In Edan Alexander’s New Jersey hometown, crowd cheers, sings, dances as he’s freed

TENAFLY, New Jersey — The crowd in Edan Alexander’s New Jersey hometown cheered when an Israeli news broadcast said he had been transferred to Red Cross custody on Monday. The hundreds in attendance cheered again when Alexander was taken in by the Israel Defense Forces, and again when he crossed the border into Israel.

“It’s been a really difficult period and this is the first time we’ve actually come together to celebrate and we just can’t wait for him to come home,” said Jamie Corsair, a town resident whose son is close friends with Alexander.

Alexander, 21, was born to Israeli parents and raised in Tenafly, a leafy suburb across the Hudson River from the Bronx. He joined the IDF after graduating from high school and was taken hostage during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. He was released on Monday after 584 days in captivity.

Tenafly is home to a sizable Jewish and Israeli expat community. Cafes around the town center have signs in Hebrew, and local high schools released their students from class for the day to attend the celebratory gathering, held in the town’s central Huyler Park.

Groups of high schoolers draped in Israeli flags danced and sang along to Israeli pop songs, such as “Happiness Revolution,” by Lior Narkis and Omer Adam. Some in the crowd cried and embraced family members, while others clustered in camping chairs in the shade beneath the park’s trees.

Organizers set up a towering screen and sound system tuned into Israel’s Channel 12 news broadcast of Alexander’s release. The rapt crowd watched each development, chatting in Hebrew and English and waving Israeli flags.

Many wore shirts with Alexander’s image and trees around the park were draped with yellow ribbons, a symbol of the hostages. A yellow banner reading “Welcome home Edan” hung beneath the screen, and attendees scrawled messages to Alexander on a piece of white posterboard.

“Welcome home Edan. We have all been praying for you and haShem finally answered our prayers,” one of the messages said.

“How long we’ve waited for you. Finally you’re coming back to us,” another handwritten sign said in Hebrew.

The town has been focused on Alexander since he was taken hostage, with signs calling for his release in restaurants, supermarkets, and on lawns.

“You can’t go anywhere without seeing Edan Alexander’s face,” said Paula Eiselt, a resident of neighboring Teaneck who is making a film series about the fallout from October 7 in the US. “There’s tremendous joy for this community, especially in that everyone is so connected to this family and to Israel.”

A crowd watches news about the release of hostage Edan Alexander in his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, May 12, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

The crowd began gathering around 5 a.m., through messages passed around via email and WhatsApp messaging groups.

“Yes, it’s early. And yes, it might be a little cold. But we are strong, united, and our love will warm us all,” said one of the messages, which urged parents to let their children participate in the gathering at the cost of going to school: “Let them experience a morning they’ll remember for life.”

Some members of the crowd knew the Alexander family personally. Corsair used to host Alexander at her home when her son and Alexander were in high school. Leat Corinne Unger, whose cousin Omer Shem Tov was released from Hamas captivity in March, campaigned for the hostages’ release with Alexander’s parents.

A crowd celebrates the release of hostage Edan Alexander in his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, May 12, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

“We were on such a long road together, so I’m elated,” Unger said.

Despite her cousin being released, “a big part of it felt like a piece was missing, because from my hometown there was still a boy who was missing,” she said. “Our town feels a little more complete now.”

“Everybody feels that Edan is part of their family. He’s like their nephew, he’s like their son,” she said.

Despite the celebration, the event was tinged with sorrow for the hostages still held captive by Hamas. In between the songs and dancing, the crowd chanted, “Bring them home,” for the remaining hostages.

“I’m also sad. There are 58 more that we’re waiting for,” Unger said.

JTA contributed to this report.