As Hanukkah festivities spark up around the world, the families of hostages captured by Hamas during its 2023 attack on Israel say there’s little to celebrate as the second holiday season without their loved ones approaches — and they’re not sure when they’ll return.
The terrorist group is still holding roughly 100 captives more than a year after the shocking Oct. 7 assault, where 1,200 men, women and children from more than 30 countries were ruthlessly slaughtered.
Those left behind are trying to put on a brave face. But it’s nearly impossible to hide their sorrow.
“It’s a happy holiday, but we’re not happy,” Adi Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey, told The Post, as his son Edan remains in captivity 15 months later.
“What is there to be happy about? Our son doesn’t have the opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah or any other holidays,” he continued.
“I’m not planning to be an a–hole and do the celebration when he’s in the tunnels of Gaza. That’s totally inappropriate,” the heartbroken dad said.
“We don’t celebrate anything — no Hanukkah, to Passover, nothing. If there’s something religious where there’s a blessing, we do the blessing and that’s it.”
Michael Levy — whose brother, Or Levy, is also a hostage — echoed Alexander’s comments when he said that “nothing feels like a holiday anymore.”
“Before October 7th, we used to have Shabbat dinner every week,” Levy said. “But we don’t do those anymore because they remind us of when Or was with us.”
When it comes to Hanukkah, he said, “It’s all for the kids.”
“Otherwise, I find any excuse I can to not be part of the holidays — I almost feel guilty that he’s there, and we’re here at home, happy and smiling and doing fun things.”
“Celebrating is difficult,” he continued. “I have three little girls, so we have to make the holiday. We light the candles. We sing a little bit. We try to fake it … but you can’t really fake it.”
Elan Siegel, daughter of hostage Keith Siegel, said she and her mom will spend the eight-day holiday in the Washington, DC area with others from the Jewish community.
But she can’t conceal her frustration about why her dad is still trapped overseas.
“The time passes and it’s another day, and another day, and we are really anxious with all the talking about a hostage deal, and the progress – or no progress – with the negotiations,” she said.
“And that’s where we are. In these last 14 months, we don’t think about holidays — or weekdays or weekends. We don’t feel any different. We just think about my dad and all the hostages there, if they’re able to survive this winter or not.”
It’s their second winter in captivity, and she said they know from doctors and professors that the hostages’ immune systems may be faltering due to the horrid conditions under which they are kept.
Last year, she, her mom and her sister met with President Biden at the White House to express their eager desire for Keith’s return.
She told him Hanukkah was a symbol of light and family — and she “really, really wants my dad home.”
A year has passed since then, however. And there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.
But maybe this year her prayers will finally be answered.
“I don’t know if I completely believe in it — I’m not a religious person — but I believe there is a power of togetherness and unity, and it can do things in a spiritual way,” Siegel said.
“There are a lot of people saying that a deal can happen this time, so we are crossing our fingers. And doing it together is always better.”
