Hostages

BOULDER, Colo.—One week after foreign national Mohamed Soliman firebombed a Jewish group's weekly march in support of the Israeli hostages, Colorado's Jewish community gathered at the site of the attack in a show of strength and resilience. Soliman's attack did not deter the Boulder Jewish Community Center from moving forward with its 30th annual Jewish Festival on Sunday. Instead, it prompted event planners to place Run for Their Lives Boulder's weekly walk, which Soliman targeted, at the center of the festival. Thousands participated in the march in solidarity, albeit with enhanced security, which encouraged community center executive director Jonathan Lev to hold the festival. https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/p1_6Ws8x8oDyYG88.mp4 "In the wake of last Sunday’s terror attack, I didn’t know how—or if—holding the Boulder Jewish Festival would be possible from a security perspective, or whether our community would even want this event, which is traditionally a celebration of Jewish culture, to go on as planned," Lev said in a statement. "But with the full weight of state and local law enforcement behind us, the support of Governor Polis, Run for Their Lives, and community leaders, and the overwhelming feedback from our community that we not only want to gather—but need to gather—we’ve reimagined the Festival into something that promises to be the most powerful and memorable yet." The Washington Free Beacon spoke to a dozen Jews from the area during Sunday’s festival. The attendees, many of whom donned kippahs and waved Israeli flags, said they felt prideful following last week's attack. Attendee Danny Simon, for example, returned home to Denver from Israel just days before Soliman’s attack. Even after visiting the site of the Nova Music Festival and some of the kibbutzim that Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, the 35-year-old said the United States seems scarier for Jews than Israel—though he said he doesn’t feel "fearful." "Crazy, you're like literally leaving a war zone more or less and you come back to something like this," he told the Free Beacon. "There's a lot of people here that agreed with what that guy did, you know? They want to see Jews die. They want to see Zionists die. They think what he did was a good thing." Simon said he felt "more prideful, more emboldened" in response. "Now is not the time to kind of kowtow and hide at home to be scared that something like this might happen again," he said. "I think we just have to do the opposite of that and show more numbers … and say that we're not scared, and we're here and we're proud." Exactly a week before the festival, in the same location, Soliman yelled "Free Palestine" as he threw Molotov cocktails at Run for Their Lives members, injuring 15, according to prosecutors. The Egyptian national, who entered the United States under the Biden administration and overstayed his visa, told investigators he wanted to "kill all Zionist people," and that he’d been plotting the attack for a year. He is now facing a federal hate crime charge and 118 state charges, including attempted murder. Simon said he felt Soliman deserved the death penalty. "Public execution," he said. "Straight up." Anti-Semitic incidents have surged in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Less than two weeks before the Boulder firebombing, Elias Rodriguez shot and killed two Israeli embassy aides at point blank range, yelling "free, free Palestine" as he was arrested. The two violent attacks prompted the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to issue an alert "to highlight potential public safety concerns related to ongoing threats to Jewish and Israeli communities." Some Colorado Jews expressed concern with the environment but emphasized that it would not deter them. Alan Shavit-Lonstein, a rabbi with Boulder-based Adventure Judaism, said he was "realistically scared" but "it's obviously not keeping me at home." "The reality of anti-Semitism and threats against Jews is not new, but the speed at which violent rhetoric becomes violent, deadly action has increased," he said. "That's, I think, something we are all intimately aware of." Denver's Isabelle Darcy echoed Shavit-Lonstein’s sentiments, adding that she hopes Soliman’s attack "helps open people's eyes to the overlap between anti-Zionism and anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism." "I think a lot of people would really like to separate those two," she said. In addition to the Run for Their Lives march, this year’s Jewish Festival featured a speech from the brother-in-law of an Israeli hostage as well as "Hostage Square," a visual installation honoring the 55 remaining hostages. "This walk has always been about peace and awareness," Run for Their Lives Boulder founder Rachel Amaru said in a statement ahead of the festival. "Now, it’s also about resilience. We will show the world that we are still here, still walking, and still standing for life, human dignity, and the return of the hostages. Sunday will be a moment for our community to begin healing." The police department for Boulder—a city typically known for beautiful views of Colorado’s Flatirons and upscale neighborhoods—deployed SWAT teams and drones for the event. Boulder, like many cities across the United States following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, has faced a number of jarring anti-Semitic incidents. Agitators at the University of Colorado Boulder, which is in some ways central to the city, have consistently disrupted campus with anti-Israel demonstrations. City council member Taishya Adams, meanwhile, has repeatedly used her platform to denounce Israel. Every member of the council—except Adams—signed a statement acknowledging "in strongest possible terms" that the firebombing "was a targeted, antisemitic attack." "We stand in solidarity and sadness with those directly impacted by the attack as well as Boulder’s entire Jewish community," the statement read. "We are united in condemning this hateful act of terror against Jewish people." Adams released her own statement explaining that the council’s release lacked "an acknowledgement that, based on his recorded comments, this was both an act of antisemitism and anti-Zionism." Still, Soliman’s attack has brought out an outpouring of support for the Jewish community. On Wednesday, around 1,200 people, including Colorado governor Jared Polis (D.), attended a vigil honoring the victims. "Tonight we come together to find comfort in community. We know that resilience, strength, and pride is who we are—as Coloradans, as Boulder County residents and as Jews," Polis, the Centennial State’s first Jewish governor, told the crowd. He also called Soliman’s attack an "act of terrorism." Jessica Schwalb contributed to this report. The post Colorado’s Jewish Community Rallies One Week After Firebombing appeared first on .

