This is the second year I have traveled to the United Nations General Assembly, and this time I came with great anticipation to hear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech. My expectations were especially high after President Donald Trump’s address, in which he spoke about the urgency of freeing all the hostages and fulfilling his vision for a new Middle East — a vision he first detailed in his inaugural speech 10 months ago.
As Netanyahu entered the General Assembly hall, dozens of delegates from around the world demonstratively walked out. I asked myself: How did Israel reach this terrible moment? On Oct. 8, 2023, just one day after Hamas’ massacre, the entire world supported Israel in its just war against Hamas. Today, only a small number of nations support the Israeli prime minister’s policies. Many seem to think that two years of war should have been enough to eliminate Hamas’ threat to destroy Israel.
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Ruby Chen, left, and Danny Miran at the UN General Assembly, ahead of Netanyahu's speech
(Photo: Itamar Eichner)
Netanyahu began his speech by addressing the hostages. For a moment, I thought perhaps he finally understood what is most important. He started reading names of hostages, and I waited to hear him say the name of my son. I waited for “Staff Sgt. Itay Chen.” But he stopped after 20 names.
I was left stunned, my mouth open in disbelief. In a surge of deep grief, I wanted to shout my son’s name into the chamber. To cry out: “Itaaay!” But I held myself back. Maybe that was a mistake.
Why did he not say my son’s name on the most important stage in the world? My son is a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, a hero who used his body to stop Hamas murderers from killing, burning and raping more Israelis when Israel’s government failed to protect them. Is my son less of a hostage? Is the prime minister ashamed of him? Is he invisible, not worth bringing home?
I wanted to scream his name into the hall, but perhaps my late mother raised me to be too well-mannered. As an act of protest, I left the chamber rather than sit through the rest of Netanyahu’s speech. Outside, I joined the families of other hostages holding a rally for the return of all captives, alongside American citizens who gather every week in Central Park in New York. Their rallies are organized by volunteers from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s New York branch.
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Ruby Chen holds a sign calling for his son's release from Gaza during a rally at Hostages' Square in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Even now, a day later, I still cannot understand why the prime minister avoided mentioning all the hostages’ names. Is he trying to condition the public to accept that he does not aim to bring home every last hostage, because doing so might require declaring an end to the war? Is he saying that the remains of the hostages killed in captivity are not important to return? That they have no names, no families who long to bring them home?
During these High Holy Days, leading up to Yom Kippur, every Jew is called to examine his conscience and consider how he will stand before God on the Day of Judgment. I hope the prime minister will use the days left before Yom Kippur to reflect and apologize to the families whose loved ones he did not acknowledge. As a Jew, he should know there is no greater mitzvah than bringing his brothers home for burial in the Land of Israel.
I pray that on Monday, in his meeting with President Trump, the prime minister will finally advance the outcome all of Israel yearns for: the return of all the hostages, the return of soldiers to their families, the release of reservists back to their homes, and the beginning of Israel’s recovery after two of the most painful years in its history.
Gmar Chatima Tova