House Foreign Affairs Committee Holds A Roundtable With Families Of US Hostages Held By Hamas

2 months ago

The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a roundtable with families of US hostages held by Hamas.

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Transcript

00:00Good morning. I want to thank all of you for being here today in a bipartisan manner. This

00:14is not about party politics right now, it's about the hostages. I can't think of a better

00:19time to be having this roundtable discussion than the very week that Prime Minister Netanyahu

00:26is visiting to give a joint session before the United States Congress. But we can't forget

00:34about the hostages. As we talk about the completion of Gaza, the peace process, we can never forget

00:43those left behind, and those are the American hostages. And that is the purpose of this

00:50roundtable. And I want to thank all the families for being here today. I can assure you that

00:56I and the members here, and I would say all members of Congress, have not forgotten your

01:02loved ones. And we will do everything in our power to bring them home. And that's why we're

01:08here. We're going to be on a short time frame. We have votes. So I'm going to forego an opening

01:15statement because, after all, we're not here to listen to me, we're here to listen to you

01:23and about your families. So today, without further ado, we have before us Ruby Chen,

01:30the father of Itay Chen, who was 19 years old and was murdered by Hamas. We have Daniel

01:38Nutra, the brother of Omar Nutra, who is currently being held hostage by Hamas. We have Rachel

01:47Goldberg-Polen, the mother of Hirsch Goldberg-Polen, who is 23 years old, being held by Hamas.

01:54Aviva Siegel, who was also held hostage, yourself. And we'd love to hear about that horrible

02:03experience for 51 days. You, ma'am, are the wife, spouse of Keith Siegel, who remains

02:11a hostage currently at the hands of Hamas. We're so sorry. But we're so glad you're out

02:17of there. Jonathan Diekel-Chen, the father of Sagu E. Diekel-Chen, who is currently being

02:25held by Hamas. And Adi Alexander, the father of Edan Alexander, who is also being held

02:34served hostage by Hamas. We feel for you every day. We pray for you every day. We also remember

02:44God Hagi and Judy Weinstein, American hostages who were murdered and whose family members

02:51are unable to attend this roundtable today. We remember each and every one of them, and

02:58we will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought safely home. My colleagues and

03:04I look forward to hearing your stories, your testimony. And with that, Mr. Chen, I think

03:13I would very much like to turn it over to you.

03:17Now? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for hosting us, you and this esteemed

03:26committee. We know these are challenging times in the House, so we thank each and every

03:32one of you for finding time to be with us. We have decided to be concise in our remarks

03:40as well and would like as much as possible to have a discussion. So only a few of us

03:45will address the committee and hope that we can have a conversation with this committee.

03:52I'll start with a number, 291. Two hundred and ninety-one days since October 7th, and

04:03I do not think any of us here ever phantomed that we will be sitting here after 291 days

04:10and asking something very basic, to be reunited with our family. We have been on this path,

04:20and we've been able to meet very good people in this House and across the administration

04:28that have opened up their hearts and have been willing to support us in any way possible.

04:34We will be forever grateful to all of you for being here for us during these terrible

04:41times. We understand now there's a window of opportunity. It's a unique window of opportunity

04:49that both sides seem to be close to getting a deal done. This week started off with again

04:55terrible news of two additional families getting that message of their loved ones killed by

05:05Hamas. We have no time. And what we urge the committee members and this House, when the

05:12Prime Minister comes to the House, it should be a bipartisan effort to lean on him as well

05:22as other U.S. allies in the region to get this deal done and just make it happen. And

05:29we would very much like to see the focus of this committee in order to get us to that

05:35finish line in order for us to be reunited with our family members. Thank you.

05:41Thank you, Mr. Chen. Now I recognize Daniel Nutra. His brother, Omer, was taken hostage

05:47by Hamas on October 7th to give his statement.

05:52Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm Daniel Nutra. I'm 20 years old. Omer Nutra,

05:57my brother, turned 22 in captivity in Gaza almost 10 months ago on October 14th. On the

06:04day that I found out Omer was kidnapped, I was at college. My dad woke me up at 7 a.m.

06:10with a phone call telling me he hadn't heard from Omer since the night before. I spent

06:14the whole day in my dorm room reading the news and seeing gruesome images of the atrocities

06:19that were happening, wondering if he was okay. And I called him more times than I can remember.

