Parents of several hostages demand government stop ‘exploiting our children’s images’ in PR campaigns
The parents of hostages Nimrod Cohen, brothers Ariel Cunio and David Cunio, and Matan Zangauker send a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally demanding that the government stop using images of their sons in state-sponsored campaigns that they say serve to prolong the conflict in Gaza.
Nimrod Cohen is a soldier taken hostage from the border with Gaza on October 7, 2023, while the Cunio brothers were each abducted from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Matan Zangauker was also seized at his house.
“For over a year, the Israeli government has spent millions of shekels on campaigns that feature the faces of our children – who were violently abducted into Gaza after Hamas’ barbaric assault on Israeli communities on October 7th, 2023,” write Yehuda and Viki Cohen, Jose Luis and Silvia Cunio, and Einav Zangauker.
“What began as a desperate call to raise awareness about their plight has been transformed into a political tool to maintain public support for a war that no longer prioritizes their return.”
The parents say that while they welcome the release of Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity last week, they are simultaneously outraged by the government’s failure to act more decisively to secure the freedom of the remaining 58 hostages.
“The Israeli government is choosing to prolong the war rather than pursue a viable path to bring our children home,” they write. “Despite our sons being Israeli citizens, entitled to the full protections of their government, we find ourselves compelled to rely on the diplomatic interventions of President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, and Adam Boehler to end this agonizing ordeal.”
The parents say they believe that intensified military pressure endangers the lives of the hostages.
“Consequently, we will no longer consent to the Israeli government’s exploitation of our children’s images,” they say. “Absent a commitment from your administration to actively pursue a comprehensive ceasefire agreement guaranteeing the safe return of all hostages, we will contemplate further public and legal measures to preclude the utilization of our families for political purposes.”
“This is our line in the sand. The time for rhetoric is over. The hostages must come home now,” add the Cohens, Cunios and Zangauker.
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