Avera Mengistu

Hamas is a terror organization. They have been kidnapping people and taking hostages long before October 7, 2023. Often, the people they choose are the more vulnerable members of society. Especially when these people literally walk straight into their hands. Like Avera Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli Jew who has been held by Hamas since 2014. Yes, there are Black African Jews and yes, he has been a hostage for almost 10 years.

Avera Mengistu was 27 years old when he walked from his home in Ashkelon to the Gazan border, climbed the fence and disappeared into Gaza. He was immediately taken hostage by Hamas. According to his family, Avera was in a confused and emotional state that day. He had been suffering from mental illness for years and had been hospitalized twice. No one knows what exactly he was trying to accomplish by crossing the border.

But Hamas immediately took advantage of the situation. They took Mengistu captive and said he was a prisoner of war. They claimed he was a soldier and was wearing a uniform. This is categorically untrue, as Avera never served in the army due to his mental health issues. Very little was heard from or about him for years.

Until, in January of 2023, Hamas released a video of Avera Mengistu. In the video, he asks: “How much longer will I be in captivity? After so many years, where are the state and the people of Israel?”

The Mengistu family can not be entirely sure that this really is Avera, but it does seem to be him.

Avera’s parents and his brothers are forever missing a part of their family. They fight to get publicity for their story. They feel neglected and pushed aside by both the government and the media of Israel. They feel that because of Avera’s race and mental health, he is not given the same importance as the hostages of October 7. Where is the outrage, the outcry over Avera Mengistu?

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Hisham al-Sayed

The story of Hisham al-Sayed is very similar to that of Avera Mengistu. Hisham is a Bedouin Israeli Arab who has been held by Hamas since 2015. (And yes, there are Arab, Muslim and Bedouin Israelis.)

Al-Sayed was born in 1988 in the Bedouin town of Al-Hura in the Negev desert. He studied in Cyprus and London, but struggled with both physical and mental health disorders. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, vertigo and hearing loss. Hisham tried to join the Israeli army but, like Avera Mengistu, was not enlisted due to his health problems.

Hisham’s family say he heard voices in his head, telling him to cross over the border with Gaza. He tried to do so many times, and finally succeeded in 2015. Hamas took him and has held him captive ever since. As with Mengistu, they claimed he was a soldier and therefore a prisoner of war, which is not true.

In 2022, Hamas released a video showing Hisham al-Sayed looking very sick, lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask and an IV drip. His Israeli ID card was shown lying open on the bed.

Al-Sayed’s family are desperately worried about him. He needs medical treatment and medication. Like Mengistu’s family, they have tried to generate international publicity for their son’s case, but failed to do so. They, too, have accused the Israeli government and press of not caring enough, because their son is a Bedouin.

The cases of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed are very sad. They highlight not only the cruelty and sadism of an organization like Hamas, holding vulnerable, unwell civilians prisoner for years, but also the undeniable difference in treatment of minority groups in Israel, like the Bedouins and the Ethiopians. While their families fight for recognition, their sons languish in the dungeons of Hamas, unknown by the general public and the international community.

There is a lot wrong in Israel. But that does NOT mean it is an apartheid state. It is not. All Israeli citizens have the same basic rights and opportunities, no matter their religion or ethnicity. But of course, in reality, some groups have a much harder time than others. This is something we need to work on. Just like the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia and everwhere else.

#bringthemhome