They brought them home

I write this article the day after the last of the living hostages were returned home from their two-year captivity in Gaza. It was an occasion filled with nothing short of joy and celebration. And yet it still stirs up a mix of other emotions in me. I think back on all the hostages; those who survived and those who didn’t; as well as people who perished on Oct. 7, 2023, and onward.

When educating people about tragedies and horrors like the Holocaust, one of the key things is to NOT focus on the death of 6 million Jews. The human mind cannot comprehend such a large number of people. To properly understand and educate about something like the Holocaust, one must focus on specific people and their stories.

For any number of reasons, some hostages were more “high profile” than others. Their abduction recorded by Hamas and shared with the world, their ages, etc. The value of each hostage’s life is equal. Yet, holding all of them in our hearts and minds is easier when we focus such feelings on specific hostages, victims and their stories. They are representatives in our hearts for the greater whole.

Among these people and their respective stories that I have focused on more closely over the last two years is Noa Argamani. She was a “high profile” hostage since, not only was her abduction recorded and shared by Hamas, but she had a mother who was dying of brain cancer. Her mother pleaded to see her daughter one last time before she died. Fortunately, Noa was one of the few hostages rescued from Gaza by the IDF (as opposed to being released via an agreement).

Saying that I get chills seeing any reunion between loved ones is an understatement. Such was the case when a video was released of Noa being reunited with her father. Most, if not all, the hostages probably had no idea how much we as a nation never forgot about them and always had them in our hearts and minds. The sight of any return and reunion was a joyous occasion for us as well as the families.

At the same time, because of her mother’s medical condition, I was relieved that Noa’s reunion with her mother was kept private. Although her mother died of terminal brain cancer just three weeks after her daughter’s release, at least her wish to see her daughter one last time was fulfilled.

Israel also grieves for all its soldiers who are lost in the line of duty. That, of course, includes those who have perished since Oct. 7, 2023. At these and any other funerals that hit us to our core, people will show up in the thousands to mourn someone who was previously unknown to them. The same is true for people like hostages who don’t return alive, and others such as the victims of terror attacks.

A few months ago, a friend and neighbor asked me if I would join him to stand on the side of the road near our homes for the funeral procession of a recently fallen soldier. I didn’t ask him for details and joined him.

As the crowds gathered around us, which was only a mere fraction of the overall procession, a family emerged from the building directly across the street from where we stood. People began reacting. One member of the family waved to the crowd as they all got into a shuttle. It dawned on me that they had a connection to the soldier, and I asked my friend, “Is that the grieving family?” He acknowledged that it was. Until that moment, because of the large crowd, I had no idea that, not only were we at the very beginning of the procession, but that the family were my neighbors. With no pun intended, this made it hit even closer to home for me.

Four others among the high-profile hostages were members of the Bibas family. For them, partially due to some personal experiences, I will save what I have to say for another article.

The last person I’ll focus on for now is Evyatar David. He was one of the final living hostages who was just released. This past August, Hamas released a video showing him in one of their terror tunnels. Even worse than him looking gaunt, was that they were forcing him to dig his own grave as they recorded him.

Yesterday we saw him reunited with his family. When I talk about feeling chills over such reunions, the chills I felt for him, as a key representative in my heart for all the hostages, victims, and those whose bodies have yet to be returned, make him a testament to all of these people I hold in my heart.

For two years we have been saying, “Bring Them Home”. As of yesterday, when it comes to all the living hostages, we can finally say, “They Are Home.”

DANIEL STIEGLITZ (dstieglitz@gmail.com), originally from Rhode Island, immigrated to Israel in 2007 and currently lives in Jerusalem. He works in a nursery school for visually impaired children via the Jerusalem Municipality. His collection of short stories, “Tavern of the Mind,” is available for paperback and Kindle purchase on Amazon. www.amzn.to/2Izssrz.