Hundreds gathered in Central Park Sunday to mark more than 500 days since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, with an urgent plea for the 63 remaining hostages still in captivity to be freed and returned to their families.
Feb. 17 marked the 500th day since that infamous morning in 2023 when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel and took hundreds of people hostage back with them into Gaza. So far, through a fragile peace deal, Hamas has released 192 hostages — 147 of them still alive, and the remaining 45 dead.
Sunday’s rally at Central Park’s Naumberg Bandshell, organized by numerous Jewish organizations, saw the crowd plead for the peaceful return of all remaining hostages in Hamas’ grasp. The speakers included former Hamas hostages and family members of those in captivity, as well as survivors of the Nova music festival, which terrorists attacked in the Oct. 7, 2023 incursion.
Participants proudly waved Israeli flags and carried posters with the pictures, names, and ages of the hostages still in Hamas captivity. Many fear that the remaining hostages are running out of time in light of the emaciated conditions the recently released hostages were in.
Maayan Snapir, the granddaughter of Oded Lifshitz, shared that her grandfather’s death was the end of a chapter but “not the end of the book.”
“We are here until the last hostage is reunited with [their] family, all of them,” said Snapir before inviting the crowd for a moment of silence in memory of her grandfather and Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas.
Former Hamas hostage Ilana Gritzewsky shared her harrowing story of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas kidnapped Gritzewsky and her partner Matan Zangauker from Kibbutz Nir Oz and the torture she endured until her release after 55 days. Matan Zangauke is still held hostage by Hamas and appeared in a video Hamas released in December.
Gritzewsky told the crowd that even though Hamas tried to break her, she would not rest until all the hostages were home.
“The fact I’m here today, standing in front of you, doesn’t mean I’m okay, but I refuse to give up,” Gritzewsky said. “Hamas tried to break me. They continue to play cruel psychological games, but they will not silence me. My body is free, but my heart, my soul, my entire being, remains in captivity with Matan and the other hostages. I will not stop. I will not rest until every single one of them is home.”
UJA Federation CEO Eric Goldstein told the crowd that no words could ever convey the horror and anguish the Hamas terror attack unleashed when some 1,200 people were killed and 255 were kidnapped.
“There really are no words, so there must be action, and being here standing together, showing the world the strength of our community, refusing to look away is more powerful than words,” Goldstein reminded the crowd. “We must not stop. We must not become numb. We must not rest until every single one of the hostages is home.”
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, an outspoken supporter of the Jewish community and Israel, questioned why so many stayed silent after the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust and vowed to fight for the Jewish community and the release of the remaining hostages.
“As a non-Jew, as an honorary member of the tribe, I will always stand with you, not only in hoping, but fighting for a world where the hostages are brought home and where Oct. 7 can never be repeated,” Torres said. “Never again is not a slogan; it is a sacred covenant between the world and the Jewish people. We, as Americans, have a special role in making that special covenant a reality in the lives of the Jewish people.”
