The Rubin Report: "Chilling Details of How Hamas Treated Hostages in Captivity"

Host: Dave Rubin
Guest: Juan Selene (Hostage survivor from Nova Festival)
Date: October 7, 2025

Episode Overview

This raw and powerful episode features Dave Rubin in conversation with Juan Selene, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attack on the Nova Festival. Juan shares her harrowing experience of being kidnapped, the agonizing 54 days of captivity in Gaza, and the brutality she—and other hostages—faced at the hands of Hamas. Through intimate storytelling, Selene sheds light on the mental and physical abuse endured, the psychological warfare, the desperate moments, and the resilience she found in her faith and hope for survival.

The conversation is an unflinching look at the lived realities behind headlines, moving beyond statistics to individual stories that speak to the cost of terror, the plight of hostages still in captivity, and the urgent plea for the world to understand the human toll.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Attack and Abduction

• Selene’s Background and Arrival at Nova: Juan introduces herself as a 41-year-old jewelry designer, attending her first festival as a vendor, recounting the strange bad hunches before the attack.
  “The entire night was bad hunches that I couldn’t explain.” (00:04)
• The Onset of Chaos: At 6:29am, rockets signaled the start of unprecedented violence.
  “Two rockets in the sky... and then, like many testimonies I’m sure you heard, there was non stop bombing—rockets, grenades, RPGs.” (01:05)
• The Panic and Escape Attempts: Juan describes the confusion, disbelief, and desperate attempts to escape, including hiding in trees and being shot at while fleeing in a car.
  “Nobody taught us how to be that hopeless... it was complete chaos.” (02:45)
• Separation and Capture: After multiple terrifying encounters—three times narrowly escaping—Juan is ultimately captured after pretending to be an Arab, using her Arabic-language necklace as a ruse.
  “I pretended to be an Arab... I had an Arabic necklace on my neck... trying to protect my life...” (07:47)

In Captivity: Abuse, Survival, and Psychological Torture

• Physical and Mental Torture: Hostages faced daily beatings, near starvation, lack of medical care, and near-constant threats.
  “I was beaten up on my head, my leg, everywhere... being threatened again and again and again.” (12:41, 22:35)
• The Loss of Humanity: Hostages were treated as less than human, with personal identities stripped away.
  “They don’t see me as a human being. I’m just flesh and blood. That’s it.” (12:41)
• Psychological Warfare: Interrogations were relentless, and captors deliberately fostered confusion and despair.
  “The worst of the worst was the mental abuse... every single day investigation, conversation, that you think he’s on your side, but then he turns on you.” (24:45)
• Daily Reality: Juan recounts the lack of food and hygiene, enduring infection, lice, and rationed water.
  “I lost 8 kilos in 54 days... there were days this is it, you have one half of pita and that’s it.” (24:02) “20 milliliters of salty water... that’s the budget for two days.” (29:25)
• The Struggle for Dignity: Even kindness from captors was hollow and manipulative, with apparent human gestures overshadowed by overall cruelty.
  “He started taking the spikes out of my hand... when I said ‘ow’ he said ‘shh, no screaming’... sit like a robot and wait for him to finish.” (31:00)
• Captivity with Other Hostages: Initially forbidden from communicating, Juan became a guardian for a young fellow prisoner.
  “I need to be her mother now. And that was the situation in every house.” (20:47)

The Manipulation of Reality and the Outside World

• Hostages Used as Human Shields: Hostages were kept in civilian homes near missile launchers, putting Gazan families at risk.
  “The houses were exploding not only from our rockets, there were missile launchers next to the houses... using us as human shields.” (25:31)
• Propaganda and Lies: Hostages were told lies about their families and the situation in Israel to break their spirits.
  “They told me that everything was bombed and that I don’t have a family to come back to. Nobody’s fighting for me.” (40:15)

