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HOSTAGE CRISIS - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is used to being the center of attention on his trips to the United States, basking in the glow of bipartisan support and ignoring the few American politicians who choose to criticize his country.
The Israeli leader’s domestic popularity is at an all-time low, with many Israelis frustrated at his inability to secure the release of captives taken during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, and who continue to be held in Gaza.
The timing of Netanyahu’s trip, coming as the US presidential election environment began to heat up, was always going to be difficult, say analysts. The Israeli leader faced a tough balancing act, keeping all sides of the US political divide happy and avoiding any perception that he was supporting one side over the other.
When Prime Minister Netanyahu invited me to fly with him to Washington DC for his address to Congress, my instinct was to join him. I wanted to stand with my prime minister when he announced he had signed the deal that would bring my youngest brother Jonathan, and the other hostages home. I dreamed of being in the room to celebrate, alongside other family members of hostages, an end to our collective nightmare. Then I could go back home and finally hug my young brother. So, I said yes.
As the trip drew nearer, I witnessed again and again my prime minister prioritizing the safety of his administration, over the safety of the hostages; coming up with new, harsher conditions, to his own deal’s terms; abandoning me and my family. Most critically, he is abandoning Jonathan and the 120 hostages who remain in Gaza.
Despite these clear victories, Prime Minister Netanyahu is again delaying the deal and continuing a war that leads Israel nowhere. Once again, he keeps us all in the same horrible loop, by insisting on more achievements that might make Hamas harden their positions, lead to a dead end in the negotiation, and potentially an even deadlier end for my brother and hundreds of other hostages who are suffering underground.
When I was invited to fly with the prime minister, I thought perhaps this would be a way to make sure that the issue of the hostages remains front and center as he meets with leaders and dignitaries in the United States. Maybe I could sit next to him on the plane and beg him to bring my brother back, telling him stories about Jonathan that would tug at his heartstrings, stories of her kind nature, or the fact that released hostages shared he would lead yoga classes during their captivity to help them stay calm amid the terror.
Perhaps I would take the opposite approach and shout when he meets with legislators that they must make him sign a deal. I was even willing to be a cheerleader sitting next to him quietly if I thought that would help bring my brother back.
I was in Washington DC and attended the prime minister’s address. However, I will not be traveling again with his entourage. Rather, I used the opportunity to hold accountable the man who has failed my brother and my family. The man who is fighting for his personal political survival while his citizens are fighting for their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
I am outraged that while many families in Israel was dodging actual bullets, fleeing from terrorists with their children in their arms, while my brother was held at gunpoint in Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu is spending his time dodging political bullets and letting the hostages waste away.
“For an American – and international – audience, he was able to make his case. However flimsy and discredited it may be, it still resonates with many. And he wants the US government to continue to back him and his war in the face of mounting international pressure, especially from international courts.”
(Mihran Kalaydjian has over twenty years of public affairs, government relations, legislative affairs, public policy, community relations and strategic communications experience. He is a leading member of the community and a devoted civic engagement activist for education spearheading numerous academic initiatives in local political forums.)
