Israeli-American Families With Missing Loved Ones Describe Their Anguish, Uncertainty as They Await Word From American Government

TEL AVIV — A press conference to highlight American-Israeli families looking for their loved ones began and ended with a run to the hotel’s stairwell on Tuesday. The Carlton Hotel at Tel Aviv hosted a group of international reporters to give a voice to American-Israelis while air raid sirens rang out to warn of incoming rockets. Parents and children each spent some time at the microphone highlighting the lives and personalities of missing loved ones who were taken violently during Saturday’s Hamas invasion. There were two children missing their 66-year-old mother, Adrienne Neta, a father missing his 35-year-old son, Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 23-year-old named Hersh Goldberg-Polin and a 19-year-old soldier, Itay Chen, both also still missing. Diana Neta spoke of her mother, who was presumably taken by Hamas. They understand that terrorists entered her home on Kibbutz Be’eri Saturday morning. The elder Ms. Neta is a California native who moved to Israel in 1981 and took on a second citizenship. The mother of four also has seven grandchildren.Adrienne Neta’s children last heard from her Saturday at 10:30 a.m. They said she was not among the dead on the Kibbutz, which suffered from what community members described as a pogrom. With no other answers, they believe she was taken hostage. “My mother is an exceptional human being,” Diana Neta said. “She spent most of her adult life as a nurse and midwife. When she walked into the delivery room, she saw the human being. Not a religion, not a race, not a hijab, not an Orthodox Jew. The human she saw. They [Hamas] walked into her room and saw her alone. They did not see a human being.”Adrienne Neta’s son, Nahar Neta, spoke with The New York Sun, saying he expects the U.S. administration to bring every citizen home safe and sound. Mr. Neta says his biggest frustration is the uncertainty. “We don’t know anything and no one is telling us anything. I just expect someone to reach out and provide whatever information they do have,” Nahar Neta said. When asked what the best case scenario would be for him moving forward, he held back a tear and swallowed hard before answering. “Me hugging my mom again,” he said. Rubi Chen of New York City is missing one of his three children, Itay, who was raised in Israel and in the Israel Defense Forces. The 19-year-old is a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who was at the Gaza border during the Saturday attack. His father, Rubi Chen, was notified by the IDF on Monday that Itay is officially defined as Missing In Action. There’s a high probability he is in Gaza as a hostage.Rubi Chen says he feels frustrated, angry, and helpless. The Jewish people and the Israeli community, though, know how to offer support, he says. He’s heard from organizations, old-time friends, and all of his family. Itay Chen was not originally scheduled for duty that fateful Saturday. He had come in to accrue some time off. His little brother is set to have a Bar Mitzvah this coming Saturday. “We’re going to make that happen. And hopefully, we’ll make the Bar Mitzvah happen again” with Itay, Rubi Chen says.“The U.S. has a lot of resources and can do many things differently than the Israeli government can. We are asking for President Biden to show his heart is in the right place,” Rubi Chen said. A self-proclaimed pacifist and Connecticut native, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, has been missing his 35-year-old son, Sagui Dekel-Chen, since Saturday morning, when he was taken from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz. He has not been heard from since.Jonathan Dekel-Chen says Kibbutz Nir Oz no longer exists. Dozens of his neighbors were killed or have been taken hostage. Sagui is “an arm’s length away in Gaza, but could not be farther from me right now,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen said. “I am from Connecticut, but have never felt farther away from there as well,” he says. Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father describes him as a loving man who cared deeply about his children. His pregnant wife and two daughters are waiting for him to return. “It is not war or a fair fight. Hundreds of well-armed and organized terrorists came with one objective in mind — to kill, maim, and destroy civilian life along the border,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen says. “We are waiting for Sagui to come home,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen says. “We don’t know how long it will be. Outside of Sagui, there are three other hostages taken from my Kibbutz who are American.”The parents of 23-year old Hersh Goldberg Polin say he has been missing since Saturday morning when Hamas attacked a music festival in southern Israel. Mr. Goldberg Polin, an Israeli-American, was last seen at an above-ground protective shelter opposite the Kibbutz in the late morning.According to eyewitness accounts, he was forced into a white pickup truck that was brought from Gaza into Israel during the attack. His parents have not heard a word from him since 8 a.m. on the day of the attack. “We are hopeful that he is alive and can be located,” his parents, Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg, said.

Israeli-American Families With Missing Loved Ones Describe Their Anguish, Uncertainty as They Await Word From American Government

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