Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to welcome Liat Beinin Atzili to Washington, D.C. She is visiting the White House today to advocate for the safe return of all Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. Liat, a dual American-Israeli citizen, and her husband, Aviv, were violently taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 from their Kibbutz Nir Oz. Liat's extended family lives in Waterford, Connecticut. She had, in fact, visited that coastal town just weeks before the October 7 attack. When her cousin in Waterford, resident Jerry Fischer, learned that Liat and her husband were kidnapped, he immediately called me on the morning of October 8. Within just a few hours, my chief of staff, Ayanti Grant, set up Liat and Aviv as missing person cases to the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, immediately putting those agencies into action. Over the following weeks, those agencies worked with the Atzili family closely to ensure that her release was a top priority for the administration. Thanks to President Biden and Secretary Blinken's persistent diplomatic efforts, Liat was released 53 days later, alongside 104 other hostages taken during that weeklong cease-fire last November. Unfortunately, hours after Liat's release, she was informed that her husband, Aviv, had been murdered by Hamas on October 7. The relief and joy that she and her family experienced upon her release was abruptly replaced by grief and sadness.…”