PEABODY – After being taken hostage by terrorists at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Omer Shem Tov survived 505 days in captivity despite being given little food or water and being kept in complete darkness in the terror tunnels.

Shem Tov was fresh from army service when he was taken captive. He was finally released in February 2025. Through the efforts of his family calling for his and other hostages’ release, he came to symbolize their plight.

Shem Tov plans to share his story of survival with the North Shore during an event called “Resilience: An Evening of Remembrance of the Attack of October 7” at the Higgins Middle School in Peabody on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. The event coincides with the eve of the third anniversary of the attacks.

Shem Tov’s invitation to speak in Peabody was prompted after several antisemitic incidents in the spring.

Chabad of Peabody Rabbi Nechemia Schusterman, who was a target of one of those incidents, said the event is meant to educate the wider community about the dangers of all forms of hate and prejudice, to combat ignorance and online misinformation, and bear witness to Shem Tov’s experience.

Chabad of Peabody on Lowell Street is bringing Shem Tov to Peabody in partnership with Peabody Public Schools, with support from Combined Jewish Philanthropies, North Shore Suburban Jewish Community Center, and the Journal.

As of Sept. 10, some seats in the 454-seat Higgins auditorium were still available, according to an email from Chabad of Peabody. The cost for admission is $18, with seats reserved for Peabody school families to attend free.

Since his release, Shem Tov has spoken widely, including locally at the Harvard Kennedy School’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on March 2, 2026.

He also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park on May 19, 2025, at the celebration of Jewish Heritage Night, during a trip to campaign for the release of the remaining hostages sponsored by CJP, according to a report by CBS News Boston.

The Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people in a single day – the biggest loss of Jewish lives in one day since the Holocaust. In all, 251 people, including Shem Tov, were taken hostage and held, some for more than two years. About 85 were killed, according to the Washington Post.

The attacks sparked the Gaza War, and backlash to it has triggered widespread condemnation of Israel and its government, leading to an increase in antisemitic incidents and threats since then both here and abroad.

“Since Oct. 7, myself along with I’m sure the entire Jewish world has been consumed sometimes with horror and sometimes with excitement as hostages were freed,” said Schusterman.
As the hostages were freed during a long, painful process, the rabbi had wanted to bring one of them to the North Shore to speak, but the cost was prohibitive.

Then, toward the end of May, Schusterman took to social media to describe “deeply disturbing incidents,” including someone in a passing car shouting, “Heil Hitler” at his brother-in-law while he was walking to shul. In a separate incident, someone in a car yelled, “free Palestine” at Schusterman during Shavuot.

What followed was not political discourse from the motorist “but a stream of hateful abuse,” the rabbi said. In a separate incident, Schusterman said his 15-year-old son was spat at by an adult in a passing car and called a “dirty Jew.”

On June 9, two antisemitic incidents were brought up at a Peabody School Committee meeting. One involved the discovery of a swastika scrawled in the dirt of a ball field, and the other was a bus argument in which students allegedly traded antisemitic and homophobic barbs.

For the rabbi, the incidents “brought to the forefront the intertwining of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in a way that I don’t think anyone could have denied before, but even if you were someone who wanted to bury your head in the sand, I found you could no longer do so.”

After the incidents, local officials reached out to Schusterman, including Superintendent Josh Vadala and Councilor-at-Large Jarrod Hochman, a former longtime member of the Peabody School Committee.

Schusterman asked Hochman what they could do to bring more awareness to the issue of antisemitism and hatred. He told Hochman he wanted to invite a hostage to speak here. Hochman suggested the rabbi speak to the superintendent, given the district had grants available for Holocaust and genocide studies.

Vadala credited Schusterman for making the arrangements, and the schools used grant funding to help pay for the event.

“Our small community here in Peabody is a reflection of our greater community and our nation, and of course we are seeing antisemitic incidents in our community and across the nation. … We really want to make sure when that happens, we are providing education and we are really leaning into this and having tough conversations and creating opportunities to see where we can improve, where we can be a better community,” Vadala said.

“For Peabody to host such an international event is incredible,” said Hochman. The event is meant to shed light on a person who experienced first-hand such a level of hate just because he was Jewish.

Hochman was glad to see Peabody’s continued leadership in anti-hate education, and said it’s important to continue educating the community.

“It’s how we get past hate.”

Admission to “Resilience” is $18. A pre-event meet-and greet with Shem Tov costs $180 to help defray the cost of the event.

Learn more and register to attend at www.jewishpeabody.com/hostage, or call 978-977-9111.