Do you remember a time when Americans cared that their fellow citizens had been kidnapped and held captive by terrorists?
I do. Think back to 1979, when Iranian terrorists stormed the American embassy in Tehran. They held more than 50 Americans hostage for 444 days.
And we cared. The Americans held captive were constantly on our minds. There were strong showings of solidarity. News of the hostage crisis was unrelenting. ABC News created a new nightly program, “America Held Hostage,” from which came “Nightline.”
Flash forward to today.
According to the Israeli government, 101 hostages, a considerable number of whom are believed to be dead, are in Hamas’ clutches after the terrorist group’s genocidal rampage of Oct. 7, 2023.
Of those, seven are American. Of those seven, three are confirmed dead.
Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel are believed to be alive. Itay Chen and couple Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai were killed on Oct. 7, 2023, but their bodies are being held by Hamas.
And no one outside of the Jewish American community seems to care. That is the difference between 1979-80 and 2023-24.
The names of the American hostages in Gaza are on no one’s lips, except for their families and for anguished Jewish Americans. Their names are not emblazoned on the front pages of our newspapers or recited on our broadcast news. President Joe Biden does not name them regularly.
The seeming amnesia is only part of the horrible picture. Recall posters of the hostages being torn down and defaced by haters of Israel and Jews. This was a deliberate dismissal of the hostages’ humanity.
Why is there such a profound difference in the reactions of Americans now versus then? Is it because this time the hostages are Jews who were kidnapped in Israel, and that somehow means they deserved what they got?
The silence is deafening and in demand of an explanation.
I am not Jewish, but I am a proud American outraged that no one is talking about this.
It is unthinkable that a terrorist group can seize Americans and hold them against their will, and all the while everyone seems to accept it, and the American government applies zero pressure to obtain their release.
The Biden administration should have issued an ultimatum to Hamas immediately after Oct. 7, 2023, to the effect of, “Release our hostages now, or you will face the full wrath of the United States and our ally Israel. Until we get our citizens back, we will be relentless in the pursuit of freeing them. Let our people go.”
That never happened. Instead, the call for releasing the hostages became inextricably intertwined with calls on Israel to cease fire.
The United States is the strongest country on earth, with the greatest hard and soft power to bring to bear. But we have not exerted it vis-a-vis Hamas at all. Instead, we have pleaded with Israel to stop defending itself.
It is an abdication of responsibility and a failure of moral clarity.
And it sets a dangerous precedent. Our deterrence has been considerably reduced. Instead of sending a clear statement that taking American hostages is a death wish, we have sent a clear statement that terrorists can kidnap and imprison Americans with impunity.
This American display of weakness makes the world a more dangerous place for Jews and for Americans, just as our shambolic withdrawal of Afghanistan invited aggression from our enemies.
My fervent hope is that, assuming no breakthrough between now and Inauguration Day, one of the first things the next secretary of state does is deliver an unmistakable message that Hamas has to let our people go, or else.
President-elect Donald Trump has been an incredible friend of Israel, and it is my hope and belief that he will address the issue straight away and demand the hostages’ immediate release.
The American captives in Iran riveted an entire nation. When Natalee Holloway vanished while vacationing in Aruba in 2005, Americans became transfixed by the case: Everyone knew her name and her face. The same with Gabby Petito, who disappeared in 2021 and was found to have been murdered by her fiance.
Evan Gershkovich, an American Jewish reporter, was imprisoned under false pretenses by Russia. The media and politicians made his name widely known; perhaps his fate would have been different if he had been kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, instead.
These other instances of missing or detained Americans make it all the more curious — and enraging — that the captivity of Americans in Gaza has elicited only a collective yawn from non-Jewish Americans.
Their names are Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel.
Do not forget them. Instead, join me in demanding their immediate release.
Armstrong Williams is a syndicated columnist.
