Video summary
The Neutra family, parents of Omar Neutra who was among the hostages freed after the October 7 attacks, expressed profound gratitude to the President for fulfilling his promise to bring all remaining hostages home. While they are relieved that no one is left in Gaza, the family emphasizes that their son did not return as they had hoped, and they continue to grieve his loss for the rest of their lives. They found significant comfort in the overwhelming love and support from the crowd at the event, noting that this moral clarity—that hostages must be released—is a humanitarian issue rather than a political one. This sentiment was echoed during previous appearances at both Republican and Democratic conventions, highlighting a consistent public demand for the safe return of captives.
The parents shared their harrowing personal history, revealing that Ona Neutra was pregnant with Omar during the September 11 attacks and had to cross a bridge with a nine-month belly while trying to save him. Now, twenty-five years later, they face the tragedy of losing their son, who was a hero fighting on the border to save kibbutzim but was caught in the October 7 assault. They argue that these events are interconnected parts of a larger struggle against radical Islam's desire to take over the free world and influence lives globally. The family urges people to remember that good and evil exist distinctly, with terrorists actively trying to eliminate their way of life, necessitating a united stand against such threats.
Looking toward the future, the Neutra family is calling for a thorough investigation into the October 7 attacks to ensure such tragedies never happen again on Israeli soil, sparing other families from enduring similar suffering. They are also pushing for formal recognition of the forty-six Americans killed and the twelve taken hostage during the attack, an acknowledgment they hope will be made at an upcoming event in Washington. Their goal is to move the nation and the world from darkness to light, building and rebuilding what is necessary to continue their child's legacy. Ultimately, they express hope for a better year ahead for the state of Israel and all Jewish people worldwide, committing to carry forward the light of those who perished.
Read the full video transcript
Neutra family, thank you so much for
taking the time to join us here. You
know, obviously a much different
scenario than two years ago when you
spoke to the same Republican convention.
Omar has come home. What's the feeling
like this time around?
>> Well, of course, the last time uh we
thought Omar was alive. Um and we were
here to save him and to save all of the
hostages.
Unfortunately, Omar did come back. He
came back for burial and we are very
very thankful to the president for
living up to his promise to bring all
the hostages home. That's why we're
here. Um but you know he did not come
back the way we wanted to. So obviously
you know we're still grieving and we're
going to feel his loss for all of our
lifetime.
>> Does it help at all during the grieving
process to come into a stadium like this
and feel the warmth of of the crowd?
without a doubt. Um, seeing uh the love
and uh the support that we had here, but
uh we also had it in the DNC last year
or two years ago. Um which which shows
that there is moral clarity. The
hostages must have come home. It's a
humanitarian issue. It's not a political
issue. We said it time and again in
everywhere we went to. And uh obviously
we are somehow comforted by the fact
that uh all the uh hostages came back.
There's nobody left in Gaza. And a lot
of it is due to advocacy that the
families did and the the pressure and
understanding that it's a very important
element for the Israel Israeli society
uh and and for the Jewish people uh
worldwide.
In terms of the um the other freed
hostages that are here, have you had a
chance to speak with them at all to to
understand their experience? I know
you've had so much um time dealing with
the other hostage families in Israel.
Have you have you heard their stories
and and and been touched by them as
well?
>> Absolutely. I mean, uh you know, some of
the stories are just unbelievable. you
know, detainees that are just stopped on
the border coming in as tourists. I I
think, you know, I I mentioned that
we're here to thank the president. Of
course, that's the primary goal. But it
also feels like uh this was 2 and 1/2
years ago. There's been a little bit of
a shift in the moral clarity that Ronan
mentioned. Um it seems like the world,
you know, has lost some of the moral
compass and the and the understanding
and agreement on what is evil in this
world and what is terror in this world
and who the good people are and who the
bad people are. And I think in this
segment, we're also here to say, you
know, we need to come together. There is
good, there is bad. There are terrorists
that are trying to you know um eliminate
our way of life and and take over and we
need to stand strong against that. Yeah.
>> Um, we are going to say on stage a few
words about it, but our story just
illustrates it because Ona was pregnant
with Omar during 911 and she had to
cross the bridge with a 9mon belly. Um
and we had to save him at that time and
uh 25 years later uh we found ourselves
uh you know losing our son who was a
hero that fought on the border trying to
save the kibbutim and uh he was involved
in the October 7 obviously um and it all
connects with radical Islam and their uh
willingness or desire to take over uh
the free world and influence our our
life wherever we are. And we're here to
remind people that those events which
happens to be tomorrow together with
Chana Sha Khadasha uh for the Jewish
world uh it's it's it's all
interconnected and we should never
forget that.
>> Have you kept in touch with the
administration? Has the administration
kept in touch with you since the the
remaining hostages were all brought
home?
Um on some occasions uh not in any
formal capacity but uh we were in the
White House last Hanukkah
um the president uh acknowledged you
know our our fight and our to bring all
the hostages back and we were very
grateful for that and uh of course they
reached out to us again today. So you
know this this is something they are
proud of. I think the the president
does, you know, see all of this and who
the players are in the Middle East and
the rest of the world and and um it's
still an issue. He's proud of the fact
that was able to bring back uh detainees
and hostages and it shows, you know,
that he's willing to do the work for
that
>> and our interest is obviously to avoid
any future October 7 in Israel. So we
are calling for a thorough investigation
of what happened there uh of uh taking
responsibility of making sure it will
never happen again on Israeli soil and
families won't have to go what we went
through for over two years. It's it
nobody should have to go through this.
Robi Hen, I spoke with him last week. Uh
it father, another slain Israeli
American. He said he's trying to push to
have a a formal recognition of the
Americans uh that were killed on October
7th. Are you uh uh pushing for that as
well? Is that something you'd like to
see?
>> Well, obviously we'd like to see it.
There'll be uh an event that will take
place end of the month uh in Washington
that will somehow um acknowledge the 46
Americans. We're also going to say today
on stage that 46 Americans were killed
on October 7 and 12 were taken hostage.
Um, so it's it's a it's an element that
must be heard here and understood
because I think the public tends to
forget and uh that's part of our job is
to keep reminding
>> Ronan Ha. Thank you so much for taking
the time to join us. I know the pain
doesn't go away but hopefully a better
year to come. Thank you so much.
>> It'll be a much better year for the
state of Israel, for all the Jewish
people worldwide.
And we should take it from darkness to
light and build and rebuild whatever is
necessary to continue and and bring all
the light that our child and and all the
the rest of the uh people that perished.
We must continue their way. Thank you.