From L to R: Nina Venkart, mother of Israeli hostage Omer Venkart; Udi Rosen, cousin of deceased hostage Tal Haimi; Freed American hotage Aviva Siegel; and Elan Siegel, daughter of Aviva and hostage Keith Siegel on July 21, 2024. Photo by Jacob Kornbluh

By Jacob Kornbluh July 21, 2024

Freed American-Israeli hostage Aviva Siegel expressed her heavy-hearted feelings on Sunday afternoon regarding President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection. During a joint interview in a Manhattan hotel lobby, some relatives of Israeli hostages shared their hope that Biden’s retirement could give him more freedom to pressure Israel on an impending hostage deal.

“I am very, very sad,” Siegel said hours after the president announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. “I just would have wished for him to be a couple of years younger, and I think that he would have led the world to be a better world.” 

Siegel met with Biden in the Oval Office in December, two weeks after her release. It was the president’s first meeting with the families of the American hostages following a 90-minute video call with relatives of the hostages days after the Oct. 7 attack and his trip to Israel.

Her husband, Keith, remains in captivity and is on the list of the “humanitarian” category expected to be released in the first phase of the three-phased hostage deal brokered by the Biden administration. The couple were taken into Gaza from their kibbutz, Kfar Aza, and were held together by Hamas until Aviva was separated to be released in the first hostage deal in November. 

Siegel described Biden as a “clever person” with “such a big heart” whom she trusted with bringing her loved one home. “I really believed in him,” she said, “and I’m sure and positive that he’s got a lot to do with everything that’s happening now.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden endorsed as his replacement, met with the families of the American hostages in April. Elan Siegel, the daughter of Aviva and Keith, said Harris was “very warm and very dedicated to our struggle.” She said she felt the vice president was genuinely committed to the cause and promised her “that she will do whatever she can to get my dad home and all the other hostages.”

Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Haimi was taken captive on Oct. 7 and whose body is held by Hamas in Gaza, said the development in the presidential race may prove to have a positive outcome for the hostages. “It actually gives Biden quite a bit of freedom to put pressure on Israel in a way that he couldn’t before,” Goren said. 

He explained that, coupled with former President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Hamas to release the American hostages before he assumes office, Biden can fully commit to securing a hostage deal without feeling constrained by political considerations. “He might now be able to put his foot down and demand action,” Goren said.

Niva, the mother of 22-year-old Omer Wenkert, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, echoed the same sentiment. “I hope now he has more motivation and strength to seal the deal,” she said, as an accomplishment of his tenure. 

What the families want to hear from Netanyahu

The Siegels and the relatives of the other hostages were in the U.S. this weekend to engage with community leaders about the need to formalize a hostage deal. They said they expect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s focus in his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday and his scheduled meeting with Biden and Harris to be about the hostages. 

Many families criticized the prime minister’s plan to visit the U.S. before a deal is signed.

“I want to hear only one thing,” Aviva Siegel said, holding onto her daughter’s arm. “Keith is coming home. 120 hostages are coming home. That’s the only thing that I’m prepared to hear. I don’t want to hear anything else.” 

Siegel met with Netanyahu twice since her release. In the last impromptu encounter she had with the prime minister while he was filming an interview for the Dr. Phil show, Netanyahu looked her in the eyes and said, ‘Keith will come home.’ 

“I’m waiting,” she said. “Since he said that, I’m waiting for him to bring Keith home.” 

The families of the hostages expressed unanimous, cautious optimism that the saga is inching towards an end. They vowed to continue the fight until all the hostages are safely returned.

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