For the parents of Capt. Omer Neutra, the Israeli-American tank commander killed during the Hamas invasion, 9/11 and 10/7 will always be linked.
His mother, Orna, then eight months pregnant with Omer, fled Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Then on Oct. 7, 2023, serving as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces along the Gaza border, Omer was captured by Hamas terrorists and, it later turned out, was killed that same day. His body was not released for two years, for a time giving hope to the Neutras that he had survived the attack.
“For our family, the connection to Oct. 7 is impossible to ignore: the same hatred, the same glorification of murder, and the same responsibility to stand together against it,” Orna Neutra, standing with her husband, Ronen, said from the podium at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas Thursday, a day before the world marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Ronen Neutra thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for getting the last of the Israeli hostages, both dead and alive, home from Gaza, as he earlier thanked former President Joe Biden when some of the hostages were released under his watch.
We are not political people,” Ronen told JNS after his convention speech. “The issue of hostages is a humanitarian issue, and from our perspective, we go everywhere. We are supporting any president and any congressman and any senator who understands that bringing back American hostages is a top priority.”
The Neutras, who live on Long Island, N.Y., work to keep their son’s memory alive along with that of many others. To that end, they continue to talk about Oct. 7.
“Omer was a leader, and by him moving to Israel, becoming an IDF soldier and taking responsibility, we understood that you have to step up,’’ Ronen told JNS. “Our responsibility right now is to tell his story, to tell what happened Oct. 7, and to make sure the young generation of Jewish and non-Jewish kids are inspired by his story. And we’ll continue the connection with Israel and the support of Israel, because Israel needs America and America needs Israel.”
One way they’re doing that is by pushing back at those who claim Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found a record low percentage of U.S. voters sympathizing with the Israelis over the Palestinians.
That’s because younger voters are siding with the Palestinians, Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy told JNS.
The Neutras are pushing back.
“We are pretty critical of the Israeli government ourselves. Obviously, we feel that they were responsible to some degree for the failure of Oct. 7, but from here to blame Israel for genocide and all kinds of crazy stuff like this, this is nothing but baloney,” Ronen told JNS.
“It is just poisoning our youth here in America, and we feel it is our job to some degree to tell the true story and remember who were the victims here and how just the war Israel conducted and how just the war America and Israel are conducting in Iran against the source of the evil. We have to tell that story and support politicians that are doing this fight.”
During her convention speech, Orna Neutra noted that Friday was the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
“We must ensure that the forces responsible for Oct. 7 can never again carry out such an attack,” she said. “Our prayer for this new year is for moral clarity—the courage to distinguish good from evil, those who protect life from those who destroy it. From that clarity, maybe find unity in defending freedom, protecting democracy, protecting life and standing for what’s right.”
