The father of a 20-year-old Israeli being held hostage by Hamas is protesting Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. - he's speaking with local faith leaders here in Los Angeles.
KNX News' Nataly Tavidian reports that Yehuda Cohen, father of Nimrod, who just turned 20 years old in Hamas captivity, has been on a mission to protest Netanyahu wherever he goes looking for support for the war in Gaza.
Cohen represents a group of hostage family members who say the Prime Minister of Israel is sabotaging truce deals that would bring their loved ones home.
While visiting Stephen Wise Temple in Bel Air to share his son's story Cohen had some sharp words to say about Netanyahu's address to Congress.
"I didn't expect any real message... By the way, I didn't hear it. I can't hear it. I didn't want to hear it. I despise him," Cohen said.
He said he knew the message would only be in service of Netanyahu and not the people he is meant to serve.
"Netanyahu has only one aim and it's his personal survival as a Prime Minister in general and his personal survival as a free man in particular -
you know, he's on trial," said Cohen.
He's sharing his son's story with Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback on his podcast, Search For Meaning, so that more people can hear the story.
Rabbi Zweiback said, "I want your heart to open when you think about what a father and a mother are going through right now, and just to have that kind of empathy. And the thing I always remind people about empathy as a rabbi is that it's not a zero-sum game. We can have empathy for Yehuda and for his son, Nimrod, and we can also have empathy for innocents who are suffering in the midst of a terrible conflict that they didn't themselves cause we can; we can hold space for both of those emotions."
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Cohen says that the one message he is working to get out there is that everything starts with a hostage deal and a cease-fire - that's the only reason he is out here.
He tells KNX News that after his visit to L.A., his final stop will be Boston before he heads back home.
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