IN FLOOR SPEECH, CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN HONORS THE MEMORY OF HUDSON VALLEY RESIDENTS KILLED BY HAMAS, PLEADS FOR SAFE RETURN OF ALL HOSTAGES
In Floor Speech, Congressman Pat Ryan Honors the Memory of Hudson Valley Residents Killed by Hamas, Pleads for the Safe Return of All Hostages
Judih Weinstein Haggai of Goshen is still held hostage; her husband Gadi Haggai is now believed to be among those murdered by Hamas, and his body was kidnapped
Margit Silverman, the sister of Kingston native Maurice Shnaider, was killed on October 7th alongside her husband Yosi; their daughter Shiri, son-in-law Yarden, as well as their grandchildren, Ariel and Kfir were kidnapped by Hamas
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, in a floor speech, Congressman Pat Ryan spoke in honor of the Hudson Valley residents and families lost on October 7th and to plead for the safe return of everyone still held hostage by Hamas. The entirety of Ryan’s remarks are available here.
“Judih and Gadi are not combatants or soldiers, but a school teacher and a musician. Ariel and Kfir are not prisoners of war, but children, babies, ripped away from their home and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. They are peace loving people whose only crime was being Jewish,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “To their friends and family, to the Hudson Valley community deep in sorrow, to every Jewish person worried about their safety amidst this historic rise in antisemitism, know this: we are here for you, we see you, and we will not give up until every single hostage gets home safe.”
“For our family, the horrors of October 7th never ended. We relive them each and every day. We’ve heard nothing about my Aunt Judih since her last call for help; we fear the worst has happened to my Uncle Gadi, who we know was shot and badly wounded,” said Ofri Haggai, the niece of Judih Weinstein Haggai and Gadi Haggai. “We are begging, pleading: please get back the kidnapped body of my Uncle Gadi so we can mourn him properly. Please return my Aunt Judih, a schoolteacher, born in Goshen. All we want is to see our family again.”
“The atrocities that Hamas committed the morning of October 7th in the south of Israel are ones that the State of Israel and all Jewish people around the world will never forget. It will not make us weaker but just stronger, it has united us like never before. I lost my little sister Margit and my brother-in-law Yosi but I gained thousands of supporters and friends that came to grieve and give me support during my week of mourning,” said Maurice Shnaider of Kingston. “The whole world now is demanding the release of little Ariel and his baby brother Kfir in the arms of Shiri and Yarden. I thank Congressman Pat Ryan for speaking in this chamber in support of my family and every family in Israel together with the support of so many other members of Congress.”
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