Liz Hirsh Naftali discussed her work in securing the release of her great-niece and others taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. (photo courtesy of Los Angeles Jewish Health)

Podcaster, political influencer and philanthropist Liz Hirsh Naftali visited Los Angeles Jewish Health on Dec. 18 to discuss her role in securing the release of her great-niece from Hamas captivity following the attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Naftali also outlined her continued commitment to freeing remaining hostages during the appearance at LAJH’s Fountainview at Eisenberg Village in Reseda, where she spoke to LAJH residents and members of SAYVA, a collaborative network focused on community, positive aging, and wisdom.

Naftali, a lifelong Angeleno, recounted arriving in Israel to celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah on Oct. 6, 2023. After an evening of dancing and celebration, she was awakened the next morning by the sound of alarms blaring, signaling that Hamas had breached the Israeli-Gaza border.

“I have family who lived along the border, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza,” Naftali said. “I called my sister-in-law that morning and discovered that my niece and nephew had been murdered by terrorists there, and that their three-year-old daughter, Abigail, had been kidnapped.”

Fueled by a long history of activism, Naftali returned to the United States and shared Abigail’s story as widely as possible with the media and political leaders on Capitol Hill.

“I met with Democrats and Republicans. I believe hostages should be apolitical, and we received incredibly beautiful support from people on both sides of the aisle,” she said. “I was driven to keep talking to people and refused to take no for an answer because when you’re in a situation like this, and someone you love is being held against their will, you cannot rest or even take a breath until you see their face again.”

Naftali’s efforts ultimately contributed to the release of some of the hostages. After 51 days in captivity, Abigail was freed along with 104 other hostages during a truce between Israel and Hamas.

Inspired to preserve a record of Abigail’s story, Naftali wrote “Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage,” a book about the tragedy of Oct. 7, 2023, Abigail’s abduction and the rescue efforts

“As humans, we need to elevate these stories, to tell the truth about Oct. 7 so people can start to heal,” Naftali said. “I also wrote this book so people would understand they have the power to influence events. There are still hostages who haven’t been able to come home, and people might feel like nothing they do can have any impact, but my experience shows that’s not true. I think we can each play a role, in our own ways, in bringing the rest of the hostages back, stopping the fighting and allowing Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace.”

Los Angeles Jewish Health, founded in 1912, is the largest nonprofit, single-source provider of comprehensive senior health care services in the Los Angeles area, serving nearly 4,000 people each year. For information, visit lajhealth.org.