06:26When I finally left my room to go eat something, I looked around and no one in the entire building

06:30seemed to know what had happened. It was like living in a different reality. And to this

06:36day, many Americans are completely unaware that eight Americans are still being held

06:41hostage to this day. Omer is my best friend, and he's always someone I can talk to. And

06:49oftentimes I find myself overwhelmed by the pressure of this situation and the bizarre

06:54reality. And my first reflex is to pick up the phone and talk to Omer, but of course,

06:59his WhatsApp still says, last seen 10 months ago.

07:04Instead of speaking with Omer, my family flies around the world and all of these families

07:09speak to politicians and the media. We beg for his life. Our lives have been halted and

07:15everything else is put on hold. My parents, they take sleeping pills just to get through

07:20the night. This is not sustainable. Yesterday, we heard of two more hostages that died in

07:27captivity after October 7th. That is not sustainable either. Each day is more dangerous

07:34and exhausting than the last. Last night, we met Prime Minister Netanyahu again. I have

07:42to say the urgency of the matter did not seem to resonate with him. He did not answer when

07:47we asked him why he's only sending his negotiators to keep the process going on Thursday instead

07:52of days ago. We must continue to put pressure on all parties involved, including Hamas,

07:58to accept this deal now before more people die in captivity. I don't know when was the

08:04last time Omer ate, when he saw the sun, or if he smiled in the past 10 months, or if

08:11he has enough air to breathe in those tunnels. I don't know if he hears me, if he knows we're

08:16fighting for him for 291 days, 7,000 hours, each hour feeling like a year. We can and

08:24he can't wait forever. Thank you for listening.

08:28Thank you. I'll be meeting with the Prime Minister and I will certainly bring up this

08:35issue. Next, we have Rachel Goldberg-Pollen, the mother of Hirsch Goldberg-Pollen, for

08:42her statement. Thank you.

08:48Thank you so much for hosting this, Chairman. We really appreciate all of you and all of

08:54the time that you have given us for these past 291 days. My name is Rachel and I'm the

09:01mother of Hirsch Goldberg-Pollen, who is an American-Israeli civilian, 23 years old, who

09:09was attending a music festival that was advertised as for unity, love, and peace. When he was

09:17stolen, he was first critically wounded. His left arm, which is his dominant arm, he and

09:25I are both left-handed, was blown off. And since then, we've been living on another planet.

09:35What I would like to do with the remainder of my time, before I cede the rest of my time

09:39to Aviva, is to read a prayer for the government of Israel that has been crafted in the last

09:46couple of weeks and has been read by prominent rabbis throughout Israel and people of influence

09:53and different politicians. And I think that it's pertinent and I would like you to hear

10:02our words and our prayer. May it be your will, Lord our God and God of our forefathers, that

10:07you send your light and truth to the Prime Minister, ministers, and advisors of the government

10:14of the State of Israel and guide them with good counsel. Enlighten their eyes to accept

10:21responsible proposals that are placed before them in order to bring about the release of

10:27our loved ones that are hostages. Father, our King, help us to bring our captives from

10:34darkness to light so that we may all be crowned with the crown of victory and life. And let

10:41us all say, Amen.

10:49My name is Aviva Siegel. I'm Keith's wife. I was in Gaza for 51 days and I saw everything.

10:58I felt everything. And we need to bring them back. We cannot allow ourselves, as humans,

11:07let them go through one more day like I went through. I was starved while they ate in front

11:14of me. I was thirsty because I didn't get any water. I was not allowed to stand or walk

11:23or move. Most of the time I had to keep silent completely and the only thing we were allowed

11:30to do is to decide if we're going to lie on our back or on our side. That's the only human

11:36right we had. We were taken underneath ground and just left there with no oxygen. And I

11:42want everybody in this room just to think about trying to figure out how to take another

11:50breath of air and looking at your husband that you love, that you've been married for

11:5543 years, hardly breathing, and just praying to yourself, let me die first before Keith.

12:03I don't want to see Keith dead. We were with people that tortured us, hit us. I saw the

12:13girls being beaten. I saw the girls coming after they were touched. I saw the girls coming

12:22back and were forced to take a shower with the door open while it was the first time

12:28that anybody, anybody saw their body. We weren't allowed to hug. I used to hide myself

12:37when I had to cry and not let them see that I'm crying because we weren't allowed to.

