Jews across the world are currently celebrating Passover, but for Viki Cohen, “it’s not a holiday.”
For the second year in a row, Cohen is observing Passover while her son, Nimrod Cohen, is living in “hell” as a hostage in Gaza.
“I’m his mother, and I miss him so much,” Viki Cohen told The Daily Signal. “I miss all the routine things of life—to hear his voice, to see his smile, to see the mess in his room, to hear this voice when he’s playing with his friends on the computer. I just miss him, and I wish to hug him again. That’s what I’m dreaming.”
Nimrod Cohen, now 20, was serving in a tank battalion in the Israel Defense Forces on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked and killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, including Cohen, back to Gaza.
On the day of the attack, Viki Cohen’s husband was watching the video Hamas released on YouTube of the attack and quickly called his wife when he spotted their son in the footage. There, on the computer screen, was Nimrod Cohen in Hamas captivity.
“I was shocked,” Viki Cohen said. “I couldn’t breathe. It’s a moment I will never forget in my whole life. It was terrible. I didn’t know what to think, what to do.”
Nimrod Cohen has “a very rich inner world,” the mother says of her son. “He’s very sensitive to others, always thinking of others, like the family, his friends, and he never complains.”
One of Nimrod Cohen’s favorite pastimes was to play with his Rubik’s Cube, according to his mother. When Cohen’s tank was discovered after he was taken hostages, the young soldier’s Rubik’s Cube was found inside.
It has been more than 550 days since Viki Cohen’s son was taken hostage, and she and her family have not stopped advocating for his release.
“We need the help of the American people, [from President Donald] Trump,” the mother said. “We trust him, and we know that because of him, many of the hostages came back, and we know that he is committed, and he wants to stop the war, and he wants to get a Nobel Prize for peace and he will do everything that’s necessary to put pressure on both sides.”
Before his inauguration, Trump warned on social media that there would be “HELL TO PAY” if the terrorist group Hamas did not release all hostages by the time he assumed office. Shortly after Trump’s statement, Israel and Hamas reached a deal that included the release of 33 hostages, including two Israeli Americans.
But today, 24 hostages, including Israeli American Edan Alexander, are still thought to be alive in Gaza. Hamas is also holding the bodies of an additional 35 hostages.
During this Passover and Easter season, Viki Cohen is asking Americans to “remember” those hostages that are still being held captive.
Those who remain hostage are “not only names” on a page, the mother said, urging Americans to do “whatever they can do to bring them back home. And part of it is to say that the war must be stopped; otherwise they cannot come back.”
Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages are ongoing, but mediators have yet to reach a deal that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to sign.
