A year, three months, and five days ago, my son Yotam was killed by fire from IDF forces while he and his friends in captivity managed to escape Hamas and tried to return home.
I think a lot about the five days during which Yotam was free in Shejaiya, five days full of hope and strength, he believed in himself and his friends, he found inner strength in captivity, proved to himself how much he wanted to live, and how strong and powerful he was.
What Yotam could do, he did, together with Alon and Samar. Together they were a force and power that cannot be described. A Bedouin, a kibbutznik, and a musician. Just like the beginning of a joke.
Since then, so many things have happened, and yet not enough has happened.
I tend to judge things by their process and not by the final result, Yotam fought for his life, and in the end, he returned to us in a lifeless body with a great soul that lives here with us. He left behind a glorious legacy of helping others, and amazing stories have also been added from captivity.
We all want answers, solutions, and tangible results, but it doesn’t always happen according to our wishes.
On October 7th, Hamas proved to us that we were not prepared for this attack, on a military level.
They are trying, with all their might, to prove to us that we are not capable of standing up to this attack even on a social and national level.
But we prove to them and to ourselves every day otherwise and are committed to continue proving otherwise.
The heroic IDF soldiers, who are unmatched, risk their lives day by day and moment by moment to protect us, mothers of soldiers, bereaved families, carry their heads high in pride, all of us, the people of Israel, let us remember one thing.
If we hate one another, slander, curse, rage, and riot in the streets, it will not bring back our friends, our loved ones, who are still there.
I trust my people to know how to mend the rifts. Not the leaders, who failed, but my people. The beautiful people who live and want to continue to live here.
A year and a half of hate demonstrations did not change the situation; we choose to speak differently, so that the hostages still there know that no one is giving up on them.
From here, I urge for continued responsible engagements to return all the hostages in one go, to the Prime Minister of Israel, to the President of the USA, and to all those who have the information and knowledge to act.
The mission is very difficult, a mission unlike any we have known, and it is, yes, the result of a significant failure of people who will pay the price later, and it continues, to our sorrow, over and over again.
The result does not seem to be in sight, and that is why we are so frustrated and angry.
This evening, each of us is a messenger of good energy for the sake of the hostages; each person will send love, hugs, and encouragement from afar. Yotam was encouraged and strengthened by this; I know for sure that I believe that anyone who is there now feels this energy.
Let's close our eyes for one small moment, and let each of us send strength, love, and power from our hearts to each and every one still in the dark.