The Rescue and Coming Home

• Build-Up and Deceit: Juan’s release was drawn out, repeatedly told she would go home—only to be pulled back. On the final day, she describes the arduous journey to the Red Cross, and the overwhelming fear that even this was another trick.
  “They fooled me from that point on three times that I’m going home...” (35:04)
• The Pain of Liberation: Juan realized she was filmed globally upon release, hugging the Red Cross driver out of gratitude—then questioning why the organization did not do more to visit or advocate for the hostages.
  “Why didn’t you come to see us?... You're allowed to visit the children—but not the hostages?” (39:18)
• First Joy and Relief: Touching her family for the first time brought indescribable relief and gratitude.
  “It’s beyond miracle. To be able to hug my family again… beyond the best achievement of my life.” (46:40)

Reflections on Faith, Humanity, and Hope

• Faith as Survival: Faith was a critical sustaining element for Juan and fellow hostages.
  “That’s the one thing that really puts a smile on my face... how much faith held them every single day.” (49:26)
• On the Nature of Humanity: Juan questions the nature of humanity as displayed—or denied—by her captors, and emphasizes the need for education and moral clarity on both sides.
  “What is humanity?... They need to be educated all over again.” (33:18)
• Message to the World: Pleads for honesty, awareness, and shared humanity, criticizing ideologies that ignore real suffering for political narratives.
  “What do you expect? What do you want? That's it. It's that simple.” (42:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Describing the initial chaos:
  “Nobody taught us how to be that hopeless.” — Juan Selene, (02:45)
• On surviving capture:
  “I pretended to be an Arab... I had an Arabic necklace on my neck... trying to protect my life.” (07:47)
• On daily existence in captivity:
  “The worst of the worst was the mental abuse... every single day investigation... thinking they’re on your side, but then they turn on you.” (24:45)
• On humanity:
  “What is humanity? ...He gave me a smile in the morning, but I didn’t get back home, I didn’t get food…” (28:24)
• On education and cycles of violence:
  “They need to be educated all over again. Any person that has something bad to say about that situation needs to be educated all over again—from our side and their side, too.” (33:18)
• Faith and gratitude:
  “I found myself tons of time saying thank you every day because it’s not obvious I survived another day... the will of life, that’s what helped me.” (51:16)
• On political hypocrisy:
  “I see the gay community supporting Gaza, and I’m just asking—do you know that they don’t support you? Our country supports you 100%.” (43:09)
• Final message:
  “Please choose. What’s your goal in the morning? What do you want? … If something is bad, try to change it to the better, not fight against it by doing the same thing.” (52:44)
• Dave Rubin’s closing admiration:
  “You are without question the most extraordinary person that I’ve ever chatted with, period.” (52:44)

Important Timestamps

• 00:04: Introduction to Juan’s background and the Nova Festival
• 01:05: Attack sequence: rockets, panic, chaos
• 05:13: Hiding, confusion, and attempts at escape
• 09:55: Captured, pretending to be Arab, physical injuries
• 12:41: Torture, dehumanization, and survival strategies
• 17:36: Arrival in Gaza, hospital, being treated as a soldier-hostage
• 20:13: Life with fellow hostages, strict restrictions
• 24:45: Mental abuse and psychological warfare
• 29:25: Water and food deprivation, calculations for survival
• 31:00: Physical abuse disguised as “help”
• 35:04: Release process and betrayals
• 39:18: Questioning Red Cross, realization of public exposure
• 40:15: Lies told by captors about Israel and family
• 42:50: Plea for perspective, criticism of selective activism
• 46:07: Reunion with family, the emotional aftermath
• 49:26: Faith, acceptance, and finding meaning
• 52:44: Host’s closing praise and gratitude

Tone and Language

• Intimate, Raw, and Unfiltered: Juan speaks openly about terror, loss, faith, and resilience—with urgency and vulnerability.
• Reflective and Analytical: Both Juan and Dave periodically reflect on broader questions of humanity, politics, and societal division.
• Empathetic and Emotional: Many moments find both guest and host close to tears, underlining the gravity of the narrative.

Summary & Value for Listeners

This episode stands out as an essential testimonial to the enduring suffering—and heroism—of hostages in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Juan Selene’s detailed, personal narrative transcends news reports, providing an honest, immersive look at survival, trauma, and the need for empathy and action. It’s a moving call to compassion, self-examination, and advocacy for those still waiting to come home.