American mom and teen daughter thought to be among hostages

Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter, Natalie Raanan, were excited to travel to Israel to celebrate a relative’s 85th birthday and the Jewish holiday season, according to their rabbi.

The pair had been sending updates as the trip progressed and were enjoying “this really special mom and daughter time together” in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Meir Hecht says.

The family hasn’t heard from either mother or daughter since a week ago. The community in their suburb north of Chicago fears they are among roughly 150 people abducted by Hamas militants.

“We received this terrible news that Judith and her daughter Natalie are missing and apparently were most likely taken as hostages to Gaza,” Hecht says. “It feels like our community has been violated.”

If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.

JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY