Over the two years that Rom Braslavski spent in Hamas captivity, Beitar Jerusalem fans did not stop calling for his return home and to the stands. On Sunday, the latter finally happened, when the captivity survivor made his anticipated return to Teddy Stadium in the capital.
Moments before kickoff in the team's Israeli Premier League home game against Maccabi Netanya, Braslavski took the pitch during a ceremony held in his honor.
At the start of the ceremony, the sellout crowd of over 30,000 fans stood on their feet with thunderous applause for the survivor.
Rom, who took the field flanked by the team's owner, Barak Avramov, told the crowd: "A year ago, you all stood here with my family and a shirt with the word 'hostage' written on it. Today, I am here, free and happy, and not a hostage, with the entire Beitar army behind me and an awesome Zionist city - Jerusalem. Beitar is not a team; it's the symbol of the country."
Rom added thanks to the soldiers of the IDF: "To the heroic IDF soldiers - you saved my life."