Congresswoman Frankel focuses attention on plight of three-year-old girl held by Hamas

Stephany Matat, Palm Beach Post
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On Monday, as Israel and Hamas were reportedly close to agreeing to a U.S.-brokered deal to free dozens of woman and children held as hostages, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel said that's not good enough.

"All the hostages should be released," Frankel said.

Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, spoke following a morning news conference in which she brought attention to the plight of a particular captive, a 3-year-old girl.

The child, named Abigail Mor Idan, lost her parents in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israelis. The young girl's relatives flew to Washington, D.C. last week to speak with congressional delegates about her story, and Frankel said she was struck by the suffering Abigail endured.

The young girl was with her family in their home at the Kfar Aza kibbutz when Hamas began their attacks. Both her mother and father were slain, and Abigail was taken hostage while hiding in her neighbor's home.

"She knows both her parents were killed," Frankel said in an interview. "Not only is she in a horrifying situation now, when she comes back, she basically comes back as an orphan."

The hostage deal, which President Joe Biden acknowledged Monday is being negotiated, could also include a five-day pause in fighting, which Frankel said would give time to bring humanitarian support to Gaza.

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel meets with 3-year-old captive Abigail Mor Idan's relatives in her office in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15. The family met with members of Congress to tell the story of the young girl whose parents were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel meets with 3-year-old captive Abigail Mor Idan's relatives in her office in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15. The family met with members of Congress to tell the story of the young girl whose parents were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

Frankel, however, insisted she wants to see the release of all the more than 200 hostages held captive by Hamas. She was joined at the news conference by Lawrence Milstein, the regional director for American Jewish Committee Palm Beach County, and Rabbi Ruvi New of Chabad East Boca, who recently came back from Israel.

This news conference came the morning after more than 500 people protested in downtown West Palm Beach to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. At this demonstration, protestors often chanted a controversial phrase that pro-Israel advocates and others say is antisemitic and calling for the destruction of the state of Israel: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

The chant was a point of contention nationwide, including among South Florida Democrats like Frankel, who voted to censure Palestinian-American U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib for promoting a video where protestors chanted this phrase.

Pro-Palestine rally: Congresswoman says protesters who shouted 'from the river to the sea' are misinformed

On Monday, Frankel criticized the chanting of the "river to the sea" phrase during Sunday's rally.

"I'm not sure if everybody who's making these chants are well-informed. I don't know, but I will tell you many are, and the chant of 'from the river to the sea' means wiping Israel off the face of this earth and killing its people," Frankel said. "That's what it means, and so if you ask me, does that undermine anybody who says they're for peace? Yes, of course it does."

Stephany Matat is a politics reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY-Florida network. Reach her at smatat@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: U.S. Rep. Frankel: Release all Hamas hostages, including 3-year-old