Emily Yoffe

Here’s what you need to do. Subscribe to @TheFP (it’s just $10 a month), download spiral. And binge listen. This pod with @FrannieBlock is epic. My producer @PoppyDamon1 made it sparkle. Worth your time.

Listen to the first two episodes tomorrow, October 21. And for paying Free Press subscribers, the entire season will be available right away. open.spotify.com/episode/7MO26A…

When the beloved president of Detroit’s last remaining synagogue, Samantha Woll, was murdered, the city was left reeling. A year later, no one has been convicted and the details don’t add up. Spiral: Murder in Detroit—a new podcast from @TheFreePress—takes you inside the case, and the family’s search for justice. Hosted by @FrannieBlock. Produced by @PoppyDamon.

Who was Samantha Woll? A new podcast from The Free Press investigates her life and death. “Spiral: Murder in Detroit” premieres October 21. Produced by @FrannieBlock and @Poppy_Damon.

I’ve never shared this before. A day or two after October 7th, early in the morning, the country was in shock. Even before the funeral of Mapal Adam z”l, who was murdered at the Nova festival, I went to the home of her sister, Maayan. Her mother, her brother Yarden, Maayan, and Maayan’s partner Yuval were there. We sat in the small yard and talked. Then Roee, Mapal’s boyfriend, arrived and sat down to tell the family for the first time what had actually happened and how Mapal had died. I stood up to leave such an intimate moment, but the family said to me, “Stay.” And then, for about an hour, Roee described in a trembling voice, detail by detail, How he and Mapal hid under a car, and Hili Solomon, Mapal’s best friend, under another car nearby, all surrounded by dozens, perhaps hundreds, of terrorists. How they stayed silent, pretending to be dead. How the vile terrorists came and shot them “confirmation shots” at point-blank range. How the blood flowed from their bodies, and Mapal’s life drained out of her there, as they lay pressed together. How the monsters came back a second time and shot again, as gasoline from the car leaked and mixed with the blood. How Roee smeared himself, and I think also Mapal, with blood so they would appear dead. How for endless hours no one came. I felt as though I was hearing the testimony of a Holocaust survivor, minutes after being liberated from Auschwitz. Because that’s what it was. A small Holocaust. No state. No army. Jews hiding for hours from murderous beasts. We all felt that Roee carried crushing guilt for not being able to save the love of his life, Mapal, nor her friend Hili. Of course, Roee could not have done anything more than he did. He bore no blame whatsoever. Mapal’s family told him that clearly and embraced him with immense love and compassion. Since then, as I understand, Roee devoted himself to helping others however he could. But in the early hours of this morning, two years later, Roee’s strength finally gave out, and this man, with his wounded soul, took his own life. Another soul murdered on that cursed day. ** In the coming days, hopefully already tomorrow, we will celebrate the return of the hostages. But we must not forget the murdered, the fallen soldiers and their families, nor the survivors who struggle every day with the horrors in their minds. Nor the thousands wounded in body and spirit. They live among us, and it is our duty to care for them. This is a matter of national priority. It is urgent! The day after we form the government, an authority will be established to care for the victims and their families. a moral, national, governmental obligation. May the soul of Roee be bound in the bond of life, alongside the love of his life, Mapal.

𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 & 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟎/𝟕 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐧🎗️ 🕯️Deborah Matias, 50, 🕯️Shlomi Matias, 49, They were both were murdered in their home in Kibbutz Holit on October 7, 2023, as they were protecting their son, Rotem, with their body. “The brunt of the shot was borne by my mother," Rotem, their survivng 16-year-old, told news. “The terrorists who came, they had explosives and blew up the front door to their house and then blew out the front door to their so-called safe room.” Rotem hid for more than 12 hours after he was shot. He was on the phone with EMTs who were directing him on how to stop “the blood that was coming out of his abdomen" when he was found. The boy had only 4% battery on his phone left. He survived. “Mom and Dad, they sacrificed their lives to save me,” Rotem told CNN in an interview after he was released from the hospital. He wanted to keep the bullet after surgery. “I wanted to just keep it as a memory to never forget them... share the memories, and how I saw my parents, with other people… they will live on in memories and in stories.” Deborah's father noted his SIL worked at a mixed Arab-Jewish high-school before she he was slain. “These are people that were committed to the good life for everybody, and yet it is they who paid the price for hatred,” Troen said. 𝐁𝐃𝐄, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐰𝐨. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲.🎗️