Several Americans who spent more than a year as hostages of the Iranian regime beginning in 1979 reacted with ambivalence—or outright dismay—at the prospect of President Donald Trump cutting a deal with the Islamic Republic. "I don't think they're honorable," Clair Cortland Barnes, now 80, told the Washington Free Beacon from his home in Leland, N.C., referring to the Iranian government. "I think that whatever deal you make with them, they're going to break as soon as they can." Barnes, a former U.S. government communications specialist, spent 444 days in captivity at the U.S. embassy in Iran after it was overrun by radical Islamist followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. During his time in captivity, Barnes personally witnessed Iranians beating prisoners who attempted to escape. A Trump voter, Barnes was an outspoken critic of former president Barack Obama's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and warned Trump that the Iranians are "liars" and that any agreement would only be "a paper deal." "I kind of consider the Iranians and Putin to be in the same boat," Barnes said. William Gallegos, a 21-year-old Marine Corps guard when he was taken hostage by the Iranian radicals, said he was "ambivalent" about a deal with his former captors. "Even though President Trump is a great negotiator, you know Iran; even if they make a deal, whatever happens once Iran gets what they want?" Gallegos asked. "Then they screw everybody else over, and then it's done, and then it starts all over again. And that's the way it's been for, what, 40-something years now." Gallegos, like Barnes, voted for Trump. After a career with the Marines, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Denver Police Department as a detective, he retired in 2019. In a 2009 oral history of the hostage crisis, he recalled the Iranians tying him up and blindfolding him. "It's just, just the way Iran is," Gallegos told the Free Beacon. "It's always been that way. You know, Iran doesn't care about anybody else. They never have, you know, since our situation, and it's, you know, it's like I say, once a deal is made, Iran always manages to break it, so it doesn't matter." The reactions from former hostages come at what appears to be an uncertain point in negotiations between the two sides. While Trump has declared that Iran may not continue to enrich uranium as part of any new deal, U.S. media reports indicate that his administration's proposal may allow some enrichment. Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei rejected the offer, calling it "nonsense" from the "rude and arrogant leaders of America." "The U.S.'s first word is that Iran should not have a nuclear industry," Khamenei said. "Our response to America's nonsense claims is clear: They cannot do a damn thing in this matter." For Kevin Hermening, who was a young Marine when he was taken prisoner, a deal can only work "if it is built on unambiguous strength and non-negotiable principles." Enrichment is one of his biggest red lines. "It's a hard no for me on uranium for enrichment, for weapons purposes," Hermening said. Hermening made clear that he does not believe Iran would use any enrichment for peaceful purposes, noting that the Obama deal had not allowed inspectors unfettered access to suspected nuclear sites. Obama's JCPOA allowed the Iranians to pursue allegedly peaceful enrichment, a provision against which critics—including Trump—railed. "In fact, the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and, over time, reach the brink of a nuclear breakout," Trump noted in 2018, the year he tore up the agreement. "I can't imagine my emotional state if this President made a deal allowing Iran to pursue the development of nuclear weapons," Hermening said. Other former hostages told the Free Beacon they would like to see a deal. "I hope that they will be reasonable and successful," said Kathryn L. Koob, a former Foreign Service officer at the embassy. Barry Rosen, the embassy's former press attaché, said he "absolutely" wants an Iran deal—but is skeptical that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will be able to get it over the finish line. "I don't want to see a war break out—another war break out—in the Middle East," Rosen said. Steven W. Kirtley, who was another Marine guard at the embassy, said he is supportive of a deal because it would be "good for the [United States]." "What is the alternative?" he asked. John W. Limbert, now 82, was a political officer at the embassy during the crisis and hung around in the Foreign Service after his release. He later served as deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for Iranian affairs and ultimately as U.S. ambassador to Mauritania from 2000 to 2003. "I'd like to see, you know, the U.S. and Iran, at least, be on some more positive track than we've been for the last 45 years," Limbert told the Free Beacon. "We can, we can continue doing what we've done for the last 45 years," he said. "But you know, unless you've been living in a tree, I mean, it's pretty obvious it hasn't accomplished much." The post Former Iranian Hostages Speak Out: No Deal With the Ayatollah appeared first on .

