SANTA FE, N.M. —

New Mexicans will soon have a rare opportunity to hear first-hand what it was like to be a hostage of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Moran Stela Yanai was held hostage for 54 days after being kidnapped by Hamas at a music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She will speak at the Santa Fe Jewish Center Chabad at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9.

As if that wasn't a story compelling enough, Yanai was captured and released twice, then captured a third time before being taken to Gaza, said Rabbi Berel Levertov, who was instrumental in getting Yanai to come to New Mexico.

"Her ancestry is from the Middle East — from Morocco, I believe — and that's one of the reasons they let her go," Levertov said. "She was held captive until the women were released — the women were released in the beginnin

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