Steve Witkoff: “I Hope That People Think I’m a Good Person” At the IAC Conference

Just two days after Israel Daily News founder and CEO, Shanna Fuld, MC’d and hosted the second annual Jerusalem Post Miami Summit, it was back to work at another conference.

The Israel Daily News covered the Israeli American Council’s (IAC) 10th National Summit in Hollywood, Florida. Among the speakers were the parents of American-Israeli captivity survivor Edan Alexander, and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Both were interviewed by Australian former Sky News anchor and independent journalist Erin Molan, who has become an advocate for Israel and accurate reporting. 

Witkoff began by recounting the day that the last living hostages came home in the eyes of President Trump.

“When we got the 20 hostages home, the last 20, and their families came to The White House, the president pulled me aside. I saw the tears, he doesn’t like anyone to see tears. And he said to me: ‘This is the greatest day I’ve ever had in the White House.’” 

Witkoff also shared the experience of losing a child, and how having such a high profile job was “the greatest blessing” of his life and how his son’s death “got to mean something” for him, suggesting that the work of getting other people’s children home from Hamas captivity was meaningful in a personal way. “I got to meet these incredible families and work with them and meet the most incredible people I’ve ever had the privilege of working with,” said Witkoff. 

Witkoff spoke about his work in trying to get hostages released. The parents of Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier who was held in captivity were on the stage for an interview with Erin Molan prior to the one with Witkoff. They detailed Witkoff’s constant communication, with Edan’s father Adi saying one day he noticed 10 missed calls from Steve Witkoff. When he and his wife returned the call, Witkoff told them to buy plane tickets to Israel because Hamas would be releasing Edan the following day.

Witkoff told the crowd that bringing hostages home was a mission President Trump thought about and worked on daily and that he hopes people know he really tried to make an impact during the negotiations and hostage deals in particular.

In his hopes for what he wants his legacy to be, he said: “I hope people think I’m a good person and that I tried to help.”

The IAC conference is a three-day event from Thursday to Saturday evening. The Israel Daily News was on site for day 1. Refer to our Instagram page to see video footage from the plenum.