Journalism of Courage
Families of hostages held in Gaza led a demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters on Friday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly.
Several hundred people joined the protest, holding signs with pictures of the hostages and carrying yellow flowers. The crowd chanted: “Bring them home, all of them now,” and “They’re running out of time.”
A delegation of relatives travelled to New York to raise awareness about the hostages and to meet representatives from the European Union, France and the United Kingdom. Among them were the families of Nimrod Cohen, Omer Neutra and Lior Rudaeff.
Some speakers accused Netanyahu’s government of failing to act. The demonstration drew Israelis attending the General Assembly, members of the Israeli diaspora in the United States, and American Jews. The event ended with the crowd singing Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah.
However, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticised Netanyahu after he read out only 20 of the names of the 48 hostages still in Gaza during his UN address.
“The families of the fallen and the families of the hostages whose lives are in grave danger are outraged that only the names of the living hostages are being read out,” the group said. It accused the prime minister of choosing “time and again to torpedo, thwart and bomb the chances of returning them home.”
(With inputs from agencies)
