President Isaac Herzog spoke Tuesday evening with Hamas captivity survivor Daniella Gilboa, following a personal post she shared about being turned away from a café in Tel Aviv when she asked to use the restroom.
“I was very upset to see what you went through today; it pained me deeply,” Herzog told her at the start of the call. “That person could have simply said, ‘Come in, you’re my guest.’ When someone explains that they were a hostage, people need to show great consideration. I send you a warm hug and my support, and I hope people will show more sensitivity - it won’t harm the people of Israel, especially in such difficult times.”
The President asked Daniella how she was doing and inquired about her recovery. “I’m okay,” she replied. “I’m slowly starting to feel like I’m recovering. Thank you for calling and addressing this—it’s not something I take for granted.”
Daniella’s mother, Orly, who was present during the call, added, “First of all, thank you so much. I received so many responses from kind people today. I always say - we are an amazing people, with a big heart. There’s so much good in our country, here and abroad. What happened today doesn’t represent the people of Israel, and it’s important not to forget that.”
Herzog concluded, “You are a daughter of the State of Israel, Daniella. I remember how concerned we all were for you, and I remember your wonderful family. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ - this is a value that should guide us, especially toward heroic people like you and the other hostages. We hope to see all of them home soon.”
Earlier, Gilboa shared a post describing a distressing incident at Nina Café in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood. She recounted how she entered the café and politely asked to use the restroom due to urgent need, but was refused.
“A small trigger and a pang in the heart that easily take you back to Gaza,” she wrote. “To the time when they told me exactly when I could or couldn’t go to the restroom.”
She said that after initially leaving, she returned to plead again. When she told the staff member that his response reminded her of her captors, he allegedly replied, “Who cares that you were a hostage? You’re told no, so it’s no. Get out of here.”
Gilboa wrote that no one at the café intervened or offered help. “A business that respects itself shouldn’t treat people this way,” she concluded.
In response, the café owner said, “A young woman came in, stood at the entrance, and asked to use the restroom. I told her no. It’s not a public restroom—it’s for café customers. After about fifteen minutes, she came back and said, ‘Even in Gaza, they didn’t let me use the restroom.’”
He added: “I told her, ‘I’m sorry you were a hostage, but there’s no connection. We don’t allow non-customers to use the restroom. There are public restrooms 100 meters away. I go to the weekly rally in the square every Saturday night.’”
The owner denied saying, “Who cares that you were a hostage,” and claimed that had she explained her trauma earlier, he would have let her in. “We allow disabled people and pregnant women to use the restroom here. It wasn’t personal.”