A Hamas operative who held Israeli civilians hostage in Gaza said Hamas works with anti-Israel protesters and the media to spread anti-Semitism in the United States, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday. Former hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv say in the lawsuit that one of their Hamas captors, Abdallah Aljamal, told them that "Hamas in Gaza was coordinating with its allies, including its allies in the media and on college campuses, to foment hatred against Israel and Jews," the Times of Israel reported. Ziv's captors, including Aljamal, "showed him a news report with stories and pictures of the Columbia protests and the Encampment," the court filing says. "With the news report on, his captors told him, 'You see we have our own people everywhere,'" the filing goes on. "They then told him that Hamas has an 'army' operating out of Gaza that focuses specifically on media and sending Hamas propaganda and messaging throughout America and all around the world." Jan, Kozlov, and Ziv were rescued in an Israel Defense Forces operation last June that killed Aljamal. The revelation comes after anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas protests have swept U.S. college campuses following the terrorist group's Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. President Donald Trump has cracked down on campus anti-Semitism, revoking billions of dollars in federal funding from universities that have repeatedly failed to protect Jewish students. Columbia University, which Ziv's captors singled out, in particular has sparked widespread backlash for failing to curb pro-Hamas encampments and demonstrations that glorify violence against Jews. Earlier this month, a mob of agitators stormed a campus library, passed out pamphlets that openly endorsed Hamas's attacks, and chanted, "There is only one solution, intifada revolution." The Friday lawsuit targets the People Media Project, a U.S.-based, tax-exempt nonprofit that runs the Palestine Chronicle, a pro-Hamas news outlet for which Aljamal wrote. According to the lawsuit, the Chronicle served as a platform for Aljamal to "disseminate Hamas propaganda," thereby providing material support to a U.S.-designated terrorist group. Aljamal has "repeatedly expressed his hatred for the State of Israel and the United States" and said that "Hamas was going to ensure that the United States, as well as Jews and Israelis, are hated everywhere," according to the lawsuit. The post Hamas Terrorist Said Group Collaborates With US Campus Protesters: 'We Have Our Own People Everywhere' appeared first on .

As the world marks 600 days since 7 October, what we could and should have done

“Israel is demanding something basic, moral, human—to return our boys and girls home,” said Danny Danon, the Israeli envoy to the UN.

