Ziva David captivity storyline

The Ziva David captivity storyline refers to a series of episodes from the American police procedural drama NCIS surrounding the imprisonment of protagonist Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) in a Somali terrorist training camp and its aftermath. Originally created by then-executive producer Shane Brennan, the story arc first aired in 2009 during the sixth season of the show and continued into the seventh season. Episodes followed the events that originally led to Ziva being taken hostage by an Islamic terrorist and the later effects of the event: her relationship with Michael Rivkin, the collapse of her relationship with Tony DiNozzo, Rivkin's death at the hands of Tony and the loss of trust between Ziva and the NCIS team as a result, her leaving NCIS to rejoin Mossad, her captivity and eventual rescue, and the ramifications of the abuse she suffered.

Elements of prisoner abuse and torture were used for the storyline, though most of the violence perpetrated against the character takes place off screen; producers avoided depicting explicit torture scenes like those commonly associated with the TV series 24.

The portrayal of Ziva's divided loyalties to the United States and Israel during this period attracted attention from several Jewish critics and columnists, who discussed its implications. Specifically, the actions of Ziva's father, Eli David (Michael Nouri), drew widespread debate, and his seeming nonchalant attitude towards his daughter's abuse garnered much criticism for the character. Within the series, it led to her decision to resign from Mossad and apply to become an NCIS agent and an American citizen.