Haggai Angrest, father of Matan, who is being held captive by Hamas, said on Tuesday morning that in line with the recommendation of rabbis, the family has added an name to their son's name.
"Rabbis recommended that we add another name to our Matan," Angrest said in an interview with Kol Berama Radio. "We received the blessing of Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, and we added the name Shachar."
Angrest shared that his son’s special Psalm is chapter 23 - “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” - and he called on the public to pray for the swift release of Matan Shachar.
During the conversation, the father expressed deep frustration over the delays in returning the hostages. "Hamas is a terrorist organization, and the government's role is to bring back the hostages - and we have failed in that," he said with pain. "The children could have been home by now if the deals hadn't been obstructed."
Angrest compared the current situation to past tragedies, referring to the videos of hostages released by Hamas. "My grandparents were in Auschwitz, and these images are a Holocaust in color," he said. "Back then we didn’t have a country, and today the government has failed to protect the citizens and failed to bring them back."
The desperate father also voiced criticism of international handling of the hostage issue. "The American administration promised us they would return everyone in one deal," Angrest claimed, emphasizing the gap between diplomatic promises and the ongoing reality.