[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S61]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, as people around the world gathered 
last week to ring in the new year, it was a heartbreaking moment for 
families of the remaining Israeli hostages, whose loved ones have been 
forced to begin a new year in Hamas captivity.
  Over the past month, I was devastated to learn that two of the 
hostages whom I have spoken about have since died. Israeli-American 
Judih Weinstein and Gad, her husband, both died from injuries they 
sustained on October 7. Their bodies are still being held in Gaza.
  Gad was a retired chef, a jazz musician, and a gifted flautist. A 
father of four and a grandfather of seven, he was a man full of humor 
who knew how to make other people laugh.
  Gad's wife Judih was a person of peace. A New York native, she loved 
making puppets and teaching English to children with special needs. She 
was a wellness expert who used meditation and mindfulness techniques to 
help those traumatized by years of rocket fire. She was also a pacifist 
who advocated for Palestinian rights. In one of the poems she wrote and 
shared on social media, Judih described herself as a ``lone pilgrim, 
enveloped by ancestors''--listening to a ``flute's homage beckoning 
[her] on.''
  The deaths of Judih and Gad are a sad conclusion to a long and 
horrifying saga. It is also a disturbing reminder of the perils faced 
by other hostages.
  I recently returned from a congressional delegation trip to Israel, 
Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, and I can tell you that the suffering and the 
grief the Jewish people and innocent Palestinian people have faced 
daily are truly devastating. The collective anguish, fear, and horror 
is palpable.
  The path to peace--with all hostages being returned, the rebuilding 
of a Palestinian state without Hamas, and with the support and 
investment of the Arab and Muslim world--is now more urgent than ever.
  When meeting the families of the hostages, the urgency and anguish in 
their eyes was devastating. To know that your loved one could be 
suffering unspeakable horrors and that they may be on the edge of death 
and feel powerless to stop it is a pain that no family member should 
ever be forced to bear. They have spent every living day and moment 
since October 7 fighting to get their loved ones home. This nightmare 
must end now.
  One of the families I met with told me about their loved one, Doron. 
A 30-year-old veterinary nurse, she hid under the bed in her apartment 
as Hamas terrorists rampaged her kibbutz. The last her family heard 
from her was from a voice message in which she said:

       They've arrived, they have me.

  Doron has a stomach condition, and her family worries her health will 
deteriorate without her daily medication. They worry about rape and 
sexual violence and sexual torture. They worry she will not survive the 
horrors of her captivity.
  I also met again with the families of Itay Chen and Omer Neutra--two 
New Yorkers who are being held hostage by Hamas.
  Itay is a 19-year-old boy who was born in New York City and is now 
serving with the IDF. He was supposed to return home to his family 
shortly after October 7 to celebrate his brother's bar mitzvah.
  Omer Neutra is also a New Yorker, the grandson of Holocaust 
survivors, and an avid athlete. He loves the New York Knicks. He 
deferred his acceptance to Binghamton University to spend a gap year in 
Israel before he joined the IDF. On the day of the attack, he was 
working as a tank commander while defending the Gaza border. He was 
last seen on a video as being forcibly removed at the hands of Hamas 
terrorists.
  In addition to these two New Yorkers, I also met with the family of 
another American hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. He had his lower arm 
blown off by a hand grenade. His mother says his injuries could easily 
have resulted in his bleeding to death and wonders: Is he alive? Is he 
suffering? Does he ever have a chance of coming home?
  These are just a few of the roughly 130 people still being held 
hostage by Hamas, including 8 Americans. With every day that goes by, 
the danger to them only grows. I hope that in this new year we can 
secure their safe return, their release, and their coming home to their 
families before it is too late.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.