12:47Most of the time it was so difficult trying to think what more we're going to go through

12:55and what the girls are going to go through. And now I'm here thinking about Keith and

13:01the girls. And it's too much for me to handle because I know where they are and who they're

13:07with. And I want to ask Bibi Netanyahu, the deal is on the table. We know what's happening

13:14today in Israel, in the whole area, but we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

13:21If it won't stop today, it might get bigger and bigger and bigger. So I'm asking you all,

13:27please help us. I'm begging. We need them out as soon as possible. I do not want Keith

13:34dead, or the other hostages. Thank you very much.

13:39Wow. Thank you for that powerful statement. We think of Keith and the girls every day.

13:47Thank you for that powerful statement. I'm so glad you're alive and here to tell the story.

13:53I'm lucky to be alive.

13:56I now recognize Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son, Sagui Dekel-Chen, is being held hostage by Hamas.

14:06Thank you, Chairman McCaul. Thank you, Ranking Member Meeks. And thank you all for being

14:11here today, all members. I think it speaks mountains about the solidarity that we've

14:15felt from wall to wall from Congress since October, and we all deeply appreciate that.

14:25All of our worlds changed on October 7th. Yesterday, as has been mentioned here, we

14:31got confirmation of two more deaths of hostages that we know were in captivity. I'm from Kibbutz

14:37near Oz, which is ground zero for the massacre on October 7th. We still have 35 hostages

14:45remaining. Of those, we've received seven notices in recent months of those who have

14:52died while in captivity. There's a myth out there that there's a better deal somewhere

14:59if Israel just delays a little longer and fights a little further. Every day, another

15:05hostage can die, including all of our loved ones, those who may still be alive. All of

15:14the Israeli security apparatus and intelligence services, including our defense minister,

15:19have clearly stated that all of the conditions are ripe today to complete the deal that's

15:25on the table. Something to keep in mind. I believe at this point, as an Israeli-American,

15:33that any true friend of Israel today must pressure our prime minister to finish the

15:40deal now. There is no further—our own security services have said clearly there is no other

15:48security issue that cannot be resolved quickly if, in principle, there's political will to

15:56finish this. It is an imperfect deal with Satan. I've lived my entire adult life on

16:01the border with Gaza. No one needs to convince me what Hamas is. That's not the question.

16:08Israel set out to eliminate Hamas as a force in Gaza and to get our hostages home. Our

16:17own security apparatus has said that that mission is complete. It is time now to end

16:24this war, to end our suffering, and along the way, to end the suffering of the millions

16:30in Gaza who are, in most senses, just as much captives of Hamas as our loved ones are.

16:38This must, must happen now. Our expectation was that the prime minister would come to

16:44Washington and announce, perhaps tomorrow, that Israel is now moving forward and signing

16:51this deal. I implore you, just as you've been supportive of us from wall to wall, until

16:57now, I implore Democrats and Republicans to do all that you can to let our prime minister

17:03know that the United States knows that the time is now to sign this deal, get the hostages

17:11home, and stop this killing. Thank you all very much.

17:15Thank you, Jonathan. I now recognize Adi Alexander, the father of Eden. Alexander, for your statement,

17:22sir.

17:24Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your time and for this committee. I'm a father of Eden Alexander,

17:32which is, along with other 119 hostages, is in a situation that no parent should ever

17:40have to imagine. I just want to convey the message to our prime minister, to the Israeli

17:47prime minister, the hostage deal should be his top priority. We had hoped that he would

17:54come to Washington to announce that actually he sealed the deal to bring our kids home.

18:02Basically everything short of it will be a total failure for us. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

18:09Thank you. I now recognize myself for a few minutes. I want to give all members an opportunity.

18:15Mr. Nix, would you have any opening remarks?

18:46Mr. Segal, you have a unique perspective, having survived this nightmare. My first question

19:00is where do you think the hostages are currently located, and are they very close to the vicinity

19:08of Mr. Senor?

19:15I don't know nothing about Keith. I don't know if he's alive. I don't know where he

19:20is. I don't know if he's alone. That's the only thing that I can tell you, and that's

19:26been for months. Two months ago, they released a video of Keith, and I could not watch it.

19:34I could not see the sadness in Keith's eyes, because I know exactly where he is and who

19:39he's with and what he feels. But I know that most of the hostages have been taken down

19:49underneath the ground, and I'm very, very worried about them. I nearly died there.

