'Every day I'm crying': Families of Hamas hostages plead for help at antisemitism summit

FORT LAUDERDALE — Diego Engelbert called his older sister Karina at the sound of the alarms in his border town in Israel on Oct. 7. 

It was the morning Hamas militants had stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns. And it was the last conversation Engelbert, 45, would have with Karina, who’s 51. 

Engelbert told the gut-wrenching story Tuesday night to around 240 people, including representatives of more than 50 North American cities, at Fort Lauderdale’s W Hotel. The room was filled, he pointed out, with just about the same number of hostages Hamas took captive from his hometown of Kibbutz Nir Oz, located just meters from the border fence. 

The group, there for the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, sat in silence as Engelbert’s voice cracked.

Engelbert's family was among those able to get out of Israel and find temporary safety in the United States. But many relatives of other families were not so lucky.

Engelbert remembers the stillness that took over the phone line as he spoke with Karina that morning, shortly after 9 a.m. Hamas had entered Karina’s home, he had realized. 

Along with Karina, the militants took her husband Ronen, a volunteer medic, 54, and their two daughters — Mika, 18, and Yuval, 11. The pair’s eldest son, Tom, 21, a soldier with the Israel Defense Forces, was at his base when the attacks happened. He’s now living with an uncle. 

Engelbert sent messages to Karina and the girls, but received no response. He was later told by authorities they’d been kidnapped, and so had Ronen. 

“I need my family,” Engelbert said. “I need my friends. I need my home.”

Fort Lauderdale mayor was driving force on hosting antisemitism summit

This year marks the first time the international summit took place in the United States. Its purpose is to inform on antisemitism, explain how it manifests in today’s world and provide local leaders with the resources to combat it. 

Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, hopes the leaders walk away from the summit feeling empowered in knowing they’re not alone in the challenges they face today.

“There is no one solution for every community,” Roytman said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about opening the doors of the community to the neighbors, to make sure that they know each other, especially in small cities and small communities.” 

The two-day summit was planned long before the Israel-Hamas conflict started. Its location this year, Roytman said, had been in the works since last year’s summit in Athens, Greece, when Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis insisted on bringing the conference to South Florida. 

“He believed that the city is a place of hope,” Roytman said. “To build interfaith dialogue, intercultural dialogue, intercommunity dialogue.” 

But it comes at a time when antisemitic incidents in the United States have surged by 316% compared to the same time period last year, according to preliminary data released this week by the Anti-Defamation League. 

Since Oct. 7, at least 11,470 Palestinians — two-thirds of them women and minors — have been killed in Gaza per the Associated Press. This figure does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. 

More than 1,200 people were killed in Israel, mostly during Hamas’ initial attack, at which time around 240 were taken captive. 

"We are very sad this is considered as a political issue,” Roytman said. “For us, fighting antisemitism, any type of hatred, is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical issue that should be accepted across the aisle. The only way to have an impact is to disconnect yourself from politics.”

Boca Raton mayor: Boca has stood strong and united

Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer was planning to attend the summit before Oct. 7. 

“But now, it's more than ever,” Singer said, “that mayors, leaders and everyone who stands on the side of righteousness, speak out against the alarming rise in antisemitism, the brutal, terroristic murders and torture, and work for the return of these hostages.” 

This year, Boca Raton’s city council unanimously passed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as an educational tool.

“It’s an effective tool for education and law enforcement,” Singer said. “And I'm pleased by the overwhelming response of financial support, volunteerism and help in our community for Israel, and all of us who are hurting.” 

The city has stood strong and united, Singer added. He finds it heartwarming that members of his community have given strength, not only to each other, but to people across the world, he said. 

The summit featured speakers from throughout the country, including mayors from different states, such as Virginia, Ohio and New Jersey.

An Israeli family grieves: 'I can't sleep. Every day, I'm crying'

Engelbert was one of three families of hostages in Hamas captivity who provided testimony at the start of the events. 

Maayan Sigal-Koren was another. 

Five of Sigal-Koren’s relatives were taken on Oct. 7. Her mother Clara Merman, 63, her mother’s partner Lusic Norberto Har, 70, her uncle Fernando Merman, 60, her aunt Gabriella Leimberg, 59, and her 17-year-old cousin Mia Leimberg.

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“I don't have a big family,” Sigal-Koren said. “They are few.” 

And the moment when her mother stopped answering the phone, Sigal-Koren said, was when she realized her life would never again be the same. 

For Sigal-Koren’s relatives, time is essential. Her mother’s partner has diabetes, uses a hearing aid and breathing machine at night.

“How can you survive without that?” she asked. “The Red Cross has not seen him yet.” 

Engelbert’s sister Karina, too, is in the process of recovering from breast cancer. 

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"I can't sleep," Engelbert said. "Every day, I'm crying."

Natalia Casarotti, also in South Florida from Israel, lost her 21-year-old son Keshet to Hamas, during its attack on the Nova Festival in Israel.

"He had a lot of big dreams," Casarotti, 50, said of her son, whose name translates to "rainbow" in Hebrew. "He wanted to go to Brazil and become a gold miner and have a beautiful house in front of the beach. A simple dream, you know?"

Sigal-Koren’s ask is that her family’s story be shared.

“Please, share my story on social media,” she said. “Ask them to do anything they can to put pressure for the safe return of all the hostages. Please, help me bring my family home.” 

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.