A father's plea to President Trump: 'Only you can rescue my son from Hamas'

On the greeting of October 7th, 2023, my household awoke to the blaring sounds of sirens successful Rehovot, a metropolis conscionable 15 miles from Tel Aviv. 

As thousands of rockets rained down connected Israel, reports began emerging of a Hamas-led incursion into Israeli communities on the Gaza border, accompanied by livestreamed videos from the terrorists showing the horrific massacre.

My son, 19-year-old Nimrod Cohen, was serving successful the Israel Defense Forces arsenic a vessel gunner adjacent Gaza. As hours passed without immoderate connection from him, I turned to societal media to stitchery much information. That’s erstwhile I stumbled upon a video connected YouTube showing Hamas terrorists swarming a burning tank. Nimrod laic connected the ground, helplessly being dragged distant by an equipped terrorist.

THE FORGOTTEN AMERICANS OF HAMAS' TERRORIST MASSACRE ON OCTOBER 7TH

Yehuda Cohen, right, with his sons Nimrod, left, and Yotam. (Courtesy The Cohen Family)

That day, 1,200 radical were tortured, raped and slaughtered, and 247 radical were taken hostage. Nimrod, present 20, remains among the 59 hostages inactive held successful Gaza.

We aboriginal learned that the 3 different soldiers successful Nimrod’s vessel - Cpt. Omer Neutra, Sgt. Shaked Dahan and Sgt. Oz Daniel - were killed connected that Black Saturday, leaving him arsenic the sole survivor.

My household has spent the past 18 months successful agonizing uncertainty. We person traveled the globe to rise consciousness of the plight of our lad and the different hostages who are held captive successful a analyzable web of Hamas-built tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip. Tragically, we present cognize that 41 hostages died portion held captive, 7 were recovered by subject operations and 147 released via a ceasefire deal. While it pains america to marque specified a woody that would pb to the merchandise of terrorists from Israeli prisons, it is simply a sacrifice we are consenting to make. 

Yehuda Cohen's son, IDF Cpl. Nimrod Cohen, was serving arsenic a vessel gunner on the Gaza borderline erstwhile helium was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists connected Oct. 7. (Courtesy The Cohen Family)

Thanks to the efforts of President Donald Trump and the U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, a ceasefire woody was finalized earlier this year, allowing for the merchandise of immoderate hostages. Two hostages freed during the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire confirmed that Nimrod is inactive alive. Tragically, we received heartbreaking details: helium has been shackled, tortured, and kept successful a cage. His intelligence wellness has deteriorated, and helium is suffering from a tegument illness and receptor corruption owed to deficiency of aesculapian care.

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Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen with his parent Vicky Cohen. (Courtesy The Cohen Family)

Despite each of his symptom and suffering, my Nimrod told those freed hostages to relay a elemental connection to his family: "I’m okay. Don’t interest astir me. I emotion you."

In the Jewish tradition, each idiosyncratic is considered a beingness unto themselves. This content is profoundly ingrained successful the Israeli ethos, which emphasizes the value of ensuring that nary 1 is near behind. Therefore, erstwhile the ceasefire statement collapsed and hostilities reignited past month, we were devastated arsenic it meant that Nimrod’s beingness continues to bent successful the balance, taxable to the whims of a volatile and unpredictable conflict. 

The United States has agelong been considered the person of the escaped world. I implore the Trump medication to enactment the people and proceed applying diplomatic unit to each parties involved, truthful that our family, the federation of Israel - and each those who judge successful liberty - tin statesman to heal from the suffering caused by this brutal war.

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Nimrod Cohen poses beside President Donald Trump's wax fig astatine Madame Tussauds wax depository during a household travel to London erstwhile helium was a teenager. (Courtesy The Cohen Family)

When Nimrod was a teenager, helium visited Madame Tussauds wax depository successful London. We took a picture of Nimrod adjacent to the wax fig of President Trump. I commune that 1 time soon, I tin instrumentality a photograph of my Nimrod with the person I judge tin extremity his suffering and bring this devastating struggle to a close.