Until they return, none of us are free

Last week, as we began to mark Passover, my family and I had just returned to Israel after two weeks in the United States as part of a delegation of released hostages and families of those still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Painfully, my family is part of both groups. 

I want to share what it feels like to stand in both of these unbearable realities—joyful reunion and ongoing anguish, to be celebrating a return, and waiting for another. 

On day 498, my brother-in-law, Iair, was released in the recent hostage deal. We got Iair back. Seeing him—alive, walking, breathing, returning—was like watching someone reemerge from hell and back to life. As a mother, the only thing I can compare it to is childbirth. 

We are deeply grateful to President Trump for bringing about the hostage deal. He has made clear his full commitment to a deal that will bring everyone home. We thank him, and his administration, for keeping the plight of the hostages and the families a top priority. 

But our work is not done. My family got one brother back, but we are still waiting for the other brother, the youngest brother, Eitan. Eitan is still a hostage being held in the hell tunnels of Hamas. He has a skin disease that is worsening, putting his health at serious risk. Every second down there could be his last. We must bring him home—now. My family needs this homecoming. Every family in Israel waiting for a loved one needs it. We need all the hostages back home now. 

During our two week delegation in the United States, we had a clear message: to bring all the hostages home now. We met with White House officials, decision makers, Senators and Congressmen. We felt deeply embraced and supported, and we are profoundly grateful for their solidarity and commitment. 

Additionally, we met with leaders and members across the Jewish community who surrounded us with strength and unwavering support. Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for your prayers, your advocacy, your strength. 

Please continue to stand with us. We need you to stand with us until every single hostage is home. We need you in this fight. 

We need you to keep speaking up. To keep showing up. To remind your elected officials, your rabbis, your communities, and your families that there are still 59 brothers, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, and friends, held captive in Gaza for over 18 months – and they all deserve to come home – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial in their land. 

We just marked Passover, our festival of freedom. This year, once again, the story is not just our people’s history. It is also our present. It is a call to action. We are commanded to remember what it means to be captive, and we are commanded to free those who are not yet free. Our people tell this story year after year. 

Years from now, how will we tell this story to our children and to grandchildren? How will they tell the story to their grandchildren? We are writing this story now. It is in our hands. 

There is no greater mitzvah than the redeeming of the captives. It is not symbolic. It is real. It is urgent. And it must be our top priority. 

We brought Iair home. And with your help, with continued support, solidarity, and unwavering moral clarity—we can bring Eitan home. We can and we must bring all of them home.