{"id":12060,"date":"2024-12-26T10:50:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T08:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rega.news\/?p=12060"},"modified":"2024-12-26T11:05:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T09:05:56","slug":"families-of-hostages-light-hanukkah-candles-at-josephs-tomb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/families-of-hostages-light-hanukkah-candles-at-josephs-tomb\/","title":{"rendered":"Families of Hostages Light Hanukkah Candles at Joseph\u2019s Tomb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night, ten families of hostages entered Joseph\u2019s Tomb in Nablus for a prayer and lit the first Hanukkah candle. Among those participating were the families of Avinetan Or, Eliya Cohen, Bar Kopershtein, Uriel Baruch, Karina Arayev, Almog Sarusi (of blessed memory), Yosef Chaim Ohana, Sagui Dekel Chen, Romi Gonen and her partner Asaf, and Idan Alexander. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Privilege Is That We Don\u2019t Have to Be Alone\u201d <\/strong>
\nAt the site, the families offered prayers for the release of the hostages and for the safety of IDF soldiers, alongside residents of Samaria and hundreds of others who visited the tomb of the righteous Joseph last night. Yossi Dagan, Head of the Samaria Regional Council, recited a prayer for the safety of the hostages and the soldiers, then said: \u201cEveryone stands here, praying together with the families on behalf of all of Samaria, on behalf of all of Israel, for their swift return and safe release. We pray for our brothers and sisters in captivity to come out healthy and whole.\u201d <\/p>\n

Merav Leshem Gonen, the mother of Romi Leshem Gonen, who was kidnapped in Gaza, shared: \u201cOn the way here, while we were on the bus, there was a moment of darkness and silence. Suddenly, I felt incredibly alone, and I thought about how Romi must have felt during those moments when the car she was in fell into the terrorists\u2019 ambush. Two of the four passengers were killed on the spot. Romi was injured, and so was Ofir. I thought about how alone she must have been in those moments, caught in the middle of bullets flying around her. I thought about how hard it is to be alone. And then I thought about how lucky we are, how privileged we are, that we don\u2019t have to be alone. We can be together.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone Dreams of the Moment They Can Hug Their Loved One Again\u201d<\/strong>
\nDitsa Or, the mother of hostage Avinetan Or, added: \u201cI\u2019m always running around, so I\u2019m hungry, I didn\u2019t have time to eat, and I\u2019m cold here. And I think about Avinetan and all the hostages\u2014how hungry they must be, how cold they must be. With us here are the families of Eliya Cohen, Bar Kopershtein, Uriel Baruch, Karina Arayev the lookout soldier, Almog Sarusi (may his memory be blessed), Tamir Adar, and Yosef Chaim Ohana. We\u2019re all dreaming of the moment we can hug our loved ones again, give them our love, our security, and bring them home once more, just like we all wish for.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"
Families at Joseph\u2019s Tomb | Photo: Elhai Menachem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Riki Baruch, the sister-in-law of Uriel Baruch (of blessed memory), who was kidnapped from the Nova Festival and murdered, said: \u201cThis week, on Sunday, we marked the second birthday of Ariel in captivity with the theme of \u2018lighting one candle from another without diminishing the first,\u2019 which ties directly to Hanukkah and Ariel\u2019s character. Ariel was a person of giving, of kindness, of unconditional love. He made everyone around him feel like they were the most important person in the world and that he would do anything to make them happy. That\u2019s what we\u2019re carrying forward\u2014his generosity, his unconditional love, his joy. God willing, through this light, we will merit a complete redemption soon in our days.\u201d<\/p>\n