19:59Last question. I'll be meeting with the Prime Minister. What message would you like me to

20:03deliver to him, and for anybody who would like to answer that question?

20:08Mr. Chairman, if I just may recognize the family that is not here today, the Weinstein

20:17and Hagee family. We share something, unfortunately, where Judy and Gaddy were killed. They were

20:25most likely the first killed by Hamas, at 6.30 in the morning when they were walking

20:35during their morning walk at the kibbutz, and they just were there at the wrong time,

20:42at the wrong place. Peace Next always wanted to see the good in life. Something on behalf

20:50of myself and the family itself. Sometimes in the media, when they talk about the U.S.

20:58hostages, they mention five U.S. hostages. And we would like to just reconfirm to the

21:06committee that you can be a hostage, and he can also be a deceased hostage. And for us,

21:14the Jewish tradition, you know, we say rest in peace, which means the soul needs to come

21:22and rest itself. And we urge you to remember that fact when there is a deal happening,

21:28and we do talk about the U.S. citizens, and we are talking about eight U.S. hostages.

21:33Thank you. Thank you. I mean, I think it's very important

21:38to recognize all hostages, especially the American, and those who have passed.

21:45Can I jump in to your question as well? Sure. Could you identify yourself?

21:50Sure. I'm John Poland. I'm the father of Hirsch.

21:58And in answer to your question about what message we would like you to convey, the message

22:03is as follows. I'm sure that Mr. Netanyahu is going to speak to the joint session tomorrow

22:09about all of the credible, real, existential threats to the State of Israel. Hamas, Hezbollah,

22:16the Houthis, Iran, and on and on and on. All legitimate, scary threats. But we are in a

22:23triage situation. We have 120 hostages, at least half of whom are likely no longer alive,

22:31flailing and bleeding out on the emergency room floor. Now is not the time to go up to

22:38the cancer ward and deal with the sick people who need treatment, when there are people

22:43dying right now on the floor of your hospital. First you do triage, then you deal with all

22:50of the other legitimate issues. And more than that, it has been and is still our belief

22:56that in a very tense Middle East, the single event that could happen right now to be most

23:03influential on releasing pressure across all fronts in the region is bring home the hostages.

23:09It will come down the north with Hezbollah, it will come down Gaza, and it will allow

23:14the region to deal with the legit, credible, big threats in a more controlled manner. And

23:21so it's got to be the priority to bring home these hostages.

23:25Well said, well said. Mr. Chen, do you have a response? Or what would you like us to say

23:32to the Prime Minister?

23:37I think you all represent constituencies in the 50 states, or many of the 50 states, so

23:44there is a common ground that you do have with our Prime Minister in as much as you

23:49a noble trade. Politicians at some point have to decide to also be leaders, to be leaders.

23:58And if you were to speak with our Prime Minister, this is the moment for him to be a leader

24:05of our country, and not just a politician speaking to a domestic audience in Israel.

24:13And so, unfortunately, our Prime Minister over the course of the last nearly 10 months

24:19has been speaking domestically in terms of a lot of fantasy, for example, that more and

24:26more military pressure on its own is going to get the hostages home. There is no proof

24:31of concept, it's been 10 months, there's no proof of concept that this is correct.

24:36The seven hostages who have been rescued by the Israeli army, my brothers and sons,

24:41with incredible courage, are the exceptions that prove the rule. They were rescued above

24:47ground, lightly guarded, all the rest of the hostages, those who are alive, however many

24:53there are, in answer to your question, we know are serving as human shields.

24:58As are the people of Gaza in general, for the Hamas leadership. There is no military

25:05force on earth, Navy SEALs or our special forces, that know how to get hostages out

25:11from underground. Whatever has been tried has not been successful, there's been 10 months.

25:18Bibi Netanyahu, since 1996, has had his platform being, you know, Mr. Security, he can solve

25:24all the problems of Israel's security. Well, Israel is unsecure right now. And whatever

25:31still needs to be done, if that's Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, must not, must not be done

25:40on the backs of our loved ones and all of the 120 remaining hostages, those who are

25:45alive and those who are deceased. So I implore, as I opened with earlier, we ask of you for

25:53the eight remaining American hostages and for all of the 120. It's a very strange request.

26:01But Israel needs you right now. Israel needs you to help end this madness. Those of you

26:10particularly who, you know, have good relationships with our Prime Minister, now is the time.