It’s been quite a week for Israeli homecomings. On Monday, American-Israeli Edan Alexander was returned to Israel after 584 harrowing days of captivity in Hamas’ dungeons under Gaza. Alexander, now 21, was just 19 years old on Oct. 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror army invaded Israel and took him hostage alongside about 250 other Israelis and foreign nationals. He subsisted in unbearable conditions, often shackled, nearly starved, and locked underground without any natural light for over 19 months. Hamas, in addition to taking civilian hostages like Alexander, also slaughtered 1,200 people on Oct. 7—mostly civilians, including days-old babies and elderly Holocaust survivors—and started the war that has roiled the Middle East for the past year and a half. Though the Gaza-based terror organization continues to hold 58 hostages in violation of international law and the most basic norms of human decency, Alexander’s release is a welcome step toward justice and peace for a country and a region that need it desperately. It is a very good sign that America, Israel, and their partners across the globe were able to extract this release from Hamas without offering anything in return. Clearly, the terrorists have been bearing the brunt of the Israeli army’s unrelenting military pressure. Almost all the Hamas leaders who spearheaded the Oct. 7 assault are dead or living in exile, mostly harbored in Qatar. And Hamas has barely been able to muster rocket attacks on Israeli cities, which used to be a fixture of life in Israel’s south, even before the current war. But actually, Alexander is not the only captive Israeli who came home over the past few days. The other is Zvi Feldman. And in many ways, his story is even more vital for understanding both the exceptional challenges and the exceptional commitment of the Israeli state and the Israeli people. You see, Feldman was an Israeli tank commander who disappeared in 1982 during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, a sub-theater of the First Lebanon War. He was presumed kidnapped and likely killed by enemy forces, but for years, Israel knew little about his whereabouts. However, the country’s intelligence apparatus never stopped hunting and recently came upon information that pointed toward a gravesite “in the heart of Syria.” Undeterred, the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad, Israel’s military and intelligence organizations, undertook a five-month covert operation to return his remains. And this Sunday, the Israeli government announced that they had been recovered and finally laid to rest within Israel. To outsiders, this story is confusing and a little strange. Why risk the lives of dozens of elite commandos to repatriate the body of a soldier who died over four decades ago? Nevertheless, to those who understand, this is a textbook manifestation of Israel’s raison d’être—its reason for being and its rallying cry. In a world where antisemitism never quite seems to go away, the sole Jewish country recognizes that it is tasked with a divine mission: not only to be a refuge and homeland for Jewish people, but to be their defender even outside its borders. To go to unbelievable lengths to protect them and bring them home. Never, ever to give up on anyone. Feldman’s return, said a senior Israeli official, “proves that even 43 years after a soldier falls, Israel does not abandon the mission.” I can think of few other countries that would do the same. The twin homecomings of Edan Alexander and Zvi Feldman are reasons for celebration each by themselves. But together, they provide a special window into the outlook of the Jewish State. For Israel, defending its people is an obsession and a sacred duty. It will never sleep. And just when you think it may have forgotten, it will go to the ends of the earth to bring its children home. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post 2 Very Different Hostage Homecomings Show Israel’s Dedication to Its People appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Hamas has released Edan Alexander, the last living American Israeli hostage in Gaza, just as President Donald Trump departed the United States for a four-day trip to the Middle East. Trump called Alexander’s release “a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators—Qatar and Egypt—to put an end to this very brutal war and return all living hostages and remains to their loved ones.” Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, is free after 584 days. pic.twitter.com/Eyi27ffncN — Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) May 12, 2025 Alexander, 21, had been held hostage since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 550 days, and is expected to be released as soon as Monday morning. “Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict,” Trump added on Truth Social. “I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”   The best Mother's Day gift Yael Alexander could ever receive! After 583 days in Hamas captivity, Edan Alexander is coming home. pic.twitter.com/Zpic4NsjIi — Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) May 12, 2025 Alexander was born in Tel Aviv but grew up in New Jersey. He chose to return to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces after high school.   Alexander was stationed on the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023, during Hamas’ attack on Israel. That morning, he spoke to his mother, Yael Alexander, on the phone and told her it was “like a war” there but assured her he was safe. That was the last time they spoke.  During a conversation with The Daily Signal earlier this year, Yael Alexander said she will be able to “breathe for the first time in a long time” when her son is finally set free.   