Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Mural advocating for the return of the hostages

Over 220 days ago, my worst nightmare came to life and I’ve been haunted ever since. Waking up on Oct. 8th, I opened my phone and was immediately paralyzed with grief. The first image I saw of the massacre was the kidnapping of 19-year-old Naama Levy. Since then, I have seen her everywhere. Her bloodied gray sweatpants, her black shirt, the fear on her face, and the terrible, barbaric terrorists who took her away to horrors beyond my worst imagination. She’s one of many faces that I think of every single day.

I close my eyes and see the faces of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Omer Neutra, Agam Berger, Eden Yerushalmi, and countless others. When was the last time they saw sunlight? The last time they were fed? Over 120 hostages still sit in Hamas’ dark tunnels. I think of the oldest hostage, Shlomo Mansour, who shares a name with my grandfather. Shlomo Mansour fled the Farhud, a horrific, bloody massacre of Jews in Iraq, in 1951. Today, at the age of 86, he should be surrounded by grandchildren and doted on by family, not brutally kidnapped and held captive.

I remember the youngest hostage, red-head Kfir Bibas, who turned a year old in captivity. He’s just a baby. I think of his brother Ariel, a four-year-old who loves Batman. They should be playing outside, eating ice cream, going to preschool- all of the things that little kids do. Do you have siblings? Hug them a little tighter next time you see them. Don’t forget about the Bibas family.

Hostage Edan Alexander is 19 years old. He graduated from Tenafly High School, just 20 minutes from Glen Rock. Edan is just like you and me- he loves to swim and to travel, except that instead of enjoying being 19 and carefree, he was horrifically kidnapped and is still held captive. Israel may be 6,000 miles away, but Tenafly is right next door. Do not forget that Hamas still holds five American citizens captive.

After that horrific day and the nightmare that continues to linger, as hostages remain and Hamas and Hezbollah continue to fire rockets at Israeli population centers, the world celebrates mass murder and rape. From an entirely apolitical perspective, we should be able to agree on a couple of things: murder is wrong, rape is wrong, and kidnapping Holocaust survivors, women, children, and babies is WRONG. Perhaps what has left me most shaken is the immense sexual violence perpetuated by Hamas- and the rape denial that has followed suit. As a woman, I’m plagued by the images released of the young female hostages. Their names are constantly on my mind: Daniella Gilboa, Noa Argamani, Karina Ariev- they are only a few years older than me. What happened to #MeToo? Does it only apply to non-Jewish individuals? Never in my life did I imagine that I would have to beg the world for humanity. Where is the outrage? I’ve learned something that my ancestors before me knew very well: the hatred for Jewish people is deeply embedded and ingrained in society. Stand with the Jewish people in your community, before it’s too late.

My world stopped on Oct. 7th. Almost eight months later, I’m still fighting to keep my hope. For the first time in my life, I’m left to grieve thousands of people, whom I didn’t even know personally. I also grieve for the person I was on Oct 6. Everything is different now. Don’t forget them- and don’t forget your humanity. The path forward to a better future is lined with peace, love, and unity.