Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of released hostage Roni Gonen, addressed the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee on Monday in a discussion on the assistance provided to the families of the hostages.
“The circles are so vast, exhausting, and difficult — mutual responsibility is what keeps us going,” she said. “We may look fine – functioning and smiling, but no one knows what happens behind the scenes. The financial support provided to the families of those who returned is nonexistent. We are the family of a returned hostage who came back severely wounded, and we have yet to return to any sort of normal life. I haven’t gone back to work, and it’s hard for me to maintain the household. A solution must be found, especially for those who returned after more than 700 days in captivity.
“My daughter’s arm was injured, and she has undergone three very difficult surgeries. We are still fighting to have a companion assigned to her, who can help her — this is a critical aspect for rehabilitation. The support allocated to returnees for the purpose of physical rehabilitation is NIS 4,000 per year, while they need physical assistance almost daily. This morning I gave up my own psychological treatment, and the state must find a way to fund psychological therapy for an extensive period of time — for the entire family, and especially for the siblings, who are part of a [very important] support system that has been damaged and currently receives no adequate help in any form,” Leshem Gonen said. She concluded her remarks with a plea to bring back all 16 of the remaining deceased hostages.
Hana Cohen, the aunt of deceased hostage Inbar Haiman, who was brought to burial in Israel last week, said: “My family will not end up homeless. My brother, who lost his daughter, submitted a request to the National Insurance Institute and was granted only 20% disability — that makes no sense.” Turning to Members of Knesset who participated in the meeting, she asked: “Where is the response you promised to the families of the deceased hostages? They lost their jobs and will not return to work. We are left with our pain.”
Also participating in the debate were Esther Buchshtav, mother of Yagev Buchshtav, who was murdered in Gaza and whose body was returned to Israel for burial; Noam Idan, sister of Tsachi Idan, who was murdered in Gaza and whose body was also returned; and Gilad Korngold, father of the released hostage Tal Shoham, who returned from Gaza.
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