Speaking at the dedication ceremony of the Altneu synagogue in Manhattan, attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Witkoff shared his upcoming plans to visit Auschwitz before traveling to Israel.
Special Envoy to the Middle East @SteveWitkoff on the remaining hostages: "We got to get them all out"
While speaking at the opening of The Altneu Synogogue with Israel President @Isaac_Herzog pic.twitter.com/FjxbcYbmxz
— Alex Witkoff (@Alex_Witkoff) January 27, 2025
The envoy opened up about how his son's death from drug addiction in 2011 created a profound connection to the struggle of the hostages' families, including seven families who welcomed their daughters home last week after more than 450 days in captivity.
"I'm always comparing my family and what it went through when I lost my boy, Andrew, and what it must have been like for these families not knowing what was going to happen to their girls," he shared. "So when the president asked me to do this, I thought to myself, this will be the most worthy thing I could ever do in my life. Nothing else would matter beyond this."
Witkoff's special bond with Trump deepened following his son's death, with the president attending the funeral and offering support during that challenging time. "He knew... that I was a member of a very bad club, the club of parents who have buried a child. And there could be nothing worse than that — because we would all give our lives for our children," Witkoff reflected. During the Republican convention last July, he portrayed Trump as a "kind and compassionate."
The six-week ceasefire in Gaza, secured during the final days of the Biden administration with Witkoff's mediation, has been widely acclaimed as a significant diplomatic breakthrough. The parents of the four hostages released on Saturday – Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Naama Levy (20), and Daniella Gilboa (20) – expressed gratitude to Trump for his role in finalizing the deal.
According to a report on Forward, Witkoff revealed that the president "had tears in his eyes" upon seeing a photo of soldier Naama Levy holding a thank you sign for President Trump in the helicopter that brought her back to Israel.
