October 7th wasn’t just an attack on Israel, it was an attack on America too.
Thirty-three Americans were murdered and dozens more were injured by terrorists from Gaza who launched a large pre-planned attack on civilians.
Eight Americans were ripped from their families, friends, homes and communities and dragged across the Israeli border where they were tortured, and subjected to inhumane conditions.
Three are now dead and another five are believed to be still alive. They are collateral damage in a vicious attack intended to bring Israel and the United States to its knees.
The status of these five hostages is unknown. There have been zero international inspections. The fates of these American hostages are rarely discussed by our nation’s leaders, and the national media is complicit as they rarely cover these hostages.
Three hundred days into this crisis, I’m unaware of whether the administration has made unilateral efforts with Hamas to demand their safety and return.
Yes, America has a hostage crisis, but it hasn’t received the attention it deserves and needs. Instead, the forgotten five appear to be a mere bargaining chip in a grand ceasefire negotiation that has borne no fruit to date.
I bet you cannot name a single American hostage. Most people reading this probably did not even know that five American hostages remain after Hamas murdered the first three.
The Forgotten Five: Omer Neutra, 22; Edan Alexander, 20; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35; Hersh Goldberg Polin, 23 and Keith Siegal, 65. Three other U.S. citizens were killed or fatally wounded on Oct. 7: Itay Chen, 19; Judith Weinstein Haggai, 70; and Gadi Haggai, 73. The terrorists still hold their bodies. It’s almost impossible to imagine the pain that these families and communities feel.
Compare this situation with the fate of WNBA star Brittney Griner. Griner was initially detained on allegations she brought cannabis into Moscow. The Biden administration spoke about the situation constantly and left no stone unturned in working for her release, while the media treated it with continuous national exposure. Griner was ultimately released from a Russian prison in a prisoner swap for a dangerous convicted arms dealer orchestrated by the Biden administration.
In August 2023, five American citizens detained by Iran were allowed to leave the country in exchange for the transfer of five Iranians held in the United States and $6 billion in Iranian funds that had been frozen in South Korea.
Iran is the same hellish regime, that funds Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis terrorist activities and infrastructure and fired missiles to Israel.
Yes, the administration is rightfully focused on bringing all of the hostages home and working for a ceasefire that brings peace to the region. But they should also be pursuing a separate strategy to free the American hostages in Gaza and raising awareness too.
And, we need to ask the question: why are these five Americans forgotten? Is it because they are Jewish or dual citizens? Is it because our nation’s leaders believe this is predominantly Israel’s problem, not ours? Or, is it for some other political reason? And, why has the media failed to investigate and report on this as they did with Brittney Griner?
The national media, Biden administration and elected officials must raise awareness at a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high here and around the world. Otherwise, the message it sends to rogue nations and terrorists is that it’s acceptable to target American Jews. All American hostages must be made a top priority for every administration.
Could history repeat itself? In 1979, during President Jimmy Carter’s administration, Iran militants held 52 Americans from the U.S. Embassy hostage for more than a year during the aftermath of the Iranian revolution. On January 20, 1981, minutes after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, the hostages were released.
For his part, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump warned during his acceptance speech, “to the entire world, I tell you this: we want our hostages back and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”
Time will tell, and hopefully, the conflict ends, and the hostages that are still alive come home.
In the meantime, with each passing day, bringing them home becomes less likely, especially when we fail to acknowledge and address our hostage crisis born out of a terrorist attack against Israel and the United States.
Doug Friednash grew up in Denver and is a partner with the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. He is the former chief of staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper.
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Originally Published: August 6, 2024 at 5:01 a.m.
