- Michael Markman & Michele S. Levin 
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Board Chair and Campaign Chair 

This past weekend, the IDF found the bodies of six hostages inside Gaza: Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l, Eden Yerushalmi z”l, Carmel Gat z”l, Almog Sarusi z”l, Alex Lubanov z”l, and Ori Danino z”l.

Hearing the news of their deaths was absolutely devastating. Many of us are familiar with the plight of Israeli-American Hersh through the tireless advocacy of his parents Rachel and Jon, and, as a parent myself, I cannot begin to fathom the grief they must be experiencing right now.

These hostages are more than symbols of Hamas’ terror and Israel’s grief. They must be remembered as courageous men and women who lived meaningful lives. 

• Hersh loved soccer, music and travel, and was always good humored and curious about the world around him. He used his love of sports to repair relations between Arab and Israeli communities.
• Eden enjoyed spending her days at the beach and was training to become a Pilates instructor, spreading positive energy to everyone she met. 
• Carmel was an occupational therapist who helped fellow hostages in captivity by leading them in yoga and meditation sessions to keep them calm and resilient.
• Almog was an engineering student, known to travel throughout Israel in his signature white jeep with his guitar. 
• Alex was a devoted husband and a caring father of two young children. He successfully helped evacuate others from the Nova festival before being abducted himself. 
• Ori planned to study electrical engineering and loved nature and people. He was kidnapped from the Nova festival while driving back and trying to help others escape.
  

While we may not know the story of every victim of Hamas’ brutality, we do know the stories of these six. Our hearts are with their families and loved ones. May they be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. 

And through our mourning, we must also turn grief into action. We cannot let the remaining 101 hostages become more symbols. We must bring them home – alive. We must advocate for their release and safe return.

Their stories are not yet finished.

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