Steven Sotloff’s parents open up as first anniversary of his murder looms
'I want to make sure my son’s name is remembered by doing good things,' says father of Jewish-American journalist slain by Islamic State
The parents of slain journalist Steven Sotloff are speaking out about the foundation they established to honor his legacy and their disappointment with the US government in a rare interviewing marking the one-year anniversary of his killing by Islamic State militants.
South Florida residents Shirley and Arthur Sotloff have spoken little since the Islamic State group released a video showing a jihadi beheading the American-Israeli journalist on September 2, 2014. Their pain is still raw, but they’re channeling their grief and anger into the 2Lives Steven Joel Sotloff Memorial Foundation to endow scholarships for journalism students.
The Miami Herald reported a memorial will also be unveiled later this month. The family is also considering establishing a hostage crisis center for families in the United States.
The 31-year-old freelance journalist had been held hostage for a year after being taken from a fake government checkpoint in Syria. During his captivity, the journalist’s Jewish and Israeli background were concealed by his friends and acquaintances, for fear that it would cost him his life. In Israel, a gag order was placed on the information.
“He was my best friend. We were very close. We understood each other,” Arthur Sotloff told the Miami Herald. “Instead of father and son, we were more like brothers and friends. We knew a lot about each other. I confided in him, he confided in me, which, at the time, I didn’t think that was that normal to do.”
In June 2014, the Sotloffs received a letter from Steven that had been smuggled out of Syria.
“Everyone has two lives. The second one begins when you realize that you only have one. Hug each other every day. Don’t fight over stupid things,” the letter read.
“In that letter he was saying goodbye,” Arthur said. “He knew he wasn’t going to make it out because he was told that every day that he wouldn’t by his captors and he was telling us to go on with our lives. It was kind of a blueprint for the way Jews are supposed to live.”
The Sotloffs are also mulling a partnership with Diane Foley — the mother of American journalist James Foley, who was murdered by IS extremists shortly before they killed Steven — to establish a hostage crisis center for families in the United States.
“The UK has a crisis place for families to go to. The US has nothing,” Sotloff’s mother, Shirley, said.
“I want enough money to build an organization,” Arthur told the Herald. “I’m 68 years old. How many more years do I have?
“Twenty years from now I want to make sure my son’s name is remembered by doing good things.”