Liz Hirsh Naftali’s 3-yr-old niece, Abigail, was kidnapped by Hamas (after they murdered her parents in front of her). She was eventually released after Liz became an activist for Abigail and other hostages. Liz's book about the ordeal is: Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage: Naftali, Liz Hirsh
*And she continues to work today to champion the release of remaining hostages and to support their families.Liz Hirsh Naftali — The Z3 Project
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases such as if you buy a book through the links on my blog.
*And she continues to work today to champion the release of remaining hostages and to support their families.Liz Hirsh Naftali — The Z3 Project
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases such as if you buy a book through the links on my blog.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, as we're getting to the end of the year.
In fact, tomorrow will be my last show of this year.
There are a lot of things you look back on
over the course of a year, good, bad, ugly, and
think back on what was important. What was memorable doesn't
always mean it's good. Sometimes there are lessons to learn
for things that aren't good. Sometimes there are things that
are bad that aren't done yet, and this kind of
(00:24):
falls into a couple of those categories at the same time.
The conversation we're going to have now, I'm very, very
pleased to be joined on the show by Liz Hirschneff
Holli and Liz's three year old niece, Abigail was kidnapped
by Hamas after Hamas murdered her parents in front of her,
and rather than me telling more.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Of the story, we'll bring Liz in.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
But she's got a book out about the store about
what happened, and the book is called Saving Abigail, The
True Story of the abduction and Rescue of a three
year old hostage.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So we're going to talk not.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Just about Abigail, but the ongoing efforts both to try
to recover remaining hostages and also to support the families
of those who are still hostages. So with that long introduction, Liz,
welcome to Kawa. It's very good to have you here.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I'm glad, I'm glad we're able to have a conversation.
Knowing that at least at least as is as involves
your niece, there's a happy ending. There's a lot more
that isn't so happy. But tell us about Let's just
start with that day and what you learned and when
you learned it, and how this all played out.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Yes, So on October seventh, I was in Israel, and
just like the rest of the country, I was hearing
sirens at six point thirty in the morning, sending us
to safe rooms, bomb shelters. I'm staying at a hotel
and that was the stairwell, and we kept going back.
You released and then we'd be sent back. And early
on we learned that something is happening different. These weren't
(02:05):
just missiles that were coming in, but there was some incursions,
some invasion along the Gaza border. And I had family
that lived in a community Kibbutz kar Aza along the
border with Gaza for many, many years, and I lived
in Israel for many years and went there for lots
of holidays and Shabbats and birthdays, and so I knew
this kibbutz very well. And I called my relatives there
(02:29):
and no one answered. And I then called my sister
in law in the Tel Aviv area, and I said,
what's going on?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
And the first thing she said was that.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
My niece Mdar, her husband Roe, and their little baby girl,
three year old Abigail had been murdered first thing that
morning by Hamas terrists. And you know, at that moment,
the people, the only reporters we had were their six
and nine year old son and daughter who had seen
(02:59):
the murder of their parents and believed that their sister,
Abigail had also been killed, and they had run home
and locked themselves in a closet a cupboard with a
cell phone. And that's how we learned about what happened
to our family, you know, on October seventh. And this
was one of thousands of stories, but this was our story,
and this was what happened on that day.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
The miracle or.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
The incredible piece is that, and I write about it
in Saving Abigail, is that we did learn a few
days later that Abigail had actually survived, and I write
about it, but what I also talk about is that
she had then been taken hostage for fifty one days
in Gaza.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
What was the process that got her released?
Speaker 4 (03:46):
The process was mostly at the first you know month
and a half, was diplomacy.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
There was fighting, there was a retally.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You know, look on October sixth, there was a ceasefire.
On October seventh, Helmas invaded, killed Ray, butchered, burned, and
then kidnapped, and Israel retaliated, which they did because the
war was started by Hamas. So during those first you
know month and a half, there was fighting going on
and Israel was bombing and doing what it needed to
(04:15):
do to retaliate. And yet at the same time, there
was negotiations going on and led by President Biden and
his administration at that time, there was the Katari administration mediating,
and it was this.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Constant push because think about this.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
On October seventh, they kidnapped two hundred and forty six people.
