Liz Hirsh Naftali’s book, “Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Kidnapping and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage,” is an intimate and thought-provoking account of one family’s terrible loss and their struggle to find a silver lining. Published 11 months after the October 7, 2023 attacks, the book tells the story of Abigail Mor Edan, who was just three years old when Hamas fighters raided her border community in Israel on that terrible Saturday. More than 1,200 people died and 246 people were kidnapped in the attack.

Naphtali is Abigail’s great-aunt. After Abigail’s parents were killed in front of their children, Abigail was taken hostage by Hamas. Naftali took it upon himself to bring his great-nephew home. “Abigail’s story, our story, is tragic, and it’s one of many tragic stories of October 7, but it’s a story that involves not just murder and kidnapping, but also the brutality of what could have happened,” Naftali told The Journal. “And then yes (Abigail) was released but she didn’t come ‘home’. He had no home. His mother and father are gone, they were killed. And yes, he has a beautiful family, sister and brother, and he will be fine. They are good.”

Naftali describes her journey as both a grieving family member and an advocate advancing at the highest levels of international diplomacy. “I was so new to all this that I started taking notes from the very beginning,” he said of his writing process. “People said, ‘Take notes, keep a journal,’ and I kept a lot of journals…even in meetings some leaders would say, ‘Why are you writing?’ he would ask.” These detailed records formed the basis of the 200-page book. “Saving Abigail.”

Although she’s new to hostage advocacy as a businesswoman and philanthropist, Naftali is no stranger to taking charge. As guests at The Capitol Coffee Connection note podcast It is Naftali’s job to prod, interrogate, and advise government bureaucrats (including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and dozens of other incumbent U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives). It’s something he does. easily.

Naftali writes that the mass abduction of young children by terrorists is something few in the government have dealt with before, including top officials such as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William Burns. Special Presidential Envoy Roger Carstens, who has been handling hostage cases on behalf of the US State Department since 2020, admitted that the situation was unlike anything he had encountered before. Carstens, he writes, “was less than optimistic about the difficulties of bringing Abigail home. He had a wall in his office with pictures of the hostages he had helped bring home… He also had a photo gallery on Carstens’ wall showing a picture of a three-year-old girl, or any child for that matter.” “I also noticed that there was no one.”

What made Abigail’s case even more extraordinary was the level of attention it attracted. President Joe Biden received daily updates on the hostages, including Abigail. “Knowing that Abigail’s fate is on the president’s desk every day gave me hope,” Naftali wrote.

Naftali also hopes this will be a book that can be read by those skeptical of Hamas’s atrocities against Jews. “I wanted people to understand, and even that day we saw stories of people questioning the attacks,” Naftali said. he said. “People can make judgments, they can decide things. But what I put out there is the truth.”

“I wanted people to understand, and as we saw the stories of people questioning the attacks that took place that day… People can make judgments, they can decide things. But what I put out there is the truth.” – Liz Hirsh Naftali

For Naftali, the book was more than an account of events; It was a way to process deeply conflicting emotions. “When I did the audio version, there were moments where I cried so much while singing it out loud that I had to take a break,” Naftali said. “To this day, when I talk about it, I don’t just say, ‘Oh, I’m telling the story again.’ “It takes my heart, the heart of this family and Abigail’s, and I am compelled to share it once again.”

“Saving Abigail” is both a tribute to Abigail’s survival and a call to action for anyone who can do what they can to bring the remaining 101 hostages home. The book remains fiercely impartial but is not afraid to call out leaders by name. “Until these hostages return home, the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu), Ron Dermer, his entire team, everyone who runs this country, their legacy dates back to October 7, 2023. And hopefully they can bring these hostages home. “So the nation can move forward.”

Still, Naftali looks back on the past year and has a message for American Jews. “To American Jews, I say: I don’t care where you sit, how religious you are or what side of the (political) aisle you are on, it is our obligation to come together to keep the hostages and Israel as a force. It’s a partisan piece, because Israel’s success depends on the presence of Republicans and Democrats. But focus on the release of the hostages, which we did very carefully, making sure that we had good relations with both sides and that we would not take sides. But this is really important for the hostages.”

The book ends on September 1, 2024, when American Hersh Polin-Goldberg and five other hostages were found murdered in Rafa. It’s a brief epilogue that feels as raw as that day almost three months ago.

Still, Naftali has a vision for an updated epilogue in the near future. “This is an epilogue to Abigail and her siblings, her five children, and (her caretaker) Hagar and her three children, and all these children that I met and saw who were kidnapped or whose parents were still hostages, whose grandparents were still hostages. We need to fix this,” Naftali said. “We bring them a better world. And in this epilogue, it’s not Abigail who does the work I do for others, she says, ‘I helped.’ In this way, I showed what resilience and hope are.’ By the way, I hope this epilogue is written soon because it is really important for our country, America. It is really important for our country Israel to unite with allied and strong, strong relative countries. It’s really important for the relationship that these hostages come home.

Abigail’s fifth birthday is Sunday, November 23.

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