Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren It’s been 112 days since RONEN and ORNA NEUTRA last spoke with their son, OMER, an Israeli soldier and one of the six remaining Americans held hostage by Hamas. The Long Island residents have spent the last three months trying to bring Omer home — attending White House meetings and traveling to Israel and Qatar in pursuit of it. West Wing Playbook checked in this week with the Neutras, more than three months since our first phone call. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What has this time been like for you? Orna: On an emotional level, we’re stuck there with our last conversation with Omer, on Oct. 6. On a practical level, it’s been this insane roller coaster, where we’re on 100 percent acceleration, all the time. Ronen: There’s no day and night. We’re just running around like rats in a cage. You’ve traveled all over the place. Orna: We’ve been to Washington multiple times. We’ve been in Congress and meeting different committees that are somehow touching on the Middle East and the hostage issue. We met with President Biden. We’ve met with the national security adviser multiple times. We’ve been to Israel. Ronen was in Qatar. He met with the prime minister. Was the meeting in Qatar productive? Ronen: Qatar is so heavily involved in the negotiation and mediation of the situation. The fact that he had a face-to-face meeting with people who have a real perspective from family members — they listened to the stories. We thanked them for the first release and pleaded that they think outside the box, think of something more creative. For example, we asked them to think how they can influence Hamas and bring medical attention to the hostages, and medicine and drugs. And a few weeks later, drugs showed up in Gaza. I also gave a letter to the prime minister with some words that I wrote Omer. I said, “Please, try to get it to my son.” And he said, “I can’t promise, but I’ll try.” What did you write? Ronen: I was trying to send him some strength. We love you. We miss you. We can’t wait to be with you and hug you, but you can’t lose hope. You’ve also met with National Security adviser Jake Sullivan and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk this month. What has the White House been telling you? Ronen: One thing we agreed is that the content of our discussions would be kept in the room. But in general, they told us that there are ongoing negotiations. First of all, they said don’t believe everything you read. And the second is, you’ve got to trust us. There is movement, even if it’s incremental and slow. Keep the hope. It’s not easy, but we’re working for you. Since we last talked, there are growing calls for a ceasefire. Do you support this? Orna: There are voices in both directions. Just the other day, the media posted that Israel put in an offer for a ceasefire and Hamas rejected it. It’s complicated. We have one goal and one focus: do whatever is needed to get them out as soon as possible. Ronen: We are fully aware of the complex political situation in Israel. It’s pretty clear that nothing will happen without some sort of a ceasefire, temporary ceasefire, just like what happened in the first release. We have to get there, whether it’s a permanent one or not. Have you gotten any answers about Omer’s condition? Ronen: We know nothing except a few times they’ve released videos of hostages. Those are usually coming from a very negative perspective, things that happened. The bad is that we’ve been in the dark for 112 days. The good part is that we assume they’re keeping him in a very secure area where they don’t want to disclose any information. Orna: Between these two nightmares is where we live. How do you manage that uncertainty? Ronen: My way of handling it is to try to disengage to some degree and focus on doing, and also hopefully sending some good energies to our son. We feel that’s important, too. With other hostage families, we participated in a gathering on the Gaza border with huge trucks. We shouted to our dear ones, through the speakers, hoping that they could hear us. And that was the first time that we’ve been maybe a few kilometers, maybe less, from our son. We could feel that he’s close. Orna: It’s very easy to become discouraged and depressed. And it’s not helpful for Omer. So most of the time you try and suppress those feelings and focus on action. But it’s a scratch away. As we’re speaking now, I’m thinking about it. MESSAGE US — Are you CHAD MAISEL, special assistant to the president for housing and urban policy? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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