A few months ago, I went with my friends to the beach on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Finally, a break from the intensity of the war and Jerusalem, which, although it isn’t bombarded with rockets like the south and the north, is its own unique ‘pressure cooker.’ We walked towards the beach through the parking lot, and right before crossing the street, a car caught my eye. Almost every inch of it was covered in hostage awareness stickers, black, white, and red hostage posters, their 3d faces smiling next to the words “Bring them home.”

Sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window, I recognized a face I had seen on television many times. It was Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan (25) was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th. My heart skipped a beat – her look was one of a woman in restless distress and great sadness, puffy and tired eyes with heavy dark circles, a telling sign she’d not slept for months, using every critical minute of every day to fight for her son.

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