Edan Alexander’s family learned of his forthcoming release on Mother’s Day, and expressed their “deepest gratitude” to Trump, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and the Trump administration “for their tireless work to make this happen.”   “We urge the Israeli government and the negotiating teams: please don’t stop,” the family continued. “We hope our son’s release begins negotiations for all 58 remaining hostages, ending this nightmare for them and their families. No hostage should be left behind.”   Hamas announced the release of Alexander as a gesture of “goodwill” as negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas continue, according to reporting from the BBC.   Another 58 hostages remain in Gaza, though at least 35 are dead. The bodies of American hostages Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Haggai, and Omer Nuetra remain in Gaza.  The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Alexander’s release is “possible due to the vigorous policy that we have led with the backing of President Trump, and thanks to the military pressure of IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip.”  “Israel has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind or the release of terrorists but only to a safe corridor that will allow for the release of Edan,” the prime minister’s office added.  Last week, Israeli defense officials announced Hamas has “a window of opportunity” to agree to a hostage deal with Israel before the end of Trump’s visit to the Middle East. If no deal is reached, Israel plans to launch an aggressive campaign inside Gaza aimed at the elimination of Hamas.   Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16.   The post Last Living American Israeli Hostage Released Ahead of Trump’s Middle East Trip appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Southern District Attorney Erez Padan, who is in charge of prosecuting Nukhba [special forces unit of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas] terrorists, is also reportedly opposed to pursuing convictions for crimes that can not be proven in court. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prohibited public hearings on a proposed law to execute October 7 Nukhba terrorists, fearing it

(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg ) President Donald Trump on Sunday night announced that American citizen Edan Alexander, the last American still alive held hostage by Hamas, is to be released and returned home, confirming reports earlier in the day that Hamas was set to turn over Alexander as a gesture of “good will” to the president. “I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I am grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen.” Among those directly involved in securing that release was Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, whom the AP reported Sunday afternoon told the outlet that Hamas’s “goal in releasing Alexander was to restart talks on a ceasefire” and increase humanitarian aid in Gaza. Witkoff has been at the center of an internal firestorm in MAGA politics, with Fox News host Mark Levin on Sunday expressing concerns about exactly what sort of deal might have been made. In his post on Sunday evening, Trump said that the move by Hamas was taken “in good faith” toward reaching an end to the war that began when terror group Hamas committed the atrocities of October 7, 2023. “This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump wrote. “Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!” The AP added in their report that Hamas was “advised” to “give a gift to President Trump and in return he will give back a better one.” Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group has been in contact with the U.S. administration over the past few days. Al-Hayyah said in a statement Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce, which includes an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the handing over of power in Gaza to an independent body of technocrats. Indirect talks between Hamas and the U.S. began five days ago, an Egyptian official and a senior Hamas official told the AP, with both describing the release of Alexander as a gesture of goodwill. The senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Alexander is expected to be released on Monday. Hamas was advised to “give a gift to President Trump and in return he will give back a better one,” the official said. Edan Alexander is 21 years old Israeli soldier and American citizen who grew up in the United States. He’s been held hostage since 2023 by the terror group Hamas. This is a developing story and may be updated. The post ‘Coming Home to His Family’: Trump Announces Edan Alexander, Last Living American Held Hostage by Hamas To Be Released first appeared on Mediaite.

Emily Damari spent nearly 500 days in Hamas captivity after terrorists shot her in the hand and forcibly took her from her home on Oct. 7, 2023. Now, the Pulitzer Prize board has awarded a man who Damari calls the “modern-day equivalent of a Holocaust denier.”   The Pulitzer board has awarded Mosab Abu Toha with a commentary prize for four pieces he published in The New Yorker discussing life in Gaza and the war’s devastation to the Palestinian people. With an active presence on social media, Abu Toha has repeatedly made his views of the war and criticism of Israel known, even going so far as to question Damari being called a hostage.   “This is a man who, in January, questioned the very fact of my captivity,” Damari wrote in a post on X this week. “He posted about me on Facebook and asked, ‘How on earth is this girl called a hostage?’”   The post, according to The Jewish Chronicle, from Abu Toha continued, “This is Emily Damari, a 28 UK-Israeli soldier that Hamas detained on 10/7 … So this girl is called a ‘hostage’? This soldier who was close to the border with a city that she and her country have been occupying is called a ‘hostage’?”  