They murdered twelve hundred, but of that two hundred and
forty six, many were women, and over thirty five were.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Children, infants, children.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Under the age of eighteen, that were stolen, and Abigail
was one of those.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
She was three years old.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And so the diplomacy of President Biden and National Security
Advisor Jake Sullivan and Special Envoy Brett McGirk and CIA Director,
you know, Bill Burns, and all of these people, they
were there actually doing everything they could to get a ceasefire,
and they got a ceasefire at the end of November.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
It released one hundred and five women and children.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
It stopped the fighting for about a week and then
it fell apart.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
So that's how Abigail was released.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
But in terms of my personal advocacy, and so many
other families, Americans and Israelis and people from over thirty
five nations were kidnapped that day, people from five religions.
But they came to our country, to America, to Washington,
d C. To meet with the leaders on the Republican side,
the leaders on the Democratic side, because what we were
(05:37):
doing was telling the stories the horrors of October seventh,
but making sure that it was with bipartisan support.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
We're talking with Liz hirschneff Tali. Her book is called
Saving Abigail, The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue
of a three year old hostage. I hope that the
answer to this question is nothing or almost nothing.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
How much does Abigail remember?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Abigail remembers exactly where she was.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
She knows she was in Gaza. She knows she was
in a dark room with no light, with no sounds.
They were silenced. She knows there were guards, Hermas guards.
She knows she was given very little to eat, a
piece of peter bread a day. She knows that she
couldn't be the child that she is, which is full
of life and so much energy and always moving and
(06:30):
always loud and beautiful.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
But she also knows that she was with this.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Woman, Hagar and her three children, and this woman Huggar
loved her and hugged her. After Abigail knew that her
parents had been murdered. She spent fifty one days with
this beautiful woman who believed that her husband had been killed.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Her country was gone, her home was gone, but.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
She gave Abigail and her own three children so much
love in this moment, of this moment, in fifty one
days of complete nothing. But that's I believe what saved Abigail,
you know, in terms of how she came out afterwards,
and so she does know exactly where she was, she
knows what happened.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The other about a month ago, they were going to
a safe room.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
There were more missiles coming in, and Abigail's question was
will the hamas Terras find me here? So when you
ask that question, while she is a little girl and
being able to live a beautiful life now, and if
you saw her and say, oh, she's just another beautiful child,
she also carries with her something that nobody should carry,
and no three year old who's now five years old
(07:33):
should carry with them.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah. I mean, my kids are a little bit older
than that.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
But I just as a parent, all I can think
of is I hope, I hope she doesn't have nightmares
every night.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, no, I know.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
But I also know, and you know this as a parent,
that children are resilient. Yeah, And when they have love
and they go to school and they have everything that
we can give our kids and others can give, baby
kids can get through stuff. But as you said, like,
there are things that will linger and that she will
always carry, and her siblings will always carry because of
what they witnessed and what they experienced and the lack.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Of their parents from the rest of their.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Lives what became of Hagar.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Hagar and her three kids were released the same day
as Abigail on November twenty sixth, twenty twenty three, and
she and her husband and their three kids are building
their lives back. But you know, talk about the trauma,
talk about the nightmares, talk about all those things. Their
kids are back in school, and Hagar is just this
(08:39):
very humble, very beautiful, kind woman who tells the story
because she and I and others are telling the truth
of what happened October seventh.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
She's telling what her truth was, what she experienced.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
But she is, you know, taking care of her kids
and trying to give them as much normalcy as this
family that was just completely devastated by October seventh experienced.
And it's a year plus later since they've been released,
and she's, you know, putting one foot forward every day
and doing it with humility and kindness and love.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
DoD, do you keep Abigail in contact with Hagar and
Hagar's kids a little bit?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
They don't keep I mean, they live near each other,
and Hagar and her.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Kids are very close with Abigail and with Abigail's family.
Keep in mind, they all came from the same community,
and in this community kar Asa, they were always together.
And so Hagar's youngest son went to nursery school with Abigail,
Hagar's husband, his best friend was Abigail's father. So there's
such a closeness that they had before. And then obviously
(09:53):
Hagar and Abigaile have a very very close relationship and
they continue to see each other at community events, family events,
and their relationship will be that way for the rest
of their lives.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, I think the erroneous assumption in my question where
I asked if they were still in touch was I
guess I assumed that they didn't necessarily move back to
Kafaraza or move back to the same community together.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
No, they can't. Nobody lives there.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Literally, the communities that were straight along the where people
have not returned. They're still fighting and these homes were burned, destroyed, ransacked,
and they have the remnants of what happened. They still
carry the history, the horrors and the history of October seventh.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
But the thing that they that these.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Families, a lot of the kid boozes and a lot
of the groups have moved into new areas and they're
together and Hagar and her kids are part of one
of those communities. And my niece Larne and her husband Zoli,
who also survived miraculously with their three kids from this
community of Karaza and now raise all six kids. They're
still in very close contact. But nobody of these families
(11:06):
have been able to move back.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
It's just not possible, right, that makes perfect sense. So
what do you do now, either to help in any
way you can, although I doubt any civilian can really
do much to try to get more hostages released, or
to support families who still have you know, family members
(11:28):
who are hostages.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Yes, well, first, there's there are still over one hundred.
