Eli Sharabi Wins Italy’s Adei Wizo Jewish Literary Prize!

We are delighted to announce that Eli Sharabi has won the 26th Adei Wizo (Adelina Della Pergola) Jewish Literary Prize in Italy forHOSTAGE, published in Italian by Newton Compton Editori as L’OSTAGGIO. Since its conception, the prize has honoured books that draw attention to Jewish history, identity and experience.

The award was presented at palazzo delle Sinagoghe in Ferrara on 7th May. Sharabi’s memoir, which was selected by a jury of more than 500 readers, was recognised for its powerful first-person testimony and historical significance.

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Be’eri, shattering the peaceful life Eli Sharabi had built with his British wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel. Dragged barefoot out of his front door while his family watched in horror, Sharabi was plunged into the suffocating darkness of Gaza’s tunnels. In total he endured a gruelling 491 days in captivity – all the while holding onto the hope that he would one day be reunited with his loved ones.

In the first memoir by a released Israeli hostage, and the fastest-selling book in Israel’s history, Sharabi offers a searing firsthand account of survival under unimaginable conditions – starvation, isolation, physical beatings, and psychological abuse at the hands of his captors.

This is your sign to grab your copy of the acclaimed memoir here!