J Street Mourns, Honors Lives of Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gadi Haggai, Urges Ceasefire to Free Remaining Hostages

Washington, DC – Following the Israeli Defense Forces’ recovery of the bodies of Israeli-American hostages Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gadi Haggai, who were murdered and taken captive by Hamas on October 7, 2023, J Street Vice President and Chief of Staff Adina Vogel-Ayalon issued the following statement:

“Today, we share in mourning and honoring the lives of Judi and Gadi. Our hearts continue to break for their families and the beautiful couple – parents, grandparents and friends – whose lives were brutally taken by Hamas while they were out for their morning walk on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. After over 600 days in Gaza, we’re grateful to the forces who recovered their remains. May their memories be a blessing.

We stand with the family of Judi and Gadi, who said today, ‘Our hearts will not be whole until all hostages return.’ There are still 56 hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza, and each and every one’s family is enduring unbearable grief as they fight tirelessly to embrace their children or give their loved ones a proper burial.

There is one way to end the suffering and bring the hostages home: A ceasefire and hostage release deal that ends the war. No more stalling. No more war. Israelis and Palestinians deserve to heal and recover; it is the only path to ensure the horrors of October 7 and the subsequent 19 months never happen again.”