Rachel Fraenkel greets visitors mourning the death of her kidnapped son, Naftali.

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would post a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the murderers of an Israeli-U.S. citizen.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Co.) authored the legislation concerning the death of Naftali Fraenkel, one of three Jewish teens whose June 12 kidnapping in the West Bank launched a massive hunt. Their bodies were discovered June 30.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) co-sponsored the legislation in the House.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Hamas is behind the kidnappings and killings, which were an element leading to the war launched this week between Israel and Hamas in and near the Gaza Strip.

“The Israeli government’s recent action against Hamas is a just and appropriate mission to both bring the terrorists responsible to justice, and to degrade their capability to launch further attacks,” Cruz said. “No one doubts Israel’s ability to carry out this mission, but given Naftali’s citizenship, I believe the United States should demonstrate our clear support for Israel by offering a reward as we traditionally have in terrorist attacks involving Americans.”

The bill would require Secretary of State John Kerry to use the Rewards for Justice program to offer a $5 million dollar reward.

Also killed in the attack were Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount