Left out of much of the recent media coverage of Gaza has been the plight of the remaining 50 hostages — including two Americans — being held under brutal conditions by Hamas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently pointed out that while attention has been justifiably paid to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, little has been heard about the hostages “in tunnels on the verge of death.” This has to change.
A recent poll by Boundless Israel found 41% of Americans didn’t know there were still hostages in Gaza. Part of that troubling statistic could be attributed to selective media coverage that chooses to ignore Jewish and Israeli suffering in favor of other narratives.
As Jews, we will not forget the hostages. That is why the American Jewish Committee recently ran full-page ads in The New York Times highlighting the plight of hostage Evyatar David. They show two photos, one of a smiling Evyatar taken before the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks; the other, a still from a sickening video released by Hamas that shows him gaunt and terrified inside one of the many tunnels under Gaza.
We will not forget Evyatar or the other 49 hostages, who have now been kept from their loved ones for 22 months. Amid all the fervor about a cease-fire, journalists must remember that one cannot and will not happen without the hostages’ release. Until then, the media needs to ensure they are always part of the story.
Marcia Bronstein
The writer is director of American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey.
The hostages along with the innocent Israeli civilians butchered on the Oct,. 7th surprise invasion of Israel have not and will not be a part of the media story.The reason is simple, the media has swallowed hook, line and sinker the Hamas narrative that Israel is starving and mistreating the Palestinian people.
Is this ignorance, stupidity or hatred of Jews? Probably all three.