Hostage mother Einav Zangauker wins New Israel Fund award for courageous leadership

Single mother from Ofakim will receive the NIS 100,000 Truth to Power award for her efforts leading a public movement to secure the return of the hostages

Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

Einav Zangauker holds a sign identifying her son Matan (24), one of the hostages taken captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during the October 7 massacre, as she stands on the roof of a car during a demonstration by hostages' relatives and supporters in Tel Aviv on May 6, 2024. (Jack Guez / AFP)
Einav Zangauker holds a sign identifying her son Matan (24), one of the hostages taken captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during the October 7 massacre, as she stands on the roof of a car during a demonstration by hostages' relatives and supporters in Tel Aviv on May 6, 2024. (Jack Guez / AFP)

Einav Zangauker, mother of Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker, is being awarded the 2024 Truth to Power award from the New Israel Fund for her courage and fearlessness as a leader in the struggle to bring the hostages home.

The prize is worth NIS 100,000 ($27,000), and was founded in memory of the late Bill Goldman, a University of San Francisco professor, activist and board member of the New Israel Fund.

Zangauker, 45, is a single mother from Ofakim, a development town in the south. The award is meant to give her support to continue her struggle, given her lack of financial resources.

“The Israeli public has given me the strength and courage to stand up to powerful forces and say what I think, regardless of their political affiliation,” said Zangauker in a statement. “The widespread public support gives me the strength to continue to fight for the most important thing there is: bringing the hostages home. Only when this happens can we begin to rehabilitate our country and our society.”

Zangauker’s son, Matan, 24, and his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky, were taken hostage on October 7 by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Gritzewsky was released at the end of November.

Matan Zangauker (right) and Ilana Gritzewsky were abducted from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

Matan is Zangauker’s eldest child, and she has two younger daughters, one of whom suffers from muscular dystrophy.

In recent months, Zangauker and Gritzewsky have been at the forefront of the hostage families’ protests in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

As the struggle to bring the hostages home grew in numbers and strength, Zangauker, often called “Mother Lioness,” brought her protests to the Defense Ministry headquarters as well, camping out in front of the compound and publicly criticizing the government decision-makers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, crossing a sensitive political line.

Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, who is held hostage in Gaza, pleads for a hostage deal and denounces Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at a demonstration in Tel Aviv on March 30, 2024 (Picture via Protest Headquarters: Free in our Country).

The New Israel Fund award committee noted that Zangauker has endured criticism and condemnation from her community, the public and Netanyahu supporters for her courage, remarks and attitude.

In April, the New Israel Fund, a left-leaning nonprofit, launched an appeal to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Gaza. By mid-May, the organization said it had raised $750,000 from donors in the UK, Israel, US, Canada and Germany to feed Palestinian civilians.

The charity said it would allocate donations through the World Central Kitchen and the International Rescue Committee.

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