'I'm not complete without him.' Seattle family members of Israeli hostages speak out

January 22, 2024 / 6:23 pm

caption: Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle

Family members of Israeli hostages spoke out this weekend in Seattle and pleaded for all of those kidnapped to be released, noting that is has been more than 100 days since Hamas abducted Israeli soldiers and civilians during an attack.

Under the hashtag #BringThemHomeNow, Romi Cohen address the room at Seattle's Temple De Hirsch Sanai Sunday, explaining where she was on Oct. 7 — in a safe room with her family, except for her 19-year-old twin brother Nimrod.

"We knew my brother was in the area, close to the border with Gaza, so we texted him and we didn't receive any response," Romi said. "Then, after a few hours, we we saw a video on YouTube that was released by Hamas. And in that video, you can see him being taken captive with his friends. I remember seeing his face and recognizing him, and I just froze on the spot, and seeing his scared face and how confused he was, and it just, it made me so, so scared."

Romi said that she and her twin brother were very close, and "did everything together."

"Now, for over 100 days, I haven't been able to be with him," Romi said. "I'm not complete without him. We shared a room. And every night I used to go to his bed because I wanted to sleep with him, to be close to him, to be with him. And now I can't even hug him. And it's just in pictures and I want to see him in real life. I want to be with him. And I miss him so much."

Temple De Hirsh Sanai has hosted a range of events and has served as a place for community gathering in the wake of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. At Sunday's panel, others, holding photos of their family members, shared their own stories.

Roughly 140 hostages are still being held by Hamas, according to US officials. At least six are U.S. citizens.