Psychologist on Idan Alexander’s video: “It’s a cruel reality show”

The Hamas organization published a video of the kidnapped Idan Alexander yesterday (Saturday). This is not the first time that the organization has employed psychological terror while releasing videos of the abductees held captive in its basements.In the video, Alexander is seen lowering his face in tears and begging for his life. He appeals directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President-elect Trump and the Israeli public with a request to release him. “Don’t forget us, it’s time to put an end to this nightmare,” he says.

Dr. Eidit Gutman, a clinical psychologist from Tel Aviv University, says later in the video that it makes it possible to better understand Alexander’s situation and to look at him from a closer and more empathetic perspective. And more dim events that have passed since they happened. Unfortunately, more than a year has passed since the beginning of the war, and many tend to think of the kidnapped as a yellow symbol or a term, but they feel less about them or relate to the fact that they are flesh and blood, and every minute that passes shortens their lives. There is something in this video that actually takes us back, and allows us to re-identify, it’s a kind of brutal, real reality show, and I think that’s what’s shaking here.”

According to her, the families of the abductees also go through significant torture, but this video allows them to share their pain with the public. “The families are going through a continuous hell. The abductee is physically isolated, but they are also isolated, and suffer from a lack of empathy, among other things from various politicians who are reluctant to listen to their words or show impatience towards them. This video may improve this feeling a little, and help them raise their cry. It allows them to convey the message that it is not too late and that there is an opportunity to reach out to those who beg for their lives.”