Family and friends of the murdered American journalist Steven Sotloff mounted a campaign to hide his Jewish faith from his captors in a desperate effort to keep him alive.
They managed to remove all references to his faith and dual US-Israeli citizenship from the internet, fearing that his captors would single him out for harsh treatment.
And although their efforts were no protection against the ultimate brutality of the Islamic State (Isis) hostage-takers, friends have taken comfort from the fact that he was able to conceal something of himself.
Danielle Berrin, a friend since childhood, said: “Don’t you think they would have been bragging about it if they knew they were killing a Jew?”
One freed hostage told the Israeli website Yedioth Aharonoth: “He used to pray secretly in the direction of Jerusalem. He would see in which direction [the Muslim kidnappers] were praying and then adjust the angle.”
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Mr Sotloff counted the number of days he had been held so he could observe Jewish religious festivals and during Yom Kippur. “He told them he was sick and didn’t want to eat,” the former hostage who was held with him said.
Mr Sotloff, originally from Florida, moved to Israel six years ago to finish his degree and was granted citizenship after he graduated. He worked as a journalist for the Jerusalem Post as well as American publications.
A network of 150 friends worked throughout his time in captivity to remove all online references to his faith whenever they arose. His parents also joined the effort and an online biography of his mother Shirley was deleted from the website of the school where she taught to hide the fact that her parents were Holocaust survivors.
Avi Hoffman, editor of the Jerusalem Report, said: “We refused to acknowledge any relationship with him in case it was dangerous for him.”
After Sotloff was murdered, Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry, tweeted: “Cleared for publication: Steven Sotloff was Israel citizen RIP.”
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In a separate development, it emerged yesterday that online social media companies Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all moved to prevent the proliferation of the second behading video, which showed Sotloff’s death.