Nassau County residents, religious leaders and elected officials participated in the Run for Their Lives: A Global Call for Hostage Release and Honoring Omer Neutra’s Memory Sunday morning.
The event was dedicated to the 21-year-old Plainview resident who was believed to have been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7. However, Israeli military officials confirmed earlier this month that he was killed during the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.
Participants in the event walked from the Country Point shopping center in Plainview, finishing at the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center. Residents held signs with sayings such as “Bring them all home” and “We stand with Israel” as well as posters of the kidnapped hostages still in Gaza, among others.
After the walk ended at the Mid-Island Y JCC, there was an outdoor ceremony, including Hebrew prayers and speeches by elected officials, Neutra’s friends, and other community members.
Seven different Long Island groups have been holding these walks every week since Oct. 7 to call attention and raise support for releasing the Israeli hostages, now numbering 101, held in Gaza.
Organizers of the event vowed to continue these events until the hostages–alive as well as the bodies of the dead like Omer Neutra–are released.
Neutra’s family: Ronen, his father, Orna, his mother, and Daniel, his brother, were not in attendance.
They returned to Israel to continue their period of mourning before heading to Denmark to visit the remainder of their family, according to Rick Lewis, CEO of Mid-Island Y JCC. The two have lived in the United States for over 25 years.
During the ceremony, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino called for unconditional support of Israel as well as an immediate return of the hostages currently being held in Gaza.
“Like you, I’m very upset. We must get every hostage home,” Saladino said. “We are sending a message across the country that Americans must wake up, support Israel 100%, and make sure the message is sent that this must never happen again”
After Saladino, Nassau County Legislator and lifelong Plainview resident Arnold Drucker applauded the community support shown to the Neutra family and the nation of Israel.
“We must do whatever we can to never let this happen again and exert every effort we can to get the remaining hostages home. That’s No. 1 and can never be less than No. 1,” Drucker said.
There were numerous elected officials on stage who did not speak, including State Sen. Steven Rhoads, Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes Jeffrey Pravato and several Nassau County legislators.
Earlier in the week, U.S. Rep Tom Suozzi (D –Long Island) joined the global outpouring of tributes honoring the memory of Neutra, who was his constituent, with a one-minute speech on the floor of the House of Representatives
“I’m here to show my support. Omer Neutra has become a huge part of the Plainview Old Bethpage family,” Rhoads said in an interview with Schneps Media Long Island after the ceremony. “I feel as though he is a part of all of our family, his loss was devastating for this community, but it was important to reinforce a message of support for his family,”
Pravato, whose children attended school with the Neutras at the Schechter School of Long Island in Williston Park, called for sustained support for the Neutra family.
“It’s amazing, the amount of people that have come out today. The family needs the support, we will be there for the Neutra family,” he said in an interview with Schneps Media Long Island.
In addition, Pravato referred to Hamas as “animals.”
“Today’s march in honor of Omer Neutra’s life and legacy was a powerful demonstration of the indelible mark he left upon the world,” Legislator Seth Koslow said in a statement. “While our hearts will always be broken by his senseless murder, our resolve to free the hostages has never been stronger,”
“This is a community that stands together in good times and trials and tribulations,” said Rabbi Joel Levenson, who spoke at Neutra’s funeral at Midway Jewish Center. Levenson has been at Midway Jewish Center for 11 years. He knew Neutra as a teenager.
“He was 21 when he was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, yet through his teenage years and high school years made such an impact on people he met through camp and school,” Levenson added.
There were numerous Israeli songs and prayers that were sung in memory of Neutra and the other hostages. In addition, many of the event’s speakers called for the immediate return of the hostages still being held in Gaza.
None of the speakers at the event called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The walks will continue to be held on Sunday mornings.
