(Worthy Insights) – Six hundred days since his son, Itay Chen, was abducted by Hamas forces, Ruby Chen’s message to the crowd at the Knesset auditorium was personal, not political. “I’m standing here as a father,” Chen said.
He explained that his family had chosen not to hold a shiva—the traditional Jewish week of mourning—despite being told by Israeli intelligence that Itay was killed on the day he was abducted from his tank on the Gaza border. “Not because we don’t believe in the Jewish faith—on the contrary. It’s because we still have hope that he could come back,” Chen said. Until he and his wife know with absolute certainty that their son is dead, they refuse to give up hope.
Chen made these comments as part of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, an annual interfaith gathering founded in 2017 to foster global prayer and diplomatic solidarity with Israel. Addressing the crowd, he emphasized that the goals of dismantling Hamas and returning all the hostages “don’t always coexist.” “It is unfortunate that after 600 days, I am still standing here, wishing to see my son back, as well as 57 other hostages,” he said. [ Source (Read More…) ]