‘I can’t sleep:’ Families of Hamas hostages speak at Fort Lauderdale antisemitism summit

Standing in a Fort Lauderdale hotel on Wednesday night, Maayan Sigal-Koren described the moments before her family was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 from a safe room inside a home in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.

“Five members of my family,” she said. “I don’t have a big family. They are the few I have.”

She hasn’t heard from her mother Clara Merman, 63, her mother’s partner Lusic Norberto Har, 70, her uncle Fernando Merman, 60, her aunt Gabriella Liemberg, 59, and her 17-year-old cousin Mia Leimberg — since then.

Sigal-Koren was among those who spoke at the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, which kicked off Wednesday evening at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale with testimony from family members of hostages in Hamas captivity.

The two-day summit was planned before the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and will feature sessions Thursday on what antisemitism is, how it manifests and what mayors can do to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish residents in their city.

At least 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s response to the attack by Hamas, according to the Associated Press. More than 1,200 Israelis were killed in Hamas’ original attack.

The summit comes as antisemitic hate crimes have increased in the U.S. According to the FBI, antisemitism rose by 37% with 1,122 incidents in 2022.

Natalia Casarotti, 50, lost her son Keshet, 21, during Hamas’ attack on the Nova Festival in Israel. “He was found between the bodies of the party,” she said. “I’m lucky, I have an answer. Some of the people got the answer one month after they didn’t even have a body to bring for burial.”

She described Keshet, whose name means “rainbow,” as someone who manages to connect everyone in a room. “That was his special light to connect people, to connect hearts.”

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he got the idea to bring an antisemitism conference to the city after attending one in Athens last year.

“This conference is cities against hate,” he said, “and we’ve been trying to tackle that issue as much as we can. We’ve got a broad cross-section of representatives from around the world, as far as Italy, and certainly other parts of the country. So we’re excited about what’s going to happen.”

Sacha Roytman, CEO of Combat Antisemitism Movement, said he wants attendees to walk away with the tools needed to prevent antisemitism and hatred in their communities. Roytman said part of that means celebrating Jewish culture.

“I think that the first step is really dealing with interfaith relations, by bringing people together different communities get to know each other,” Roytman said. “And you can use so many tactics — food, music, and educational materials — around the world, but the mayors needs to put the community together under the umbrella of the city.”

At a press conference last week Fort Lauderdale Police Chief William Schultz said within 24 hours of the war, the department reached out to houses of worship in the Jewish community.

“All the leaders were contacted. We immediately began working on any type of security concerns they have, especially if they were having events, and that weekend was a holy weekend,” he said.

The city has also seen protests in light of the events in Gaza. Trantalis said he wants the focus to be on fighting antisemitism. “Antisemitism started long before October 7,” he said. “But it certainly spiked the issue and brought it to more people’s attention.” He added that South Florida has seen more evidence of antisemitism including swastikas painted on public places.

“I don’t know whether these kids are just being mean or whether they’re their true acts of people who are finally showing their face that [they] want Jews to leave our community,” he said. “And that’s not the message we have. Fort Lauderdale is a very diverse community. We embrace the diversity of the people that live here and everyone should feel comfortable where they live.”

For his part, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced at the summit that the city purchased $20 million in Israeli bonds.

“To speak the truth, you must act, and we call upon every American city and state to do the same,” he said. “We can no longer allow others to spin their lies and their narratives. This goes beyond the State of Israel and the fate of the Jewish people.”

As the war continues, Diego Engelbert, 45, still isn’t giving up finding his older sister Karina, her husband and their two girls. “I can’t sleep,” he said. “Every day, I’m crying.”

And time is essential: Engelbert said Karina is recovering from breast cancer.

He also emphasized that the fight is not with Palestinians, but with Hamas. “This isn’t just an Israel problem, it’s a world problem.”

Sigal-Koren urged people to help in sharing her story with the hopes of getting help.

“Please, share my story on social media. Share with all the people you love. Please help me bring my family home.”

Natalie Sanandaji, 28, a Long Island, New York, resident who survived the Nova Festival attack said it is key to educate younger people about antisemitism and what is happening in Gaza.

“This isn’t a war between Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” she said. “This is a war between Israel and Hamas, a terrorist organization who’s just as complicit in the deaths of innocent Palestinians as they are the deaths of innocent Israelis.”