‘I cannot celebrate my independence’: Yarden Bibas urges social media users to highlight captives’ plight

Former hostage Yarden Bibas has issued a plea to Israelis to highlight the plight of the 59 remaining captives during this week’s Independence Day, a call joined by other captivity survivors and relatives of abductees.

“On Israel’s 76th Independence Day, I was in a tunnel and didn’t think that Israel was celebrating Independence Day while at war and with hostages in captivity,” Bibas says on Facebook and Instagram. “Now, on the 77th Independence Day, the war is still ongoing, and there are still hostages in captivity — only this time, I am home.”

“This year, I cannot celebrate my independence because I have brothers and sisters who are still being held hostage and my heart is still there with them,” he continues. “I will not be able to heal or rest until they return.

“Join me: Add the caption ‘I have no independence because they are still there’ to your profile picture and share it on social media,” Bibas asks the public, alongside a photo of himself holding a piece of paper with those words in Hebrew.

Other ex-hostages, including Arbel Yehoud, Shani Goren and Omer Wenkert, quickly join the campaign with posts of themselves holding banners with the same slogan.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, joins as well, writing that “as long as our boys and girls are held [in Gaza], we can’t celebrate Independence Day. The Jewish people has no independence while they are there. We must end the war and [reach] a deal to free them all to truly feel independence again.”