Damari, one of 251 hostages taken captive during Hamas attack on Israel a year and a half ago, was released in January. She lost two of her fingers when she was taken hostage and says she was “starved, abused, and treated like I was less than human” during her captivity. Even after being released and returning home, the former hostage says she carried “darkness” with her because her “best friends, Gali and Ziv Berman are still being held in the Hamas terror tunnels.”  Damari, 28, questioned the Pulitzer Prize board for claiming to “honor journalism that upholds truth, democracy, and human dignity. And yet you have chosen to elevate a voice that denies truth, erases victims, and desecrates the memory of the murdered.”   In a post on his X, Abu Toha says he was born in 1992 in a refugee camp in Gaza. On Oct. 13, 2023, Abu Toha lost 31 family members in a single airstrike on Gaza City. The writer and poet says the Israeli military detained him in November 2023 but later released him after determining that he was not a threat. “Mosab Abu Toha is not a courageous writer,” Damari told the board in her post. “He is the modern-day equivalent of a Holocaust denier. And by honoring him, you have joined him in the shadows of denial. This is not a question of politics. This is a question of humanity. And today, you have failed it.”   The Pulitzer Prize board did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment before publication. The post Former Hamas Hostage Bashes Pulitzer Board for Awarding ‘Modern-Day Equivalent of a Holocaust Denier’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

International Jewish-American entertainer Montana Tucker—renowned singer, dancer, actress, and social media influencer with millions of followers—visited Israel this week as part of a solidarity mission organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. During her visit, Tucker toured the Sheba Medical Center (Tel HaShomer), where she met with wounded civilians and IDF soldiers and heard firsthand accounts of heroism and survival. The highlight of her visit was a powerful and emotional meeting with hostage survivors Emily Damari and Roni Gonen, both abducted during the October 7 terrorist attacks. In a moving show of unity and resilience, Tucker, Damari, and Gonen posed together wearing shirts bearing the phrase “Jewish Resilience”, alongside Damari’s now-iconic hand gesture—an emerging global symbol of the strength, determination, and perseverance of the Israeli people and the Jewish nation in the wake of the October 7 massacre. The “Jewish Resilience” campaign was created by the Combat Antisemitism Movement in tribute to Damari’s story and spirit. May is Jewish American Heritage Month, and today we’re honoring social media star @montanatucker who uses her platform to celebrate Israel and bring the world’s attention to the hostages who remain in Hamas captivity. Last week, the documentary "The Children of October 7"… pic.twitter.com/Lz09XFHKRO — The Genesis Prize (@TheGenesisPrize) May 2, 2025 “Since October 7, Montana has been a brave and outspoken voice in support of Israel. She has consistently used her vast platform to express solidarity with the Jewish State and tell Israel’s story, even while facing personal threats,” said Sasha Roytman Dratwa, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement.  “Her visit has allowed her to witness the depth and diversity of Israeli society, connect with victims and survivors, and meet the many individuals who are finding creative and powerful ways to contribute to the national healing effort.” “The meeting between Montana and Emily and Roni was extremely powerful and symbolic. Montana witnessed first-hand what Jewish resilience against unspeakable cruelty looks like and how the Jewish spirit was not broken even in the most difficult circumstances, and in the end, prevailed.” Tucker’s visit underscores the growing involvement of cultural figures in fighting antisemitism and promoting truth and solidarity on the international stage. CAM is a global coalition engaging more than 850 partner organizations and five million people from a diverse array of religious, political, and cultural backgrounds in the common mission of fighting the world’s oldest hatred. CAM acts collaboratively to build a better future, free of bigotry, for Jews and all humanity. Attached image is of Tucker, Damari and Gonen holding “Jewish Resilience” shirts Credit: Combat Antisemitism Movement The post Montana Tucker launches “Jewish Resilience” campaign in meeting with hostage survivors appeared first on Israel365 News.

“As of today, it’s 21, three have died,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday.

Protesters in Tel Aviv held up portraits of Israeli hostages—next to it, photos of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Humanity and sympathy know no borders.

Jews across the world are currently celebrating Passover, but for Viki Cohen, “it’s not a holiday.”   For the second year in a row, Cohen is observing Passover while her son, Nimrod Cohen, is living in “hell” as a hostage in Gaza. “I’m his mother, and I miss him so much,” Viki Cohen told The Daily Signal. “I miss all the routine things of life—to hear his voice, to see his smile, to see the mess in his room, to hear this voice when he’s playing with his friends on the computer. I just miss him, and I wish to hug him again. That’s what I’m dreaming.” Viki Cohen with her son, Nimrod Cohen. (Family photo) Nimrod Cohen, now 20, was serving in a tank battalion in the Israel Defense Forces on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked and killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, including Cohen, back to Gaza. On the day of the attack, Viki Cohen’s husband was watching the video Hamas released on YouTube of the attack and quickly called his wife when he spotted their son in the footage. There, on the computer screen, was Nimrod Cohen in Hamas captivity.   “I was shocked,” Viki Cohen said. “I couldn’t breathe. It’s a moment I will never forget in my whole life. It was terrible. I didn’t know what to think, what to do.”   Nimrod Cohen has “a very rich inner world,” the mother says of her son. “He’s very sensitive to others, always thinking of others, like the family, his friends, and he never complains.”   One of Nimrod Cohen’s favorite pastimes was to play with his Rubik’s Cube, according to his mother. When Cohen’s tank was discovered after he was taken hostages, the young soldier’s Rubik’s Cube was found inside. Nimrod Cohen (Family photo) It has been more than 550 days since Viki Cohen’s son was taken hostage, and she and her family have not stopped advocating for his release. Viki Cohen stands with her husband and daughter as they advocate for the release of Nimrod Cohen from Hamas captivity. (Family photo) “We need the help of the American people, [from President Donald] Trump,” the mother said. “We trust him, and we know that because of him, many of the hostages came back, and we know that he is committed, and he wants to stop the war, and he wants to get a Nobel Prize for peace and he will do everything that’s necessary to put pressure on both sides.” Before his inauguration, Trump warned on social media that there would be “HELL TO PAY” if the terrorist group Hamas did not release all hostages by the time he assumed office. Shortly after Trump’s statement, Israel and Hamas reached a deal that included the release of 33 hostages, including two Israeli Americans. But today, 24 hostages, including Israeli American Edan Alexander, are still thought to be alive in Gaza. Hamas is also holding the bodies of an additional 35 hostages. During this Passover and Easter season, Viki Cohen is asking Americans to “remember” those hostages that are still being held captive.   Those who remain hostage are “not only names” on a page, the mother said, urging Americans to do “whatever they can do to bring them back home. And part of it is to say that the war must be stopped; otherwise they cannot come back.” Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages are ongoing, but mediators have yet to reach a deal that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to sign.   The post During Passover, Israeli Mother Asks for Help to Free Hostage Son From ‘Hell’ in Gaza appeared first on The Daily Signal.

By Mohamed A. Hussein and Mohammed HaddadPublished On 17 Apr 202517 Apr 2025  On April 17 every year, Palestinian Prisoner’s Day is commemorated to highlight the plight of those held in Israeli jails and their struggle for freedom against Israel’s continued occupation of their land. The day marks the 1974 release of Mahmoud Bakr Hijazi, the first Palestinian freed in a prisoner swap with Israel. It was later designated to honour all Palestinian prisoners and highlight Israel’s ongoing detention of Palestinians and violation of their rights. There are currently nearly 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails in Israel and the occupied territory, according to prisoners’ rights group Addameer. To Palestinians, they are political prisoners who must be freed. Of those in detention: 3,498 are held without charge or trial 400 are children 27 are women 299 are serving life sentences Administrative detainees, including women and children, can be held by the military for renewable six-month periods based on “secret evidence” that neither the detainee nor their lawyer is allowed to see. 400 child prisoners – Ahmad Manasra’s case Israel is the only country in the world that tries children in military courts, often denying them their basic rights. According to Defense for Children Palestine, about 500 to 700 Palestinian children are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system each year – some as young as 12. The most common charge is throwing stones, a crime punishable under military law by up to 20 years in prison. Currently, 400 Palestinian children remain in Israeli prisons, most are in pre-trial detention and have not been convicted of any offence. One of the most harrowing child prisoner cases is that of Ahmad Manasra, who was arrested at the age of 13, brutally interrogated and then sentenced.... READ MORE  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/17/a-nation-behind-bars-why-has-israel-imprisoned-10000-palestinians [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Yael and Adi Alexander say their “hope and trust rest” with President Donald Trump to bring home their son, Edan Alexander, after Hamas released a propaganda video of him.   “We implore you to use your leadership and negotiation skills to secure a deal that will bring all 59 hostages back to their families—including our son Edan and the other American citizens,” Yael and Adi Alexander said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “Their fate depends on your action,” his parents told Trump.   Yael and Adi Alexander, the parents of Edan Alexander, have issued the following statement in response to Hamas's video release last night: Our son’s love for Israel led him to leave his comfortable life in New Jersey and join the IDF. On October 7th, he stood his ground alone… pic.twitter.com/Mq1EX8084i — Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) April 13, 2025 On Saturday, as Jewish families around the world gathered to celebrate Passover, Hamas released a propaganda video of Edan Alexander, 21, the last living American Israeli hostage. Alexander has been held hostage in Gaza for over 550 days and is one of 24 hostages still believed to be alive. Hamas is also holding the bodies of an additional 35 hostages.   “It seems we are not wanted and we have been deserted here,” he said in the video.   “I am collapsing because of this disgusting world and disgusting Israeli government,” the hostage continued. “Every day, I see that he, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, controls the country like a dictator. I am collapsing physically and mentally.”   Edan Alexander was born in Tel Aviv but grew up in New Jersey. He chose to return to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces after high school. Alexander was stationed on the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023, during Hamas’ attack on Israel.   At the end of March, Hamas announced it would agree to a proposal from mediator states Egypt and Qatar that included the release of five hostages, including Alexander, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a pause in fighting for 50 days, and additional humanitarian aid into Gaza.    “I heard that three weeks ago, Hamas was ready to release me, however, you refused and left me here! Tell me why, why am I here and not at home with my family and friends,” he said in the video. The family of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander have given permission for the propaganda video released yesterday by Hamas to be published. Edan has spent 555 days in captivity. pic.twitter.com/Pnp2S0NGwe — Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) April 13, 2025 Israel has demanded that Hamas release at least 11 living hostages instead of five as negotiations continue, according to The Times of Israel. Alexander spoke directly to Trump in the video, telling him, “I believed you would free me alive. Why have you fallen victim to Netanyahu’s lies?”   “Every day I hear my mother’s voice, my father’s voice, my little brother’s voice. Every day, I see the citizens of Israel demonstrating, they are doing everything in their power [to help us] and the world doesn’t listen to them,” he said.  After seeing the video, his parents said every “moment grows more unbearable. You can see it in his face—his fear, his desperation.”   The Alexanders did speak with Netanyahu on Sunday night and the prime minister affirmed his commitment to do everything in his power to bring Edan Alexander home, The Jerusalem Post reports. The post Following Release of Propaganda Video, Parents of American Hostage Issue Plea to President Trump appeared first on The Daily Signal.

On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a Passover video message, emphasizing the plight of the hostage being held by the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza and fallen IDF soldiers. “My brothers and sisters, Citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu began. “On Seder night, we all gather with our loved ones, and we all tell the story of our people who went out from slavery to freedom. But on this holiday for many families there will be empty chairs: The chairs of their loved ones, the hostages, who are still being held by Hamas, chairs for those who fell heroically on the battlefield, and chairs for our loved ones who have been wounded and who are fighting to return to their lives, in the rehabilitation wards.  Netanyahu then referred to Chief Sergeant Elkana Wiesel, 35, from Bnei Dekalim, and class commander in the 8208th Battalion, 261st Brigade, who tragically lost his life in the building collapse in Gaza on the 22nd of January 2024. Wiesel, a rabbi, left behind his wife Galit, four children, parents, and seven siblings. Despite being wounded in Operation Protective Edge, Elkana chose to continue serving on the front lines in Gaza. In a letter before his deployment, Elkana urged his family not to negotiate with terrorists for his release if captured. He encouraged them to celebrate his life, emphasizing the importance of optimism and choosing a life of love, hope, purity, and optimism. “But from this emptiness, rises the clear voice of our fallen heroes, like the final message of Elkana Wiesel, of blessed memory, who wrote to his family: ‘Don’t be sad when you part from me. Sing and support each other because this is the generation of redemption.’ “Indeed, ours is the generation of redemption, the generation of victory,” the prime minister continued. “Together we will return our hostages. Together we will defeat our enemies. Together we will embrace our wounded and together we will bow our heads in memory of our fallen. “On October 7, there were those who believed that we would drown in the sea in the face of the enemy’s armies. But not only did we not drown, we rose as one and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm we broke the axis of evil. Netanyahu paraphrased the “Vehi She’amda” (It Is This That Has Sustained [us])’prayer from the Passover seder that deals with saving the people of Israel by God, from all our enemies that have sworn to destroy the Jews throughout history. “The entire world looks with wonder upon our ancient people, who time and again overcome those who seek to destroy us. In every generation, they rise against us – and G-d and the spirit of our fighters save us from them. “Greetings on this Festival of Freedom. A kosher Passover to the entire Jewish People.” Palestinian civilians and Hamas terrorists kidnapped 251 hostages including children, women, and elderly people from Israel on Oct. 7th after murdering. 59 are still in captivity in Gaza, though Hamas has not said how many are still alive. Despite maintaining dialogue with Hamas, the International Red Cross refuses to demand that Hamas allow them to render aid to the Israeli hostages.  In January, Israel released around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, most serving life sentences for committing acts of murder and terrorism. In return, Hamas released 25 hostages and the bodies of eight who Hamas had murdered in captivity. Saturday will mark the second Passover holiday these hostages will spend in captivity.  The post In Passover Greeting, Netanyahu Laments “Empty Chairs” at Seder appeared first on Israel365 News.