There are a hundred people that are being held hostage,
infants up to grandparents, young women, young men, and there
are seven Americans in that group. And I've spent a
majority of my time here in Washington, d C. With
the American families, and we've met with Democrats and Republicans.
(11:53):
We've met with Prime President Biden and his administration, and
had very regular meetings with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
and others in the team there. But we continue to
have those meetings and we've been in DC as up
to a week, three weeks, a month ago, and we
keep having those meetings. President Biden even invited the American
(12:14):
families to a meeting with Prime Minister nat Yahoo in July.
So we are very active there, and we are active
now with the incoming Trump administration and meeting with people
from his team that's going to be coming in and
telling the stories and getting them on board, just as
we've also learned that they have a relationship, so Jake
Sullivan and Mike Waltz, who will be coming in as
(12:36):
the National Security advisor for Trump, they are collaborating.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
What I like to tell people.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Is that it's still Biden administration for the next thirty
days and then the Trump administration and President Trump has
also said the hostages must be released, the fighting must
be stopped, and before he goes into office. So there
are these both new administration and the current administration that
are really working hard for a ceasefire, hostage release, steal
(13:03):
and US American families and a lot of the Israeli
families that are coming still to America. So when you
talk about like the common person, hostage families are still
very active and in Israel, protesting, rallying, meeting with leaders
of the Knesset and in the US doing that same
work with our American government.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So we're not resting.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And there's this group called the Hostage Family Forum in
Tel Aviv, and they are helping to do this work
and to leave this work. But they also are like
a social group where an organization. So families need support
or families need something, they can get it through the
Hostage Forum Family Group.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
It's generally not wise to be particularly optimistic about outcomes
in the Middle East, where one of the players is
an Islamo fascist group. But I will say that the
thing that gives me that the tiniest hint of optimism
that some more hostages might be released is the destruction
of Hesba Lah and the Asad regime, because now Hama
is absolutely friendless except for the Huthis.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Aren't that important. They're annoying, but they're not that important.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
And so I think you've seen at least some chatter
about Hamas maybe being open to doing something, and some
chatter about Netanyah who considering it, and and all this,
so you know, we'll see, you know, potentially one of
the major secondary benefits of destroying has Bellahs that Hamas
might feel pressured.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Yeah, look, you know one of the things that you
become in doing this for again, thinking about this, the
hostages that are still there have been there for four
hundred and forty days, their families have been doing this
for four hundred and forty days. But I want people
just to think, what while we're talking about this, what
it means to be someone in a tunnel for four
hundred and forty days.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Was no food, no water, no basic Kiaya hygiene.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Nobody from any international group like Red Cross has visited them,
and they are living in these horrid conditions. But yes,
now we see that there is this opportunity and even
Prime Ministering Nijanya, who has spoken about that there is
a time this might be for him what we would
call the time is ripe. And the one thing that
(15:06):
you also put in there is that Iran has been
their capacity to support all of their tentacles of Islamic
jihad activity.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
In these countries and in.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
These regions has been literally compromised and they are weakened.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
And Hamas is the people living in Gaza also are suffering.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
They suffered before October seventh and they have continued to
suffer because of what Hamas did to Israel on October sixth.
So here we are at this time, and again I'm
not a political specialist, I'm not a diplomat, I'm not
a military but doing this for three hundred and forty.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Days, you learn a lot and you see a lot,
and you are right.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
We are at a moment here where between so many
different factors we could see a deal happen.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And keep in mind that.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
CIA Director Burns, specially Envoy Brett McGirk, they are in
the region as you and I are speaking, and they
are negotiating with the Kataris, the Egyptians and the Israelis
and Hamas, and we are all very cautiously optimistic that
there can be a breakthrough that will bring home our hostages,
cease the fighting, and offer an opportunity for the people
(16:18):
living in Gosita to have some sort of a security
as well.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Liz Hershneftali's new book is called Saving Abigail, The True
story of the abduction and rescue of.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
A three year old hostage.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Liz, thank you for your time, thanks for all your doing,
and Happy Honkah a few days early.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Thank you, Happy Honkah.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Merry Christmas, and maybe we have some more miracles for
this holiday season.
