01/12/2023
This is Noa. Noa Argamani and her mother Leah, before the cancer spread!
But you already know Noa. You saw her kidnapped on the back of a Hamas motorcycle as she was dragged away from the music festival, and from her boyfriend, screaming and begging for her life. Hamas proudly live-streamed it, and unless you've been a Hamas hostage for the past 53 days, you've seen the footage and you know it happened. You saw it happen.
What you may not know is that Leah, Noa's mother has terminal brain cancer.
She has very little time left, her speech is very slurred, she is very weak, and has been hospitalized for weeks already. Leah has asked for just one thing before she goes. She asked to see Noa one more time. And if that isn't possible, she simply wants Noa to know how much her mother loves her.
So imagine this is Leah's "Make a Wish" --and all of us have the power to make at least some of it come true. We can write letters to our government officials, Congresspeople, and Senators. We can send inquiries and demand they visit Noa in captivity to the International Red Cross via their website. We can join local protests about freeing ALL of the remaining hostages. We can post and talk about Noa so that even if she isn't released, maybe she will see the news or hear about it (like Ohad heard about the soccer team that celebrated his birthday when someone was moved from one captivity location to his) and it gave him, little 9 year old Ohad hope, even while he was a prisoner, kept like an animal, of Hamas.
Citizens of the world, I call on you to make Leah's last wish come true. We can grant this dying woman's wish and return her daughter to her with our words and actions, or we can let Noa know of her mom's love and undying care. We all failed Noa and Leah on October 7th, as Hamas evil and hate won the day. Let's not allow loud voices of hate and calls to violence and the destruction of Israel ruin our resolve to help, and fail Noa and Leah again. Time is running out, and we can't afford to wait.
Not only for Noa and Leah, but the world's women cannot afford for us to fail. Because if we do, then none of us have any hope of being truly safe, or free again.