26:18Waiting more is just a death sentence for all of the hostages, our loved ones who might

26:23still be alive and all of the rest and will not advance Israel's national interest.

26:31So, thank you. I hope that's an answer to your question.

26:34And that's why we had this roundtable to send that message. Thank you for that.

26:39Ranking Member, Mr. Meeks.

26:40Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And again, thank each and every one of you. I want to make

26:44sure that I do get to hear stories again, Mr. Chen, Mr. Nutra. Really, it's really

26:51important to me. I was going to ask the same question that Chairman McCaul asked, because

26:56I think it's important that we hear from you. So, and not play politics with this.

27:02This is bigger than politics. So, my next question then would be, what should we or

27:09would you like us to ask President Biden? Since these are American citizens that are

27:15being held, I'll have an opportunity to talk to him and many of us. What should we say

27:22to President Biden? What should we ask of him?

27:28Thank you for that. We all know about President Biden's big, difficult, personal

27:35announcement that he will be dropping out. And what that enables is President Biden to

27:44not be caught up in the election season, to not have to be distracted by everything

27:49that goes along with being caught up in an election season, and enable him to really

27:54focus on his legacy. And something that is within his grasp that is super meaningful,

28:02super impactful, is continue the tireless work that he and his entire team, Secretary

28:09Blinken, National Security Advisor Sullivan, CIA Director Burns, and everybody else have

28:15been phenomenally available and transparent and open with us. And we all feel tremendous

28:20gratitude. Not only should you not all collectively take your foot off the gas, but put it on

28:27even harder and make sure that part of your legacy, Mr. President, is that you get the

28:35credit for saving the lives of as many of these hostages as possible and doing the thing

28:40that can most release that pressure that I talked about in the region. It is within grasp.

28:45And please, Mr. President, please push this until it gets over the finish line.

28:50I'd like to add on that. I think this is a unique opportunity for the president, that

28:56this can be a bipartisan win. It could definitely be a bipartisan win for the House, for the

29:08Senate, for the administration, to get these hostages out, including these eight U.S. citizens.

29:17I would like to tell everybody that we were asked if you've got a different passport,

29:22and Keith did not tell them that he's American. And I asked Keith a couple of hours later,

29:30how come you didn't say that you're American? So he said, I'm scared that they will take

29:36me out and leave you there. So I want to think that all the Americans think that the Americans

29:43should come out, like Keith thought, and be strong enough not to let Hamas terrorists

29:50rule the world. We need Biden to rule the world, not the terrorists to rule the world,

29:57and to be strong enough to get them out. Thank you.

30:04I now recognize Mr. Smith.

30:08Thank you very much.

30:09Let me just say, votes have been called, so if we could have some brevity.

30:14Thank you all for so powerfully sharing the cruelty that has been imposed upon your loved ones.

30:19I mean, your witness today before tomorrow's speech and all the meetings couldn't come

30:23in a more opportune time. And I think, Mr. Paulin, the idea of a triage is just that's

30:28such a great concept that needs to be seized. And I think all of us here, both sides of

30:33the aisle, really do want to make a difference. So I can't thank you all enough. And we will

30:39do everything we could possibly do to try to get this done. So I want to thank you.

30:47Okay. Mr. Keating is recognized.

30:51First and foremost, I want to say I'm so sorry for your loss, so sorry for what we put through

30:59not knowing where your loved ones are and their condition they are. That's first and

31:03foremost. Evil exists in this world. As I was listening to you, I was trying to imagine

31:09somehow my own son in that position. I couldn't comprehend it. It's incomprehensible.

31:19We're at a stage now, listening to voices on the ground in Israel. I'm on the Armed

31:25Services Committee and here in Foreign Affairs. Military, Israel had a right to defend itself,

31:30has a right to defend itself. They've gone to this point. I agree with you. I see no

31:37more strategic value at this point. This is a shift after enormous, enormous effort

31:43by our administration, the President himself, our Secretary of State, Mr. Sullivan, Mr.

31:52Hochstein. I could go on and on. Full court press to get to this stage where we can have

32:00an agreement, an agreement with a ceasefire and an agreement for hostage release. I was

32:07asked by the press if I would listen to the Prime Minister's speech. I said, yes, I'm

32:12going. They said, what do you want from that speech? I said, I'll listen to him. I want

32:19him to listen to me. I want him to come here not to talk, but to listen and to accept a

32:26hard-earned agreement. It's this close. Really, we're at that stage and I'll continue with

32:35your support. Much more powerful words than mine to go forward and bring that message

32:40forward. Thank you.

