For more than two years, Alon Ohel’s piano was waiting for him.
As he was held in Hamas tunnels with an eye injury, he pretended to play it, tapping the keys on his legs.
In the meantime, in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, many of the nation’s greatest musicians came to play a yellow piano put there to remind anyone who passed by of the young man captured from the Nova Festival, to call for his return.
And now, Alon is back.
On Oct. 13, he was released, along with the last remaining 20 living hostages. On the helicopter to the hospital, he quoted a song that he longed to play, “A Song With No Name” by Yehudit Ravitz. The singer got to speak to his family about how moved she was to see her song helping a person in the bleakest of moments. She even recorded a special version of it just for him.
And now, Alon Ohel is finally playing his piano again.
The 24-year-old appeared on Israel’s most-watched satirical comedy show, “Eretz Nehederet,” (“A Great Country”) for his first public performance. Nine months earlier, singer Hanan Ben Ari got together with the show’s beloved cast to sing the song “Shemesh,” “Sun,” in Alon’s honor. During that performance, the words “Alon, You’re Not Alone” were on top of the piano. The yellow sign was also on that piano in Hostages Square.
In his “Eretz Nedederet” performance, that same sign for Alon was perched on top of the instrument — but Alon’s hands were the ones dancing across the keys with passionate flourishes. He looked immersed in the music, in the moment, serious and thoughtful with a patch over his right eye. The song he played was “Under the Sky,” written by Meir Ariel and originally sung by famed Israeli musician David Broza, who actually played the piano for Alon at a rally in NYC 100 days after October 7.
via Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
At the TV studio, Alon started playing with his brother, Ronen, who sat by his side, strumming on the guitar and singing along with the cast.
״We came here/Under the sky/Two/Like a pair of eyes/We have time/Under these skies/For now, we are still here/Us two are one/One, whole and big, whole and round,” they chanted, and they were soon joined by Alon’s family: his mother, Idit, his father, Kobi, and his sister, Inbar, who all fought tirelessly for him.
“And despite the sorrow/And despite the pain/And despite the sorrow/I love and love and love,” the cast kept singing.
The room was full of love indeed, with “We Were the Lucky Ones” actor Lior Ashkenazi, who often appears on the show as different political characters, and who spoke often at rallies for the hostages, hugging Kobi. Alon kept a serious face until Eli Finish, one of the cast members, kissed the top of his head, and then he broke into a little self-conscious smile.
When the song was over, he stood up to standing ovations and mouthed an emotional and heartfelt “thank you” to the crowd.
We’re so glad Alon and the piano are one again. Though we know the road to his recovery is not over, this feels like a big, important step.
