{"id":18863,"date":"2025-04-04T11:20:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T08:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=18863"},"modified":"2025-04-04T11:20:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T08:20:36","slug":"freed-hostage-karina-arayev-launches-2025-jerusalem-marathon-in-powerful-moment-of-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-karina-arayev-launches-2025-jerusalem-marathon-in-powerful-moment-of-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Freed Hostage Karina Arayev Launches 2025 Jerusalem Marathon in Powerful Moment of Resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 Jerusalem Marathon opened Friday morning with a powerful and emotional moment as Karina Arayev\u2014who was freed from Hamas captivity after more than 500 days\u2014launched the 5-kilometer race, sending thousands of runners on their way. The first wave of the race began at 7:00 a.m., followed by a second start at 7:15 a.m., with over 10,000 participants in the 5K event.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Not Here Just for Myself<\/strong>
\nAddressing the crowd before the race, Arayev said: \u201cI\u2019m not here just for myself. I\u2019m here for those who haven\u2019t yet returned. For those who fell, for those still waiting. For those whose memory is forever etched in our hearts\u2026 We\u2019re here today to remind ourselves and the world\u2014–we can. We don\u2019t break. We run because we are strong. We run because we are free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Standing beside her were Mayor Lion, who ran the race himself, along with other dignitaries.
\n

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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Community Run Highlights Social Inclusion<\/strong>
\nAt 8:00 a.m., the \u201cCommunities Run\u201d\u2014an 800-meter inclusive event\u2014kicked off to promote awareness for social causes. The launch was led by Amal Assad, Chair of “For the Druze Sons” Association, and Kalman Samuels, founder of the Shalva Center, an organization which provides an all-encompassing range of services for thousands of people with disabilities from infancy to adulthood. Assad praised the city, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cJerusalem is a shining example of the extraordinary relationship with the Druze community. It is a great honor to participate in Israel\u2019s largest marathon.\u201d
\n

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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Jerusalem Marathon 2025 in full stride | Photo: SportPhotography
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Dozens of social organizations took part in the race, including: the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization, World Bnei Akiva, Shalva, United Hatzalah, OneFamily, Koby Mandell Foundation, Michael Levin Base, Beit Daniella, among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jerusalem, Israel<\/strong> – In an emotional and symbolic gesture, Karina Arayev, Hamas captivity survivor, opened the 2025 Jerusalem Marathon on Friday morning, launching the 5-kilometer race alongside Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":18864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,85,4],"tags":[1476,3615,3543,3813,2929,3814],"class_list":["post-18863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-positive-moment","category-sports","tag-gaza","tag-hostage-survivors","tag-jerusalem-marathon","tag-karina-arayev","tag-moshe-lion","tag-shalva"],"yoast_head":"\nFreed Hostage Karina Arayev Launches 2025 Jerusalem Marathon in Powerful Moment of Resilience - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freed Hostage Karina Arayev Launches 2025 Jerusalem Marathon in Powerful Moment of Resilience\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jerusalem, Israel - 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