Family members of Israel hostages who are being held captive by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas spent last week in Los Angeles to raise support for the release of remaining hostages following the Oct. 7 attack.
Itay Raviv and sisters Naama and Ofir Weinberg were hosted by the American Jewish Committee of Los Angeles (AJC), a global advocacy group. They attended multiple events – meeting city officials and speaking directly with members of the LA Jewish community.
“We are expressing our solidarity with the families of the hostages, and giving them a voice to talk about their experiences,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who held a news conference at LA City Hall on Friday, Dec. 1.
“This is something that all of us take very personally here [LA] – especially the Jewish community. All of us have friends or family that are in Israel. Our heart breaks with the hostage situation and everything that’s going on,” said Blumenfield.
The family members were in Los Angeles when the weeklong ceasefire and hostage negotiations ended between Israel and Hamas.
The Weinberg sisters described their horror when on Oct. 7, they were awakened by the sounds of sirens in Tel Aviv. They immediately looked at their family WhatsApp group chat to check on their relatives who lived in a kibbutz near the Gaza border.
“Please pray for us,” their aunt wrote to them. “We hear bombing and shooting.”
“They’re inside the house,” wrote their uncle. “Please call for help.”
Their aunt sent a red heart emoji, and then there was silence.
They were killed.
On that day Itai Svirsky, their 38-year-old cousin, lost both of his parents and was captured by Hamas.
Over 1,100 civilians were killed in Israel during the attack.
Ofir said she felt powerless reading the messages, knowing that her family was being murdered one by one.
“It is the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life,” said Ofir.
Hostages who were captive with Svirsky and released during negotiations notified the Weinbergs that he was alive, giving them hope for his safe return. They noted, however, that his emotional health wasn’t good and he thought his entire family had been killed and that he had no one to return home to.
Raviv represented his relatives from the Munder family who were captured from a kibbutz on Oct. 7.
Three of his relatives were released as part of the hostage deal – his great-aunt Ruthi Munder, her daughter Keren and her grandson Ohad. His great-uncle, Avraham Munder, 78, was separated from the rest of his family and remains captive.
“[Their release from captivity] was a very happy moment for all of us, but our happiness cannot be complete without Avraham, and without the rest of the hostages that are still being held captive,” said Raviv. “This is the number one human rights issue of the moment.”
Like their families, many of the people who were attacked and taken hostage lived in a kibbutz and supported peaceful co-existence with Palestinians. Raviv said his great-uncle used to participate in peace programs throughout his youth and volunteered to drive Palestinians from Gaza into Israeli hospitals for treatment, although it wasn’t considered legal.
Raviv and the Weinbergs urged people to separate the hostages from the politics of the conflict, showing compassion towards Palestinian civilians and focusing on the return of their loved ones.
“If the hostages are released, we can save lives on both sides,” said Ofir, targeting her anger at Hamas.
Over 130 civilians, around half of the hostages captured by Hamas, remain in captivity.
To date, at least 16,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 7,000 children, have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.