past 30 years and once owned the boutique “Anat B” on South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, has since traveled to Washington, D.C., three times to meet with officials and raise awareness, including a meeting with Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Dustin Stewart.
“For the first ten days or two weeks after the Hamas attack, we didn’t know what happened to him. We kept waiting for the worst news, because by then most families had already been notified if their child was kidnapped. In a way, when they told us he was likely a hostage, we breathed a sigh of relief,” Braslavski said.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Rom was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival when he was abducted. According to witnesses, he was able to save many festivalgoers before being taken captive. Since then, his parents have been desperate to see him released. Unable to continue working, they are devoting all their energy to the effort of bringing their son home. Each passing day reduces his chances of survival, as is true for the other remaining hostages.
A new medical report from the Health Team of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, based on an examination of recently released hostage videos, said that the hostages have lost a dangerous amount of weight. According to the assessment, hostage Evyatar David has dropped from 167 pounds to an estimated 88 pounds, a loss of about 41% of his body weight. Braslavski has fallen from an estimated 143 to between 94 and 103 pounds. Both are severely underweight and face the risk of multisystem failure.
“It’s very hard to sleep. We keep thinking about him and what he’s going through,” Anet Braslavski said. “Our lives revolve around this. At the very least, we want the Red Cross to go in and provide them with food, water and medical attention. We sent a letter to the president of the Red Cross and received confirmation that it was received, so it gives us some hope.”
