Former hostage Karina Ariev delivered a heartfelt message to the people of Israel on Thursday evening, just days ahead of Passover. Her remarks come amid growing concern among former hostages and the families of those still held captive that the plight of the hostages is fading from the national spotlight<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil they return, none of us can truly be free\u201d<\/strong> Ariev also referenced a well-known line from the Passover Haggadah: In every generation, we are commanded to see ourselves as if we had personally been freed from Egypt. \u201cThat meaning changes,\u201d she said, \u201cafter experiencing captivity.<\/p>\n \u201cThis holiday, leave an empty chair for the hostages\u2014and don\u2019t forget them\u201d<\/strong> Karina was held in captivity for 477 days, spending last Passover night in Hamas tunnels. This year, she will celebrate the Seder at the holiday table with her parents, Albert and Ira, and her older sister, Sasha.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former hostage Karina Ariev delivers a powerful message ahead of Passover: \u201cUntil they return, none of us can truly be free.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,2276,8],"tags":[4046,4117,3332],"class_list":["post-19516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-judaism","category-people","category-politics","tag-gaza-hostages","tag-karina-ariev","tag-passover"],"yoast_head":"\n
\u201cI\u2019m speaking to you now, just days before Passover\u2014the holiday of Freedom\u2014and I\u2019m thinking of all our brothers and sisters who haven\u2019t yet come home,\u201d Karina said. \u201cI think of them, and I think of us. Because until they return, none of us can truly be free.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may be here, but my heart is still there. There are still 59 hostages waiting for their own holiday of freedom, waiting to come home. I\u2019m asking you\u2014this holiday, leave an empty chair for the hostages, and don\u2019t forget them.\u201d<\/p>\n