32:42Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Keating. Mr. Wilson is recognized.

32:48Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. And I've met so many of you and I was grateful

32:52to meet with you in Jerusalem. I visited Kibbutz near Oz. It's heartbreaking to see. And it's

32:59bipartisan. You see who's here today. I was with Senator Hoyer. We want this to be bipartisan.

33:05I also want to propose that to me, Hamas is a puppet of the regime in Tehran, along with

33:13Hezbollah, along with the Houthis. And what should be done is that the pressure should

33:18be on Tehran. And what should be done, and our administration should do this in a bipartisan

33:24manner, and that is actually apply the sanctions we have. Then we also need to apply secondary

33:30sanctions, and so that other countries do not buy oil from Iran. The effort should be

33:37made in every way to put every pressure on the puppet master, and that's Tehran. And

33:44we want to work with you to do that, and I want this to continue to be bipartisan.

33:50But the evil of this circumstance is a country that proposes death to Israel, death to America.

33:59You're front line. You're first. They're after us. And so this is indeed in the interest

34:04of the American people, and God bless you and God bless your families. I yield back.

34:08Gentlemen, to yield, Mr. Sherman is recognized. Mr. Sherman is recognized.

34:17Thank you. Our hearts go out to you for what's happened to your family. We need to do everything

34:23possible to get back the hostages. And yet, we know that on October 7th, people who were

34:30released by Israel in the hostage exchange for Gilad Shalit were among those who killed,

34:38were among those who may have taken your family members hostage. And it's critical that we

34:43get the hostages back without planting the seeds for the next October 7th. And I hope

34:50very much that when Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks to us, he will lay out what he's planning

34:58to do to get the hostages back. Mr. Chairman, if I can speak. Mr. Nitzer. I'm the father

35:05of Omer, brother of Daniel. And just to reply to your message there, the Israeli army and

35:16all the forces there say that they are ready to deal with the consequences of release of

35:23any dangerous terrorists. And we have to believe that they know what they're doing.

35:31And there's, on October 7th, created a situation that we've never been there. 240 people were

35:44taken. 120 are still in captivity, among them eight American. Also to remind here that

35:5345 Americans were murdered on October 7th. So this is not merely an Israeli problem.

35:59It's an American problem just as well. And Israel is really on the defense line of the

36:06modern world, the Western world, and fighting the war. And our children are there. Our families

36:12are there. And it's a unique opportunity. I'd like to thank the representatives here

36:19that support us all along in this tough struggle and believe that you have a very unique opportunity

36:31to speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu and press him to use the unique opportunity right now

36:39when Hamas seems to be on their knees to accept the deal, bring our loved ones home,

36:49and then, when the time comes, eliminate Hamas and deal with the real octopus head, as we

36:55all know it, Iran, because this is the real issue. And that's where we have to focus our

37:02efforts in the future. Thank you.

37:06I'd like to also add a response. There's no question that releasing terrorists is a terrible

37:12heavy price to pay. But in addition to the security apparatus of Israel saying we can

37:17handle it, Israel is a modern democracy. It is not a theocracy. But religion plays an

37:22important role. And it's important, I think, to point out that leading rabbis in Israel,

37:28the chief rabbi of Israel, have looked through a Jewish lens on this issue of releasing terrorists

37:34and said there's no question that to save a life today, to bring home hostages today,

37:41even if it means increasing a future potential risk of those terrorists, the answer is clear.

37:48Jewish law says bring them home even at that price. So that also is something that is clear

37:55and should not be holding anybody back.

37:59Let me just say, votes, I've been, thank you for your patience. We're winding down.

38:06I'm going to officially adjourn the roundtable. But I want to thank all of you for being here

38:11to hear your stories. Very powerful. We will take this message back. We'll relay it to

38:17Israel, the prime minister. For those members who want to stay here to talk to the families,

38:24I don't know if you're going to be around after votes or not, but that would be another

38:28opportunity to meet with the members. But thank you for your courage, your strength,

38:34Ms. Siegel. Powerful, powerful. And thank you for being here today.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Holds A Roundtable With Families Of US Hostages Held By Hamas

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