This week, we launched America at 250. But we’ve already been covering the people and principles that make our country exceptional. You can read those stories here. thefp.com/p/our-america-…

In a moment of political disunion, we at The Free Press remain deeply committed to the American project. That’s why we’re throwing a yearlong birthday party for our country. Expect big events, small gatherings, performances, videos, podcasts, and essays, from your favorite Free Press contributors, and many others. Join the celebration at TheFP.com/America

Rude awakenings, desperate bargaining, drugs. @JenSeniorNY brilliantly explains why so many of us hopelessly chase sleep -- and what we can do about it.

@Toni_Airaksinen timesofisrael.com/gaya-halifa-24…

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟐𝟒 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬. 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟗-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states can restrict the ability of minors to get transition treatment. It’s long overdue, writes Emily Yoffe thefp.com/p/the-end-of-y…

The strike may be a catalyst for the collapse of the Islamic Republic altogether. thefp.com/p/why-israel-h…

“There is evil in the world and sometimes you have to face it down, and that is what Israel is doing right now.” Israeli journalist @HavivRettigGur challenges those in the West—kept safe by a U.S.-led world order—who oppose Israel’s strikes in Iran.

“They are the ones who have made millions of people's lives miserable, not just in Iran, but across the entire Middle East.” Read @AlinejadMasih on the tyranny of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards—a danger she knows well. thefp.com/p/iran-regime-…

"Ambition is an elixir as intoxicating and potent as love" -- and I write in TFP today about losing mine. (The photo of the lady with the cigarette is not me!) thefp.com/p/ambition-wil… x.com/TheFP/status/1…

"Sitting at my mother’s bedside, getting a glimpse of the abyss, I had my revelation: Professional zeal is a finite resource." Emily Yoffe reflects on her years in the news business—and how she came face to face with the ultimate deadline. thefp.com/p/ambition-wil…

Dear Members of the @PulitzerPrizes board, My name is Emily Damari. I was held hostage in Gaza for over 500 days. On the morning of October 7, I was at home in my small studio apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas terrorists burst in, shot me and dragged me across the border into Gaza. I was one of 251 men, women, children, and elderly people kidnapped that day from their beds, their homes, and a music festival. For almost 500 days I lived in terror. I was starved, abused, and treated like I was less than human. I watched friends suffer. I watched hope dim. And even now, after returning home, I carry that darkness with me - because my best friends, Gali and Ziv Berman are still being held in the Hamas terror tunnels. So imagine my shock and pain when I saw that you awarded a Pulitzer Prize to Mosab Abu Toha. This is a man who, in January, questioned the very fact of my captivity. He posted about me on Facebook and asked, “How on earth is this girl called a hostage?” He has denied the murder of the Bibas family. He has questioned whether Agam Berger was truly a hostage. These are not word games - they are outright denials of documented atrocities. You claim to honor journalism that upholds truth, democracy, and human dignity. And yet you have chosen to elevate a voice that denies truth, erases victims, and desecrates the memory of the murdered. Do you not see what this means? Mosab Abu Toha is not a courageous writer. He is the modern-day equivalent of a Holocaust denier. And by honoring him, you have joined him in the shadows of denial. This is not a question of politics. This is a question of humanity. And today, you have failed it.

A 409-page report, produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, reviews 17 international studies. Among its findings: — No evidence that medical transition reduces suicide risk — Risks include infertility, sexual dysfunction, cardiovascular disease — U.S. studies on transitioning minors are methodologically flawed

My piece for the Free Press on the Harvard antisemitism report: thefp.com/p/david-wolpe-…

"This is not a problem for Israel. Israel has an army...But this is a profound problem for America and the rest of the West." ~@DouglasKMurray 👏👏👏 Why do so many people find it so easy to be on side of evil? Credit: The Free Press/@bariweiss