By Kerri Williams
WESTPORT – Like many, residents Melinda Wasserman and Jennifer Wolff have been glued to their devices this week watching the tearful reunions of Israeli hostages and their families.
The twosome has done their share to advocate for those hostages held by Hamas for the past two years. For 90 weeks, not a Sunday has gone by without them holding signs and marching in town, keeping the hostages’ names in the forefront and advocating for their return. The pair teamed up with the organization “Run for Our Lives” to plan the marches.
“It’s a time of joy,” Wasserman said this week about the release of the 20 hostages on Monday. “But it’s also a time of sadness for those not coming back and for the loss of life in the past two years.”
I hope this is the last time
Some of the marches attracted hundreds of people. On other winter days with snow and slush, only a handful would show up. But each one ended the same way, with either Wasserman or Wolff saying, “I hope this is the last time we have to march.”
“We said it again last Sunday,” Wolff said.
The road for the marchers was not always easy. After the terror incident last June in Boulder, when a Jewish group that was walking in solidarity with Israeli hostages was firebombed, the FBI got in touch with the Westport group. After that, they had to be “more careful,” Wolff said, and she was always scared when marching. But it didn’t deter people from joining them, she added.
“We just dug in deeper,” Wolff said.
Wasserman praised the Westport police for their support. “They would come in one minute,” she said.
You become attached
Both women were devastated when some of the hostages were killed in August of 2024, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Wolff often held a sign for Hersh. “You became attached to certain hostages,” she said. “It was not just an ideal.”
Wasserman added that Hersh felt like “everyone’s son.”
In addition to working for a cause, both Wasserman and Wolff said they felt like they built a community during the weekly marches. “It’s not that easy being Jewish right now,” Wolff said.
For Wasserman, it was important to keep politics and religion out of the marches, focusing on releasing the hostages. “Our mission was to advocate for the release of the hostages and that they not be forgotten,” she said.
Wasserman said it was heartwarming to hear gratitude from the families of those hostages. “It meant a lot that people were there for them,” she said.
Channeling the sadness
Wasserman had never imagined being involved in a mission like this but said she was moved when she saw the faces of the young soldiers who had been captured. “It was my way of channeling the sadness and stress,” she said.
“I’m so sorry I had to do it, but it was one of the most meaningful things I have done in my life,” she said.
For Wolff, it won’t be completely over until all the bodies of the dead hostages are returned. But she is relieved that the 20 hostages were returned on Monday.
“Hopefully, we were part of the global spirit that brought them home,” she said.
Kerri Williams
Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.
Additionally, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian hostages.
No Chris Grimm, Israel does not hold hostages. They were prisoners and detainees, including hundreds of Palestinians serving life sentences for murder, blowing up busses, attempted suicide bombings, stabbings and other terror.
Yes, Andy, they do.
1,700 of the 2,000 were seized during the hostilities and held without charge. Of the 11,000 Palestinians held by Israel (before this release) 3,500 were detained without charge. The IDF only identified one-quarter as “fighters.” That is not to say that everyone detained is an innocent – far from it – but the detentions are indiscriminate, including an estimated 300 children.
And that is not to mention the 65,000 dead in Gaza. These include 270 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza. (For perspective, 69 active journalists, covering the Allied campaign, were killed in WWII.) 565 aid workers, including 376 UN staff members have also been killed in Gaza.
They are not hostages. Most suspects brought to Israel were found to be involved in terrorist activity and internment orders were issued against them as unlawful combatants, and they were brought before a judge in accordance with Israeli and International law. Terrorist organizations in Gaza are embedded within the civilian population and typically disguise themselves as civilians. And the fact that among them are allegedly journalists doctors or does not mean they were not also actively attempting to kill Israelis. Videos have been circulating showing one “doctor,” Dr. Azmi Al-Dawahidi, upon his release promising to send his son and others to “come to you again like on the seventh of October,” to cheering crowds.
Hundreds of Palestinians who were released were serving life sentences for participating in bus bombings, stabbing attacks, aiding and inciting murder, attempted murder, and planning suicide bombings. They included hundreds of individuals affiliated with Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, Fatah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
How has Hamas responded? Assume you’ve seen videos and reports of the hundreds of Gazans being summarily executed by Hamas. I haven’t seen any protests about that yet among the “ceasefire now” crowd.