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Three years after October 7, Israel is still wrestling with what comes next. A deadlocked election has left its political future in limbo, while the trauma of the Hamas attack, the war in Gaza and deepening divisions over the country’s leadership continue to define the national debate.
For Liz Hirsh Naftali, those questions are deeply personal. Her great-niece, Abigail Mor Edan, was three years old when Hamas terrorists murdered her parents in Kfar Aza and took her hostage. Abigail was released after 51 days, spending her fourth birthday in captivity. Liz kept fighting for the hostages still in Gaza, becoming one of the most prominent American voices for their return.
Abigail is now about to turn seven. She’s in school, has plenty of friends and, as the youngest of six in the family of the aunt and uncle who adopted her and her siblings, bosses everyone around. But Liz warns against mistaking resilience for recovery. The children know exactly what happened to them.
That distinction between surviving and healing runs through how she sees Israel itself.
The country, she argues, cannot truly move forward without an independent investigation into the failures of October 7. Israel has proven its military might, but its citizens still don’t know why no one was there to protect them that day. Liz doesn’t either. Even with the last hostage home since January, the government has shown little appetite for finding out.
She also wants leaders with a vision for a future not defined by perpetual war, and a serious effort to rebuild bipartisan support in Washington. Having worked closely with the Biden administration, members of both parties in Congress and later the Trump administration, Liz believes Israel’s leadership made a costly mistake by letting its relationship with the United States become a partisan one.
We also discussed the growing divide between American Jews and Israelis, the increasingly contentious debate over Israel within the Democratic Party, and where legitimate criticism of Israeli policy ends and antisemitism begins.
Her mission now is not simply to remember October 7, but to help build a future in which Abigail, her siblings and children across the region can grow up safe. When Liz once asked Abigail what she ate in Gaza, she said pita and cheese, when there was food. Liz reminded her she doesn’t like cheese. “When you’re hungry,” Abigail told her, “you eat what you’re given.” Liz says that answer gets her out of bed every morning.
Thank you Susan Heinrich, Stuart Cohen, Elizabeth Van Alstine, Gilda Johnson, RN4peace, and many others for tuning into my live video with LIZ HIRSH NAFTALI! Join me for my next live video in the app.
