A LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM JESSICA DEICKMAN, ON THE ONGOING HOSTAGE SITUATION, THEN AND NOW

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THE FOLLOWING LETTER APPEARS IN THE GAZETTE; IT IS RE-PRINTED HERE WITH THE AUTHOR'S PERMISSION

To The Editor,

The news reports that people in New York City and across America continue to rip down posters identifying the 233 plus Israeli hostages abducted on 10/7. Some of those hostages are American citizens, and one would imagine that we could be united in the determination to bring home our citizens (currently believed to be 10 individuals), and all the remaining hostages, to their loved ones. It’s a far cry from the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were seized from the embassy in Iran. Back then, the US was outraged and determined to get them home, and the country became more united than it had been in decades over these hostages. The present-day Israeli hostage posters harken back to the missing-posters that plastered NYC after the 9/11 terrorist attack. I remember seeing people staring at them, crying, saying prayers, touching them; there was a palpable unity-in-sadness for the massive loss of life and utter destruction in Manhattan, a stark contrast to current times in which people are cheering on Hamas terrorists and making a point to deface the hostage posters.

One hostage’s story in particular, that of a little girl, 3 year old Abigail Mor Idan, an American and Israeli citizen, stands out to me. She was on her kibbutz, hiding in her father’s arms, her mother beside her, when her parents were gunned down and killed by Hamas. Abigail managed to crawl out from under her murdered father’s body and run to a neighbor’s house, where Hamas terrorists then took her hostage. It is believed that she is being held somewhere within in an underground network of tunnels, her health and safety completely unknown. Imagine what this child and the other hostages are going through.

In spite of these realities, some young people are providing terrorists, both deceased and living, with a home-turf propaganda advantage. This week I read how young people are using their TikTok platforms to share and reflect positively on the Osama Bin Laden manifesto, written in 2002 in an attempt to justify his attacks on America. Much of this letter expresses a great hatred for Jewish people, and references Israel and Palestine, which presumably accounts for the document’s recent re-appearance in social media. Many of the young people reading his letter and posting supportive videos defend the terrorist, some even going as far as suggesting the manifesto be read and studied in schools. I was beyond aghast to hear this: this is about a mass murderer here, not dissimilar to the Hamas terrorists.

The son of 9/11 victim Bruce Eagleson, Brett Eagleson, just 15 years old when his father was killed in the attack, was sickened watching young people speak glowingly of Bin Laden. He stated this week that Bin Laden would have easily slaughtered these Tik Tok ‘influencers’ too, and called for Americans to be re-educated on what 9/11 means. Bin Laden and Hamas are horrible choices for being idolized by young people, especially considering that the young people are to be the leaders and shapers of the future of our country. Bin Laden hated everything about the west, democracy, and the freedoms we all have. He passionately hated that Israel is a democracy like the US. His ideas were nothing but death and destruction with nothing redeemable whatsoever. No study on that is needed. We don’t need to intellectualize mass murderers and defend them, ever.

It was, however, encouraging to see that about 300,000 people peacefully marched in Washington DC on November 14th in support of Israel, of bringing the hostages home and for standing against antisemitism in America. Our own NY Sen. Chuck Schumer attended, cheering on the crowd and the cause. Jewish schools and Jewish students from around the country proudly marched: one teacher from a Jewish school here in Westchester explained to a reporter that, in America, people shouldn’t be afraid to wear a yarmulke or The Star of David in public. He said the marchers' goal was to show they won’t allow antisemitism to take over and win in America.

Unfortunately, the very antisemitism the marchers intended to oppose managed to rear its ugly head before some even reached the event, and close to 900 people who traveled by air in hopes of joining the demonstration were left stranded on their planes when chartered bus drivers abruptly and deliberately refused to shuttle them from Virginia’s Dulles Airport to DC. Based solely on their cause, these citizens were stymied in their attempt to exercise their right to peacefully assemble.

Regardless of the challenges faced by a good number of marchers for Israel, they persevered and by taking a stand they empower others to speak up against antisemitism, terrorism and mass murder. None of these are American values and anyone defending Bin Laden’s 9/11 attacks or Hamas’ 10/7 attacks should expect more people to resist these views and not tolerate them for a moment. Once we start forgetting history, we are vulnerable to repeating the worst of it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jessica Dieckman