A delegation consisting of dozens of families of Israeli men and women being held hostage in Gaza, left for New York this week for meetings with high-ranking political figures, and to hold outreach and public diplomacy activities during “Leadership Week” at the United Nations.
The delegation of families held a solidarity flotilla sailing for the hostages past the Statue of Liberty and around Manhattan Island, calling for the speedy release of the hostages. A banner was attached to the ship calling for the return of the kidnapped hostages along with Israeli flags along the length of the ship. The flotilla received calls of support from other ships that also sailed there, and the flotilla is expected to be publicized on the various social media networks.
The delegation is a joint expression of: the Directorate of Families of Hostages and Captives in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Mission to the United Nations, the Consulate in New York, the IDF Personnel Division and the Ministry of Defense. The group is slated to meet with heads of state and officials from all over the world. Among them: the presidents of the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, the Secretary General of the United Nations, a representative of the European Union, the foreign ministers of France, Sweden and Canada; the Pope’s representative, foreign ministers, religious leaders and other officials.
All of this is to increase the awareness among the international community of the issue of the hostages who have been held in Gaza for almost a year, and to bring more international pressure to bear on Hamas and those influencing them, for the release of the hostages.
If the democrats had any interest at all in getting the hostages released, it would have already happened.
They are playing political games with Israel and the American people.