You know, as we're getting to the end of the year.
In fact, tomorrow will be my last show of this year.
There are a lot of things you look back on
over the course of a year, good, bad, ugly, and
think back on what was important. What was memorable doesn't
always mean it's good. Sometimes there are lessons to learn
for things that aren't good. Sometimes there are things that
are bad that aren't done yet, and this kind of
(00:24):
falls into a couple of those categories at the same time.
The conversation we're going to have now, I'm very, very
pleased to be joined on the show by Liz Hirschneff
Holli and Liz's three year old niece, Abigail was kidnapped
by Hamas after Hamas murdered her parents in front of her,
and rather than me telling more.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Of the story, we'll bring Liz in.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
But she's got a book out about the store about
what happened, and the book is called Saving Abigail, The
True Story of the abduction and Rescue of a three
year old hostage.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So we're going to talk not.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Just about Abigail, but the ongoing efforts both to try
to recover remaining hostages and also to support the families
of those who are still hostages. So with that long introduction, Liz,
welcome to Kawa. It's very good to have you here.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I'm glad, I'm glad we're able to have a conversation.
Knowing that at least at least as is as involves
your niece, there's a happy ending. There's a lot more
that isn't so happy. But tell us about Let's just
start with that day and what you learned and when
you learned it, and how this all played out.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Yes, So on October seventh, I was in Israel, and
just like the rest of the country, I was hearing
sirens at six point thirty in the morning, sending us
to safe rooms, bomb shelters. I'm staying at a hotel
and that was the stairwell, and we kept going back.
You released and then we'd be sent back. And early
on we learned that something is happening different. These weren't
(02:05):
just missiles that were coming in, but there was some incursions,
some invasion along the Gaza border. And I had family
that lived in a community Kibbutz kar Aza along the
border with Gaza for many, many years, and I lived
in Israel for many years and went there for lots
of holidays and Shabbats and birthdays, and so I knew
this kibbutz very well. And I called my relatives there
(02:29):
and no one answered. And I then called my sister
in law in the Tel Aviv area, and I said,
what's going on?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
And the first thing she said was that.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
My niece Mdar, her husband Roe, and their little baby girl,
three year old Abigail had been murdered first thing that
morning by Hamas terrists. And you know, at that moment,
the people, the only reporters we had were their six
and nine year old son and daughter who had seen
(02:59):
the murder of their parents and believed that their sister,
Abigail had also been killed, and they had run home
and locked themselves in a closet a cupboard with a
cell phone. And that's how we learned about what happened
to our family, you know, on October seventh. And this
was one of thousands of stories, but this was our story,
and this was what happened on that day.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
The miracle or.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
The incredible piece is that, and I write about it
in Saving Abigail, is that we did learn a few
days later that Abigail had actually survived, and I write
about it, but what I also talk about is that
she had then been taken hostage for fifty one days
in Gaza.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
What was the process that got her released?
Speaker 4 (03:46):
The process was mostly at the first you know month
and a half, was diplomacy.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
There was fighting, there was a retally.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You know, look on October sixth, there was a ceasefire.
On October seventh, Helmas invaded, killed Ray, butchered, burned, and
then kidnapped, and Israel retaliated, which they did because the
war was started by Hamas. So during those first you
know month and a half, there was fighting going on
and Israel was bombing and doing what it needed to
(04:15):
do to retaliate. And yet at the same time, there
was negotiations going on and led by President Biden and
his administration at that time, there was the Katari administration mediating,
and it was this.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Constant push because think about this.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
On October seventh, they kidnapped two hundred and forty six people.
They murdered twelve hundred, but of that two hundred and
forty six, many were women, and over thirty five were.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Children, infants, children.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Under the age of eighteen, that were stolen, and Abigail
was one of those.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
She was three years old.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And so the diplomacy of President Biden and National Security
Advisor Jake Sullivan and Special Envoy Brett McGirk and CIA Director,
you know, Bill Burns, and all of these people, they
were there actually doing everything they could to get a ceasefire,
and they got a ceasefire at the end of November.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
It released one hundred and five women and children.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
It stopped the fighting for about a week and then
it fell apart.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
So that's how Abigail was released.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
But in terms of my personal advocacy, and so many
other families, Americans and Israelis and people from over thirty
five nations were kidnapped that day, people from five religions.
