Hostage’s mother at Oct. 7 ceremony: No rehabilitation without return of the hostages

The mother of hostage Tal Shoham, Nitza Corngold, speaks about her son at the Bereaved Families Ceremony. Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 as he, his wife, and two children were visiting his wife’s parents in Be’eri.

Shoham’s wife, children, mother-in-law and other relatives were taken hostage, and released at the end of November.

“His kids, Naveh and Yahel, don’t stop asking where their father is, asking if he will he be very old when he’s back, asking what country he is in,” says Corngold, who calls October 7 a “holocaust.”

“The whole nation is waiting for the next stage, for our rehabilitation,” she says.

“We know in our minds, our hearts, in every cell in our bodies: There will be no rehabilitation without the return of the hostages. All of them,” she says.

Once again, the audience applauds — the second time it has done so this evening.

“I call on all world leaders to put the immediate release of the hostages — all of them in a single deal — at the top of their agenda.”

“And one last word for my son, Tal, my Taltaloni. If you can see or hear me, we all miss you so much and are doing everything, everything, to return you and other hostages home. We aren’t giving up on you. To give up on them is to give up on us.”