The couple, who were abducted together from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 Hamas-led massacre, married on Sunday nearly 17 months after Troufanov was freed. President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog attended, along with several former hostages including Rom Braslavski. Cohen was released in November 2023; Troufanov spent 498 days in captivity before being freed in February 2025.
Former hostages Sasha Troufanov (referred to as Sasha Tropnov in earlier reports) and Sapir Cohen were married on Sunday evening, July 5, in a ceremony attended by President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog. The wedding, held nearly 17 months after Troufanov's release and over two and a half years after their abduction from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, marked a rare personal milestone for survivors of the Hamas-led massacre and subsequent captivity. The couple's entrance song, 'Mima'amakim,' was explained by Troufanov under the chuppah, as The Zioneer reported at 20:31 Jerusalem.
The Zioneer's coverage of the wedding unfolded in a rapid series of updates on Sunday evening, all timestamped at 20:31 Jerusalem. An initial report, accompanied by a photograph, confirmed the couple were married. Minutes later, N12 released footage of the couple under the wedding canopy, and further reports identified Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia, as the officiant. By 20:31, versions 5 through 7 detailed the breaking of the glass, President Herzog's attendance, and Troufanov's explanation of the song choice. The presidential attendance—initially mentioned in Version 2 and confirmed in the draft's 'whats_new'—was established through multiple newsroom reports.
The wedding comes amid a broader context of October 7 survivor resilience and public reckoning with captivity trauma. As The Zioneer reported on Sunday, July 5, former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky detailed sexual abuse in Hamas captivity in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. Last week on July 2, President Herzog met with survivors of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom and bereaved families at the President's Residence to mark 1,000 days since the attack, calling the milestone a reminder of 'Israel's ability to grow out of crisis.' Troufanov's fellow former hostage Rom Braslavski, who attended the wedding, publicly thanked President Donald Trump at the White House in June 2025 for his role in securing releases.
No open questions remain regarding the core facts of the wedding ceremony itself. The reports consistently describe a joyful event attended by dignitaries and fellow survivors, with the couple's personal choices—the song, the officiant—publicly documented.
5 developments
- DevelopingPresident Herzog meets October 7 survivors from Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, bereaved families at President's Residence on day 1,000
- StrongFreed hostage Rom Braslavsky thanks Trump at White House meeting
- ConfirmedWidow of fallen Oct. 7 soldier marries his former commander
- DevelopingNetanyahu meets released hostage and his father at local government conference
Source and signal
- Internal intake