But they came to our country, to America, to Washington,
d C. To meet with the leaders on the Republican side,
the leaders on the Democratic side, because what we were
(05:37):
doing was telling the stories the horrors of October seventh,
but making sure that it was with bipartisan support.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
We're talking with Liz hirschneff Tali. Her book is called
Saving Abigail, The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue
of a three year old hostage. I hope that the
answer to this question is nothing or almost nothing.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
How much does Abigail remember?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Abigail remembers exactly where she was.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
She knows she was in Gaza. She knows she was
in a dark room with no light, with no sounds.
They were silenced. She knows there were guards, Hermas guards.
She knows she was given very little to eat, a
piece of peter bread a day. She knows that she
couldn't be the child that she is, which is full
of life and so much energy and always moving and
(06:30):
always loud and beautiful.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
But she also knows that she was with this.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Woman, Hagar and her three children, and this woman Huggar
loved her and hugged her. After Abigail knew that her
parents had been murdered. She spent fifty one days with
this beautiful woman who believed that her husband had been killed.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Her country was gone, her home was gone, but.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
She gave Abigail and her own three children so much
love in this moment, of this moment, in fifty one
days of complete nothing. But that's I believe what saved Abigail,
you know, in terms of how she came out afterwards,
and so she does know exactly where she was, she
knows what happened.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The other about a month ago, they were going to
a safe room.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
There were more missiles coming in, and Abigail's question was
will the hamas Terras find me here? So when you
ask that question, while she is a little girl and
being able to live a beautiful life now, and if
you saw her and say, oh, she's just another beautiful child,
she also carries with her something that nobody should carry,
and no three year old who's now five years old
(07:33):
should carry with them.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah. I mean, my kids are a little bit older
than that.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
But I just as a parent, all I can think
of is I hope, I hope she doesn't have nightmares
every night.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, no, I know.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
But I also know, and you know this as a parent,
that children are resilient. Yeah, And when they have love
and they go to school and they have everything that
we can give our kids and others can give, baby
kids can get through stuff. But as you said, like,
there are things that will linger and that she will
always carry, and her siblings will always carry because of
what they witnessed and what they experienced and the lack.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Of their parents from the rest of their.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Lives what became of Hagar.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Hagar and her three kids were released the same day
as Abigail on November twenty sixth, twenty twenty three, and
she and her husband and their three kids are building
their lives back. But you know, talk about the trauma,
talk about the nightmares, talk about all those things. Their
kids are back in school, and Hagar is just this
(08:39):
very humble, very beautiful, kind woman who tells the story
because she and I and others are telling the truth
of what happened October seventh.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
She's telling what her truth was, what she experienced.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
But she is, you know, taking care of her kids
and trying to give them as much normalcy as this
family that was just completely devastated by October seventh experienced.
And it's a year plus later since they've been released,
and she's, you know, putting one foot forward every day
and doing it with humility and kindness and love.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
DoD, do you keep Abigail in contact with Hagar and
Hagar's kids a little bit?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
They don't keep I mean, they live near each other,
and Hagar and her.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Kids are very close with Abigail and with Abigail's family.
Keep in mind, they all came from the same community,
and in this community kar Asa, they were always together.
And so Hagar's youngest son went to nursery school with Abigail,
Hagar's husband, his best friend was Abigail's father. So there's
such a closeness that they had before. And then obviously
(09:53):
Hagar and Abigaile have a very very close relationship and
they continue to see each other at community events, family events,
and their relationship will be that way for the rest
of their lives.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, I think the erroneous assumption in my question where
I asked if they were still in touch was I
guess I assumed that they didn't necessarily move back to
Kafaraza or move back to the same community together.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
No, they can't. Nobody lives there.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
Literally, the communities that were straight along the where people
have not returned. They're still fighting and these homes were burned, destroyed, ransacked,
and they have the remnants of what happened. They still
carry the history, the horrors and the history of October seventh.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
But the thing that they that these.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Families, a lot of the kid boozes and a lot
of the groups have moved into new areas and they're
together and Hagar and her kids are part of one
of those communities. And my niece Larne and her husband Zoli,
who also survived miraculously with their three kids from this
community of Karaza and now raise all six kids. They're
still in very close contact. But nobody of these families
(11:06):
have been able to move back.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
It's just not possible, right, that makes perfect sense. So
what do you do now, either to help in any
way you can, although I doubt any civilian can really
do much to try to get more hostages released, or
to support families who still have you know, family members
(11:28):
who are hostages.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Yes, well, first, there's there are still over one hundred.
