Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage who was freed in May after 584 days in Hamas captivity, was honored Monday with a street named for him in the borough in which he grew up.
“To have a road named here in the place I call home is something I never would have imagined,” Alexander said during a ceremony before the street sign was unveiled. “Every time I see this road, I will remember not just the struggle but the love and unity that brought me back home.”
Alexander, who was accompanied by family, community members and local officials, was born in Israel and grew up in Tenafly, N.J., where he graduated from high school. He returned to Israel and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas terrorists captured the dual U.S.-Israeli citizen during the Oct. 7 attacks.
“A year and a half in captivity was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through, but I never felt completely alone,” Alexander said at the event. “I know my family and my town and so many people were fighting for me, keeping my name alive and pushing for my return. That gave me strength.”
When he was freed, Alexander was believed to be the last American hostage captured by Hamas still alive. Hamas is thought to be holding the bodies of four other Americans—Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai—as well as dozens of others captured on Oct. 7.
“You are an example of strength and commitment, and Tenafly is proud to have you and your family as members of our community,” Mark Zinna, mayor of Tenafly, told Alexander.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) called for the release of the remaining 48 hostages, whom Hamas holds, and ensuring that aid to Gaza reaches civilians, not terrorists.
“To our nation and to the world, we owe it to every hostage, and to the memory of those we lost, to keep fighting for justice and for peace,” Gottheimer said.
The congressman said that Alexander plans to return to Israel and resume duties in the Israeli military. He said that Alexander told him after his release, “My story doesn’t end with survival. It continues with service.”
“Edan is home, but he hasn’t chosen a path of well-deserved comfort,” Gottheimer said. “His remarkable courage continues. He is returning to serve in the Israel Defense Forces because he refuses to let evil triumph.”
Gottheimer quoted former U.S. President General Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men, and so it must be daily earned and refreshed.’”
During the ceremony, Zinna noted that one of the borough’s synagogues, Temple Sinai of Bergen County, was the victim of what he called a “blatant act of antisemitism” when an Israeli flag at the Reform congregation was torn down and burned earlier this month before Rosh Hashanah.
Zinna said he discussed the situation with Rabbi Jordan Millstein of the temple.
“We both agreed the only course of action was to buy more Israeli flags and proudly fly them,” the mayor said. “We will not be silent and we will not be apologetic about doing what needs to be done to support our Jewish friends and the ideals we all believe in.”
