At the Jerusalem Conference in New York City, Ayelet Samerano, the mother of hostage Yonatan Mordechai Samerano, gave an emotional and powerful speech calling for the return of her son and all hostages still held in Gaza.

“Hello, my name is Ayelet and I'm the mother of Yonatan Mordechai Samerano who was shot at the entrance of Kibbutz Be’eri and was abducted by a social worker from UNRWA,” she began.

Ayelet opened a window into her daily pain. “First, I enter Yonatan Mordechai’s room every morning. His helmet is laying next to his bed and it still has the scent of my Yonti’s perfume. I smell it, close my eyes and imagine that my Yonti is here and I say to him, good morning, my beautiful boy, the light of the whole world.”

“I sit on the sofa, close my eyes and scream to God. And then I turn to my Yonti and ask, Yonatan Mordechai, will you come back? When will you come back? In what condition or status will you return?” she continued.

Noting her participation in the Celebrate Israel Parade in Manhattan alongside other hostage families earlier in the day, Ayelet said, “I chose today to see you, to hear you, all of you and I want to tell you, the people of Israel live, the people of Israel always live... all Jews are brothers and they do not let their brothers fall.”

Her words turned to fierce criticism of the United Nations. “We marched today in New York... in a city where ambassadors and people who have taken upon themselves a mission of peace and not of war. But the United Nations kidnapped my son.”

“The United Nations ignores everything related to the rights of the people of Israel and the United Nations does not do what it was established for,” she charged. “I hope those people who have taken upon themselves the most important mission will wake up in time and understand that there is no place for terrorists in the world.”

She warned against the normalization of terror: “October 7 is only terrorism… Whoever chooses to see the events of October 7 as if it were part of a regional conflict… is deliberately turning a blind eye. I’m here to tell and to warn them: don’t be surprised if it will knock on your door one day.”

Calling on the global community to reject excuses for terror and to stand with Israel, she emphasized: “The hostages are people, they are our children, they are our parents, they are our brothers. They had happy experiences and funny stories. They had achievements and dreams for a lifetime. And they need to return to their families.”

In a final, heart-wrenching moment, Ayelet recited the names of all 58 hostages still in captivity and then added, “We are waiting for you at home. Just a little more. We will not rest and will not stop until everyone returns.”