Former hostage Noa Argamani, who was kidnapped by Hamas-led terrorists in October 2023 and rescued in a daring IDF operation last year, was included in Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People of 2025.
She features alongside major world leaders and Jewish figures such as actor Adrien Brody, Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Argamani responded that she is “deeply honored.”
“The video of Noa Argamani on Oct. 7, 2023, is forever seared into my soul,” wrote former US second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, in her entry on the Time website.
“She was joyfully dancing with so many others at the Nova music festival when Hamas launched its brutal terrorist attack. As she was kidnapped into Gaza on a motorcycle, her harrowing expression became a symbol of the pain and trauma Jews worldwide, myself included, continue to feel.”
He noted Argamani’s partner Avinatan Or, who is still captive in Gaza, as well as her “extraordinary courage and humanity in speaking out” for the plight of hostages who remain in captivity.
“My wife Kamala Harris and I stand with Noa in fighting for the release of all the hostages. We cannot give up until every one of them is home,” Emhoff wrote.
“Noa’s advocacy has illuminated Hamas’s extreme brutality, but more importantly, her bravery has embodied Jewish resilience and strength even in the worst moments. She is living proof to the world that, despite everything, ‘we will dance again.'”
In a post to X, Argamani wrote that she is “grateful that this recognition continues to shine a light on the hostage crisis and the horrific attacks of October 7th. It’s a powerful reminder of the urgent need to keep speaking out.”
“I’m especially humbled to serve as a voice for the hostages who remain in captivity – those who can’t speak for themselves,” she wrote.
“Since my rescue, I’ve made a promise to do everything in my power to bring the others home, including my love, my partner, Avinatan Or, who is still being held in the tunnels of Gaza,” Argamani continued. “There are still 59 hostages in Gaza. Innocent people. They need us. We must not stop. Bring Them ALL Home. NOW.”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas led over 5,000 attackers in an invasion of southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages to the Gaza Strip. The attack triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
At the Nova music festival, close to the border with Gaza, terrorists slaughtered 361 people and abducted dozens, including Argamani and Or.
Heart-wrenching video of Argamani’s abduction, in which she was seen screaming as her terrorist captors drove her away on the back of a motorcycle and reaching out for Or, who was marched alongside, was among the most widely seen footage from the October 7 onslaught.
She was rescued from Nuseirat in central Gaza by IDF troops after nine months of captivity in a daring daylight operation on June 8, along with hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.
Since her rescue, Argamani has advocated publicly for the release of the remaining hostages, and in July last year accompanied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his trip to Washington, DC, where she told him that the remaining hostages in Gaza “must be brought home as quickly as possible, before it is too late.”
She also met with US President Donald Trump, along with seven other hostages, in the Oval Office last month. In February, she addressed the UN Security Council.
Also on the Time 100 Most Influential People list were Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, billionaire Elon Musk, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Argentine President Javier Milei and new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.