Zvika Mor, father of Eitan, who is being held hostage by Hamas, spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News and summarized his visit to Washington as part of the delegation of Knesset Speaker, Amir Ohana, at the invitation of the Speaker of the American House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, a visit that resulted in quite a few non-diplomatic tears.
"The Speaker of the Knesset invited us to join him on the delegation to Washington, at the invitation of Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives," he says and, "the delegation was almost like the joke about a Muslim, Christian and Jew, who were together on a plane.
Mor continues, "The delegation included Thomas Hand, father of Emily, the eight-year-old hostage who was released. Hand is a Catholic Christian who came to Israel as a volunteer and stayed on in Be’eri, working in agriculture and at the Be’eri printing press. Ali Zeidan from Rahat, whose brother and nephew are still being held captive and two of hsi family members have been released, and Eyal Gonen, Romi Gonen's father, and his wife Meital."
Mor added that, “the most important meeting was with Johnson, but we also met Congress and Embassy representatives at the ceremony marking four months since the massacre. We believed that if they heard the stories firsthand, they would be more attentive to our pain. This is really what happened.”
Mor told his family’s story in detail, “and when Johnson was standing with the parents of Eitan and Romi and we were telling him what it was like being held in the dark underground with hardly any food, it touched his American emotions. Johnson was tearing and he was not the only one.”
The various meetings in which the family members participated focused on the personal and family level and not on aspects of policy. "I told them that they must stand by us because these barbarians are also on their way to you." It seems that this warning is beginning to permeate the decision-makers in the US. "They see that Europe is already full of Muslims, and there is a pro-Palestinian demonstration every week in Washington. So, they feel it."
“While I was talking to them, I used expressions of ‘rape, slaughter and beheading,’ because I thought that that would work and indeed I saw tears that could not be hidden. There were also members of Congress there, two with Jewish names, and they were also in tears," he says, noting that the members, and even the journalists, at two press conferences held in Congress, could not ignore the difficult personal dimension, and were touched by emotions. "It touched them too. Israelis are worn out and tough. Americans are very emotional," he says.
Is it this feeling that causes Americans to be attentive to the scenes from the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian plight? Mor says that the issues definitely came up in the talks, but the Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, was very straightforward about the situation. "He emphasized again and again that we did not threaten the Palestinians in any way and also stated that in the end we will achieve the goals of the war."
Mor added that, “the meeting with the families worked on the American emotions, as it is impossible to ignore the pleas of a mother holding the picture of her son held by Hamas. Even so, it is important to know that the personal dimension has taken its toll also in Israel. People meet me and start crying. Some shake hands and some just stand next to me and start crying, and say they don't know what to say."
In these difficult days, Tzvika is going between attending funerals to visit mourning families. He is, "trying to reach as many families as possible simply to say, ‘thank you’,” he says. This conversation was held as he was leaving the home of another bereaved family.