Zvika Mor, father of Eitan, a hostage currently held by Hamas in Gaza, described how their story brought many US politicians to tears.

Mor traveled with others as part of Knesset speaker Amir Ohana’s delegation to Washington, DC after the speaker was invited by Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Other members of the delegation included Thomas Hand, father of freed hostage 9-year-old Emily Hand, Ali Zedan from Rahat, who welcomed two of his family members after they were released but whose brother and nephew are hostages and Eyal Gonen, father of hostage Romi Gonen and Eyal’s wife Meital.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Mor described a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy commemorating four months since October 7th followed by a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Mor said, “We believed that if they heard the stories firsthand, they would be more attentive to our pain. This is really what happened.”

When the families told their stories in detail and talked about what it’s like for the hostages in the tunnels, being held in the dark underground with hardly any food, “Johnson was tearing and he was not the only one,” Mor said.

He continued, “I told them that they must stand by us because these barbarians are also on their way (to America).”

Zvika Mor said he believed US lawmakers are beginning to understand this, “They see that Europe is already full of Muslims, and there is a pro-Palestinian demonstration every week in Washington. So, they feel it.”

When he was talking to US lawmakers, Zvika Mor said he used language to convey the extent of the atrocities, and as a result, many were in tears “even the journalists,” Mor said.

“At two press conferences held in Congress, no one could ignore the personal dimension and how deeply emotions were touched,” he said.