Mothers march alongside hostage families in unifying message to bring them home
Hundreds of Israelis marched through the streets of Modiin on Thursday holding placards calling for the immediate release of the hostages who have been in Hamas captivity since the terrorist group’s brutal attack on Oct. 7.
“There will be no victory until every hostage is saved!” a young 8-year-old girl chanted through a megaphone.
Marching beside her were participants of Momentum, a global movement that inspires Jewish women to connect with Israel and their Jewish values.
Despite being at war, the organization brought 80 dedicated Jewish mothers to Israel who dropped everything to show solidarity with Israel during its darkest hour.
The Mother to Mother Unity Trip, organized in partnership with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, kicked off last week and brought Jewish mothers from the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Mexico.
For 20 of the mothers, coming to Israel had extra personal significance as one of their children is currently serving as a lone soldier in the war.
The trip centered heavily around acts of volunteer service, such as cooking with other Israeli mothers for soldiers and harvesting crops to assist farmers who cannot attend to their land because they were either killed during the war or have been called up for reserve duty, and were all done in the hope of boosting Israeli morale on the home and war fronts.
On Thursday, though, the mothers were visibly moved by hearing from Hagit, the cousin of the Tal family who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Hagit said her family only learned of the kidnapping by seeing videos of Merav Tal, her boyfriend, and his two children on Telegram the day of the attack. Hagit has been advocating for the Tal household ever since as the rest of the family is too grief-stricken to leave the house.
After the group were stunned to silence by her words, Momentum participant Linda Norton, from Sarasota, Fla., spoke on behalf of the group.
“We’re here to tell you that we love you and we want to do whatever we can to support you and to bring your loved ones home,” Norton said. “You’re our family and we’re here for you.”
Momentum Founding Director Lori Palatnik agreed, adding that it was critical for Momentum to show up for their Israeli counterparts as they’re coping with unimaginable amounts of grief.
“Today, Israel and the Jewish people face unimaginably difficult times. Mothers have had their babies taken from their arms and families have been torn apart by brutal acts of terror,” she said. “At Momentum, we couldn’t stand idly by while our Israeli sisters are in so much pain. As a result, we’ve mobilized our dedicated community of Momentum mothers who have chosen to show up for Israel and its women and demonstrate their unwavering support of Israel in an emotional display of unity.”
Israel Hayom is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, which also owns the Review-Journal.