Signage for a CNN presidential debate is seen as Bob Kunst of Miami Beach, Florida wears a prison costume next to his signs that read "Lock Biden Up" and "Biden Betrayed America and Israel" outside the studios at the Turner Entertainment Networks on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (PAndrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Biden Has Committed To Bringing Hostages Home, but Some Americans Say He Could Be Doing More

Clint Van Winkle

07/10/2024

Twelve of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas are American citizens, eight of whom are still held in Gaza

Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the ongoing war have dominated American foreign policy conversations over the past nine months. For some American families, these conversations hit close to home.

An estimated 45 US citizens were killed on October 7, and 12 were dragged back to Gaza as hostages. Of the 116 hostages thought to remain in Hamas captivity, eight are US citizens: Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Omer Neutra, Keith Siegel, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, and Judith Weinstein Haggai. The latter three are believed to be deceased.

“Obviously, every family member feels that there is more that can be done because, in the end, the only measuring stick for success is the liberation of the hostages,” former Israeli diplomat Daniel Shek told The Media Line. “Since that hasn’t happened yet, they always feel more can be done, but if you compare it to other countries that have such an involvement, the United States is by far the most committed and most involved.”

Shek, whose 27-year diplomatic career for Israel included tours as consul general to the Pacific Northwest and ambassador to France, is now head of diplomacy for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. Shek described the forum, which is apolitical, as “the voice of 120 people who cannot speak for themselves.”

President Joe Biden has said the hostages are a priority for his administration. “We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a cease-fire is reached,” he said last month after Israeli forces rescued four Israelis from Hamas captivity.

“In terms of the hostages, my number one priority as secretary of state is to ensure the well-being of Americans who are in harm’s way anywhere in the world, including those who are being unjustly detained or being held hostage,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters days later.

Still, some Americans, especially Republicans, believe the Biden Administration could do more to free the remaining hostages.

In a webinar hosted by the US Israel Education Association, Republican Congressman Brandon Williams of New York said that returning the hostages has not been a priority for Biden. He called the current efforts “shameful,” saying he could not remember a time when eight Americans were held hostage without a tremendous effort to free them.

Aaron McBee, an artist and activist from Chicago, is concerned that US citizens are not paying attention to the plight of the hostages. He recently visited the sites of Hamas abductions in Israel.

I do not think Americans are paying enough attention to the hostage situation. Americans died and were taken hostage.

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“The things I bore witness to will live with me forever,” McBee told The Media Line. “I do not think Americans are paying enough attention to the hostage situation. Americans died and were taken hostage.”

He said that mainstream media in the US is not putting enough focus on the Americans who were killed or taken hostage.

My support of the Biden Administration is unwavering, but we need to speed up the shipment of weapons, reel in hostile rogue factions of the Democratic Party, and condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia.

“My support of the Biden Administration is unwavering, but we need to speed up the shipment of weapons, reel in hostile rogue factions of the Democratic Party, and condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia,” McBee said. American citizens have been taken hostage in the Middle East before.

In 2014, US citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Kayla Mueller were taken hostage and ultimately executed by members of the Islamic State group.

Sotloff and Foley were both freelance journalists. Sotloff, an Israeli-American, wrote for The Media Line and The Jerusalem Post.

Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, later said she told then-President Obama that he had abandoned the American hostages.

On Monday evening, President Joe Biden met with Liat Atzili, a former hostage released from Hamas captivity, at the White House. The meeting, which also included National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, provided Biden an opportunity to listen to Atzili’s experiences and commend her resilience. Following the meeting, Biden emphasized his commitment to securing the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas

However, Republican strategist Brian Seitchik told The Media Line that Biden’s ability to put pressure on Hamas is tempered by his fear of losing votes from Arab Americans.

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