Judith Raanan, one of the first American hostages freed by Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attacks, is bringing her story of captivity and faith to El Paso. Chabad Lubavitch of El Paso will host Raanan for an evening in which she shares her account of survival, an event organizers say offers the community a rare chance to hear directly from someone whose life was upended by the war.
Raanan and her teenage daughter, Natalie, were visiting Kibbutz Nahal Oz when Hamas militants kidnapped them during the October 7 attacks, according to KVIA. The mother and daughter, both Evanston, Illinois residents, had traveled to Israel that September to celebrate Judith's mother's 85th birthday and observe the Jewish High Holidays, as reported by WGLT. Before her abduction, Judith worked in the Chicago area as an operating room nurse, aesthetician, and artist, per KPBS.
Freed After Days in Captivity
KVIA's report states that Judith and Natalie Raanan spent 17 days in Hamas captivity. Separately, WTTW has reported that the pair were freed after 14 days through Qatari diplomatic mediation and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross on October 20, 2023, becoming the first hostages released by Hamas following the attacks. Natalie, a recent high school graduate who had been taking a gap year to travel, turned 18 just four days after their release, according to Blue Ribbons.
During her first major television interview in March 2024, on NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas Reports, Judith Raanan described how she and her daughter were initially taken to a hospital in Gaza before being moved to an apartment connected to underground tunnels. The attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where the Raanans had been staying, was especially deadly: Hamas-led militants killed 15 civilians and 53 IDF soldiers there, and abducted eight civilians and 10 military personnel into Gaza, according to Ynet News. Across southern Israel that day, Hamas and allied militants killed more than 1,200 people. They abducted approximately 251 hostages, in what the Israel Defense Forces has called the largest single-day loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
A Message of Faith for El Paso
Rabbi Levi Greenberg, assistant rabbi at Chabad, said the evening offers the El Paso community an opportunity to hear directly from someone changed by October 7. He noted that Raanan's personal testimony provides a human perspective on courage, perseverance, and the enduring power of faith, per KVIA's report on the upcoming event.
Chabad Lubavitch of El Paso, the host organization, has served the Southwest Texas region for nearly four decades, providing educational, chaplaincy, and communal services. The center has also built ties with local law enforcement; in December 2025, the El Paso Police Department highlighted its partnership with the Chabad Lubavitch Center for Jewish Life as part of its annual 12 Days of EPPD outreach campaign.
Continued Advocacy Since Her Release
Since being freed, Raanan has continued to speak publicly about the hostages who remained in Gaza. In December 2024, she met with then President-elect Donald Trump in Florida, gifting him an original artwork and advocating for continued American intervention to free remaining hostages, according to a Facebook post from Fox News. The El Paso appearance follows years of public testimony that has taken her from local Jewish community centers to meetings with national leaders.
Hoodline first reported on the Raanan family's ordeal in October 2023, when Evanston community members held prayer vigils and lawmakers called for State Department intervention while Judith and Natalie were still missing. Nearly three years later, Raanan's scheduled appearance in El Paso marks another chapter in her public account of survival, one she has carried from Illinois living rooms to audiences across the country.
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