Jewish locals implore Israeli activist to flee Chicago before DNC; safety probed ahead of political gathering
An Israeli activist and spokesperson is catching people's attention as she tells the heartbreaking story of twin Israeli brothers who were kidnapped from their apartments Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded their homes.
The terror group executed a barbaric assault on innocent civilians in Israel in the early morning, and residents in one apartment building fell victim to the violence when the building was set on fire and twin brothers Ziv and Gali Berman were kidnapped.
"We have this unwritten protocol where, whenever there is sirens at his place, or my place or both of ours, we will text each other, and he will ask me if I’m OK. I will ask him if he’s OK," Noa Reuveni, 25, of Tel Aviv, told Fox News Digital during a phone conversation.
Near the Gaza-Israel border, Hamas terrorists committed war crimes, slaying Israeli men, women and children on day 1 of what would become the Israel-Hamas war and the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
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At the time of the invasion, Reuveni was visiting California when she received a phone notification of missiles. Upon receipt, she texted Ziv, her best friend, to make certain he was safe.
Reuveni said she did not hear back for over 40 minutes.
"The first thing he said to me was, ‘I’m scared to death,’" she said.
Reuveni said sirens, missiles and rockets were a normal occurrence for the Middle East country.
"We’re not afraid of it anymore," she said.
Shortly after 7 a.m., Reuveni said, Ziv communicated that he’d heard Arabic being spoken outside. He barricaded himself and remained still and quiet until 9:45 a.m. In the meantime, Reuveni said he sent over 20 text messages relaying his fear and inability to remain calm.
"I tried to tell him that I’m taking care of it. I'm getting help for him," she said.
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Unable to get through to the Israeli police, Reuveni assured Ziv the IDF and Special Forces would be on their way.
"I couldn't get a hold of anybody," she said. "I was very, very helpless. He was basically begging for help."
Unaware of the magnitude of the surprise attack by Iran-backed terrorists, she said kidnapping was an unimaginable thought that she hadn’t considered.
"At 9:45, I received my last message from him, which was ‘I’m scared,'" Reuveni said. "That was the last time that I’d heard from him."
Reuveni’s final message of warmth said, "I’m with you," before Ziv’s phone was shut off indefinitely.
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Amid a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, from Nov. 24, 2023, through Nov. 30, 2023, over 100 hostages were released by Hamas. Though neither brother was released, Reuveni said the first and last signal of life she and the twin's family received was from released hostages who advised that the siblings were seen in Gaza tunnels "separately, unfortunately."
"Ever since Oct. 7, I left my life. I left college. I left my job," Reuveni said. "I left everything I had in my life out of the realization that now my friends need me and my loved ones need me, and I can't do anything else. Nothing else matters more than this."
Reuveni moved from a village in Israel, Shahar, to Tel Aviv to be close to Hostages Square, where she implores Israeli citizens to talk about the hostages and tell their stories.
"Sometimes I speak seven days a week, sometimes six times back-to-back," she said. "I don't regret it for a single second."
Today, Reuveni is speaking in Cleveland, Ohio, on the heels of her speaking arrangements in Chicago, which she left due to the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
"All Jews actually told me to leave," she said of Chicago. "They all told me that I shouldn't be there during that time because it will get hectic and crazy. I thought that was just crazy for me to hear that Jews are leaving town. They're leaving the city because of the DNC."
Buses of anti-Israel protesters swarmed the streets outside the four-day 2024 DNC and breached police barricades to oppose Democrats’ support for the Israeli military and their fight against Hamas.
"I think that the best thing that people around the world, Jews around the world, can do right now is get together, is not give the bully what they want, is not go into hiding and not surrender to that fear and the violence that they’re projecting but instead be proud of who they are," Reuveni said.
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New York City and Long Island are next on Reuveni’s list of cities before she travels back to Israel. In October, as the one-year anniversary of the devastating attacks approaches, Reuveni will return to the states and remain for four weeks to continue her mission.
"We need to continuously raise awareness and make sure we never stop talking about them because the day we stop talking about them is the day that we’re giving up on them," she said.
Reuveni described Ziv and Gali as "loyal" and "best friends." She added that friendship and family mean everything to them.
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"They have so much respect and admiration for their mother," she said. "I always say I have never heard a man in my life speak about their mother with so much respect like I've heard them speak about theirs."
In the over 300 days since the unprovoked attacks, Reuveni hopes the brothers have found their way back to one another.
"They have never been apart," she said. "They have this twin power."
Today, over 100 hostages are still believed to be held captive in Gaza, according to Reuters.