American Israeli Families Speak Out: Loved Ones Held Hostage

Today’s press conference to highlight American Israeli families looking for their loved ones began and ended with running into the hotel’s stairwell on Tuesday. The Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv, hosted the video crews in order to give a voice to American Israelis … albeit the voice had to start and stop amidst sirens ringing out to warn people of incoming rockets sent by Hamas. 

Parents and children sat in front of journalists at the conference as they each highlighted the lives and personalities of their missing loved ones who were violently taken during Saturday’s Hamas invasion. There were two children missing their 66-year-old mother Adrienne Neta, a father missing his 35-year-old son Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 23-year-old named Hersh Goldberg-Polin and a 19-year-old soldier Itay Chen. 

Diana Neta spoke of her mother who was presumably taken by Hamas. They understand that terrorists entered her private home on Kibbutz Be’eri Saturday morning. Adrienne Neta is a California native who moved to Israel in 1981. The mother of four also has seven grandchildren. Before entering retirement, Neta worked as a nurse at Soroka Hospital specializing in delivering babies. She brought thousands of lives into the world. Her children last heard from her Saturday at 10:30 a.m. They report that she was not discovered among the dead on the Kibbutz, which suffered from what community members describe as a pogram. With no other answers, they believe she was taken hostage. 

Diana recalled – “My mother is an exceptional human being,” “She spent most of her adult life as a nurse and midwife. When she walked into the delivery room, she saw the human being. Not a religion, not a race, not a hijab, not an Orthodox Jew. The human she saw. They [Hamas] walked into her room and saw her alone. They did not see a human being.”

Diana’s brother Nahar says he is frustrated by a lack of information and contact from the government. He says no one is telling us anything. He says he just hopes someone can reach out and provide whatever information they do have.

After the press conference, I asked Nahar what the best case scenario would be for him moving forward, he held back a tear and swallowed hard before answering. 

“Me hugging my mom again,” he said. 

Rubi Chen of New York City is missing her son, 19-year-old dual US / Israeli Citizen Itay. Monday, the family got word their boy has been officially defined as Missing In Action (MIA). It means that no officer has identified him in the field since Saturday morning. He has not been found in any hospital and not listed as deceased. It is likely he is currently in Gaza as a hostage. 

Chen says he is feeling frustrated, angry and helpless. Itay was not originally scheduled for duty that fateful Saturday. He had come in a weekend prior to accrue some time off. Time that he planned to cash in on the following weekend for his little brother’s Bar Mitzvah this coming Saturday. 

“We’re going to make that happen. And hopefully, we’ll make the Bar Mitzvah happen again [with Itay],” Mr. Chen said. 

Chen requests Hamas treat his son as a true Prisoner of War (POW) which grants hostages like Itay the right to see a doctor and for United Nation representative visitations. He hopes for the public to see his story as more than just a headline while he’s calling on the United States to make use of its power and capability to rescue the hostages. 

Self proclaimed pacifist and Connecticut native Jonathan Dekel-Chen has been missing his 35-year-old son Sagui since Saturday morning when he was taken from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Jonathan-Dekel has not been heard from since. Jonathan Dekel-Chen says Kibbutz Nir Oz is no more … as the space was destroyed in an inhumane attack. 

Dozens of his neighbors were killed or have been taken hostage. 

The parents of 23-year old Hersh Goldberg Polin were present as well. The young man has been missing since Saturday morning. He was the victim of the terror invasion when Hams entered the nature party called Nova Music Festival that was massacred by the terror group. 

Hersh is an Israeli / American citizen who attended the outdoor party near Kibbutz Reim in Southern Israel. He was last seen at an above-ground protective shelter opposite the Kibbutz in the late morning. Eyewitness accounts confirm Hersh was seen alive being taken by force by armed Gazan terrorists. They forced him into a white pick-up truck that was brought from Gaza into Israel during the attack. His parents have not heard a word from him since 8:00 am on the day of the attack. 

 They say they are hopeful that he is alive and can be located. 

Family members took turns on the microphones in front of major American news outlets with life-sized images of their loved ones. As reporters listened intently to their voices, many broke into tears and needed to walk off to the side of the room. By the end of the conference, the message was clear to all in attendance – the Americans want the United States to exert force and bring their citizens home.