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.
