Opinion My children are being held hostage by Hamas. Take me to Gaza to see them.

[mcar]

https://wapo.st/47fEQEH

By Maayan Zin
November 17, 2023 at 3:54 p.m. EST

...On Oct. 7, my daughters, Dafna, 15, and Ela, 8, were kidnapped by Hamas, and since then I have been carrying around my own versions of Rebbe Bunem’s slips of paper. On the first I wrote “For their sake the world was created,” while the other reads “Take me to Gaza.”...

On one hand, I have seen that for my daughters’ sake the world truly was created. Our entire country has mobilized to rescue Dafna and Ela, foreign leaders know their names and are trying to secure their freedom, and thousands of miles away from here, strangers hold vigils and put up posters showing their faces. The heroism and support of others give me the strength to believe that my girls will be brought home to me, and every passing hour feels like an hour closer to reunion....

At the same time, I can see that the ideology of hatred that drove Hamas to kidnap my daughters continues to grow stronger around the world. The soldiers fighting their way to Dafna and Ela face people who would rather die than let my girls go free. Thousands of miles away from here, strangers scream into the sky for more violence, another intifada, another war to push us into the sea. The posters of my girls are torn down, their dignity as victims denied. Every passing hour feels like an hour closer to the phone call telling me that they have not survived, that this world is too cruel to let them live. I am but dust and ashes, and if I must be, then I want to meet my fate together with Dafna and Ela....

I will bring messages from the parents and loved ones of the other 31 children believed to be in captivity. Some of those children no longer have their parents waiting for them back at home. Take me to Gaza, so that I can be their mother, too. I will tell them that they have not been forgotten, and that they are loved. That they are cherished, and that for their sake the world was created.

[question everything]

1. Heartbreaking

[mcar]

4. I've been in tears since I read this

Fcking monsters.

[Elessar Zappa]

2. Heartbreaking.

[mcar]

5. No words

[brer cat]

3. Truly heartbreaking.

[Sal_NV]

6. This is heartbreaking.

Hopefully they will come home safe, but I'm not counting my chickens on that, even if they do, what horrors did they endure under Hamas captivity?
Were they raped?
Were they tortured?
Were they subject to constant threats of death?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. That is a very moving and tough post to read

Thank you for posting this.

[mcar]

12. So tough to read

I cannot imagine this mother's anguish.

[EllieBC]

8. Thank you for sharing this, Mcar

Hard to get through but important.

[mcar]

14. It is Ellie

[Cha]

9. " The posters of my girls are torn down, their dignity as victims denied."

. The posters of my girls are torn down, their dignity as victims denied. Every passing hour feels like an hour closer to the phone call telling me that they have not survived, that this world is too cruel to let them live. I am but dust and ashes, and if I must be, then I want to meet my fate together with Dafna and Ela....

So HeartCrushing 💕🤷‍♀️💕🤷‍♀️💕

[mcar]

15. Will it wake anyone up, Cha?

I fear not.

[Cha]

20. The most heartbreaking thing on

Earth is the loss of a Child and this poor Mother has lost two.. but there is stil HOPE.

[Cha]

10. 💕💕💕

[mcar]

16. What a horrible, heartless thing to post

I pity you.

[Sal_NV]

18. There's always one in the crowd.

[Oopsie Daisy]

23. Wasted pity. Undeserved.

Save your emotions for others who deserve it.

[Sal_NV]

17. And this is what you come up with?

You have no compassion for this poor mother and her daughters who are held captive by a terrorist org who more than likely have endured untold horrors at the hands of these monsters.
I would really like to say what I really mean about your post, but I will refrain.

[JohnSJ]

13. What a terrible dichotomy between hope and fear

[lapucelle]

19. And extremists walk around tearing down their pictures.

The hostages are the forgotten children of this war.

[Maru Kitteh]

21. Even reading this pain is nearly unbearable; I have no reference point for understanding

the chasms of this poor woman's pain. I can completely understand why she wants to go. In her place, I don't think I could think of anything elsel

[wendyb-NC]

22. This is so heartbreaking

Prayers for them and their loved ones, for their safe release, and everyone trying to secure the safe release of all of the hostages. For the innocents on both sides, for their safety and an end to this unrelenting war and carnage. it is just so gut wrenching to hear of the unimaginable horror, death and suffering going on, in Israel, and Gaza, that extends just about everywhere in the world. It can't end soon enough with a plan for peace.

[sheshe2]

24. A difficult read, yet needs to be read.

So heartbreaking.