There are a hundred people that are being held hostage,
infants up to grandparents, young women, young men, and there
are seven Americans in that group. And I've spent a
majority of my time here in Washington, d C. With
the American families, and we've met with Democrats and Republicans.
(11:53):
We've met with Prime President Biden and his administration, and
had very regular meetings with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
and others in the team there. But we continue to
have those meetings and we've been in DC as up
to a week, three weeks, a month ago, and we
keep having those meetings. President Biden even invited the American
(12:14):
families to a meeting with Prime Minister nat Yahoo in July.
So we are very active there, and we are active
now with the incoming Trump administration and meeting with people
from his team that's going to be coming in and
telling the stories and getting them on board, just as
we've also learned that they have a relationship, so Jake
Sullivan and Mike Waltz, who will be coming in as
(12:36):
the National Security advisor for Trump, they are collaborating.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
What I like to tell people.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Is that it's still Biden administration for the next thirty
days and then the Trump administration and President Trump has
also said the hostages must be released, the fighting must
be stopped, and before he goes into office. So there
are these both new administration and the current administration that
are really working hard for a ceasefire, hostage release, steal
(13:03):
and US American families and a lot of the Israeli
families that are coming still to America. So when you
talk about like the common person, hostage families are still
very active and in Israel, protesting, rallying, meeting with leaders
of the Knesset and in the US doing that same
work with our American government.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So we're not resting.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And there's this group called the Hostage Family Forum in
Tel Aviv, and they are helping to do this work
and to leave this work. But they also are like
a social group where an organization. So families need support
or families need something, they can get it through the
Hostage Forum Family Group.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
It's generally not wise to be particularly optimistic about outcomes
in the Middle East, where one of the players is
an Islamo fascist group. But I will say that the
thing that gives me that the tiniest hint of optimism
that some more hostages might be released is the destruction
of Hesba Lah and the Asad regime, because now Hama
is absolutely friendless except for the Huthis.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Aren't that important. They're annoying, but they're not that important.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
And so I think you've seen at least some chatter
about Hamas maybe being open to doing something, and some
chatter about Netanyah who considering it, and and all this,
so you know, we'll see, you know, potentially one of
the major secondary benefits of destroying has Bellahs that Hamas
might feel pressured.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Yeah, look, you know one of the things that you
become in doing this for again, thinking about this, the
hostages that are still there have been there for four
hundred and forty days, their families have been doing this
for four hundred and forty days. But I want people
just to think, what while we're talking about this, what
it means to be someone in a tunnel for four
hundred and forty days.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Was no food, no water, no basic Kiaya hygiene.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Nobody from any international group like Red Cross has visited them,
and they are living in these horrid conditions. But yes,
now we see that there is this opportunity and even
Prime Ministering Nijanya, who has spoken about that there is
a time this might be for him what we would
call the time is ripe. And the one thing that
(15:06):
you also put in there is that Iran has been
their capacity to support all of their tentacles of Islamic
jihad activity.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
In these countries and in.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
These regions has been literally compromised and they are weakened.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
And Hamas is the people living in Gaza also are suffering.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
They suffered before October seventh and they have continued to
suffer because of what Hamas did to Israel on October sixth.
So here we are at this time, and again I'm
not a political specialist, I'm not a diplomat, I'm not
a military but doing this for three hundred and forty.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Days, you learn a lot and you see a lot,
and you are right.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
We are at a moment here where between so many
different factors we could see a deal happen.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And keep in mind that.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
CIA Director Burns, specially Envoy Brett McGirk, they are in
the region as you and I are speaking, and they
are negotiating with the Kataris, the Egyptians and the Israelis
and Hamas, and we are all very cautiously optimistic that
there can be a breakthrough that will bring home our hostages,
cease the fighting, and offer an opportunity for the people
(16:18):
living in Gosita to have some sort of a security
as well.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Liz Hershneftali's new book is called Saving Abigail, The True
story of the abduction and rescue of.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
A three year old hostage.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Liz, thank you for your time, thanks for all your doing,
and Happy Honkah a few days early.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Thank you, Happy Honkah.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Merry Christmas, and maybe we have some more miracles for
this holiday season.
The Ross Kaminsky Show News
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