The one New Yorker held hostage by Hamas is a member of a foreign military, holds dual-citizenship
The IDF has little time left to rescue hostages like Omer Neutra as both of his governments are severely restricting food, water and medical aid to Gaza, while bombing the area indiscriminately.
Israel - A native of Long Island, a dual-citizen, and a current member of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is alleged to have been kidnapped by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. The Governor of NY, Kathy Hochul, is wrapping up a visit to Israel in response to his capture, among other issues.
The list of captured Americans is riddled with the names of dual-citizens.
In a press conference held in Israel via social media site X, Gov. Hochul reiterated the plight of Omer Neutra, the 21-year-old Jewish man from Long Island being held in Gaza by Hamas:
“As far as hostages, we do know that Omer Neutra is definitely a current New Yorker with dual citizenship, but his parents live on Long Island.”
Neutra graduated from the Schechter yeshiva in Williston Park and took a gap year to travel to Israel. His Long Island-based parents told the NY Times that the young Jewish man was interested in “peace-building” and originally traveled to Israel to "help children with special needs” in 2020.
Within a year of his arrival, Neutra volunteered for the American-backed IDF, a military organization known for controversial campaigns of collective punishment that often result in civilian deaths. United Nations OCHA data from Jan 2008 to Aug 2023 reveals that 22.4% of Palestinian war casualties were children, while 13.6% of Israeli casualties were children.
Palestinian deaths were orders of magnitude higher by volume than those suffered by the Israelis, and as Israel’s unrepentant bombing of places like the Gaza Strip continues, that number is believed to get even higher.
Under Kathy Hochul, New York State has led the way in support of Israel following Hamas’ successful 7 October incursion into Israeli-occupied territory. Excluding Israel, New York is home to more Jews than anywhere else in the world.
“I came here for many reasons; one is to again reinforce our commitment to supporting Israel’s right to exist. A right that it had for 75 years-not always peaceful-but also condemn the terrorist act of Hamas…”
The governor further invoked Israeli ‘atrocity propaganda,’ linking it to so-called Zionist propaganda of the past:
“This is more akin to the Holocaust, the slaughter of innocent people,” said Hochul.
The governor further cited her concerns about “…humanitarian aid getting into Gaza” while tempering it against her more immediate concern for captives like Neutra:
“…bringing home these hostages is so critically important...I want to reinforce to the government here as President Biden did: their lives are important, and they need to be brought home. That’s what the purpose of this trip was.”
The governor also commented on the throngs of pro-Palestine demonstrations that have been sparked worldwide and across New York State, especially the gathering in Times Square two weeks ago. Hochul momentarily acknowledged that protestors have a “right to peacefully protest” but cautioned that to “reject Israel’s right to exist” is indeed antisemitism.
According to an NYS 12 June 2022 declaration by NYS, this is accurate from the state’s perspective. NYS recognizes the IHRA (or International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism. Displaying ‘hate symbols’ or criticism of Israel is now not just ‘antisemitic,’ but grounds for a hate crime modifier in New York if determined to have inspired a ‘crime,’ including the incredibly subjective charge of harassment via a constitutionally protected leaflet or promotional device.
Israel is currently amassing troops and equipment on the northern border of Gaza for a ground invasion to recover any unreleased hostages and to “destroy Hamas.” With the exception of a few foreign aid trucks that were allowed to enter Gaza through the Egyptian Rafah crossing, Israel has largely cut off all fuel, power, water, and supplies to the city through a ruthless blockade.
The hostilities renewed on October 7th, when Hamas and other Palestinian resistance forces broke free from Gaza security cordons and launched a daring raid on multiple Kibbutzes close to their ethnic homeland.
The rumored IDF counterattack—which promises to conquer Gaza—has been postponed several times, mostly due to inopportune cloud conditions, a lack of US support, and other reasons since it was first hinted early in the war. According to the UN, over 5,000 Palestinians have died so far, namely due to Israeli bombing of civilian targets inside Gaza.
If the Governor cared as much about regular White citizens in New York as much as she cares about dual-citizens, New York would be the greatest state in the Union.