Omer Neutra’s parents reflect on 9/11, October 7 and the fight against terrorism
'Orna was pregnant with Omer during 9/11,' Ronen said, '25 years later, we found ourselves losing our son'
Two years ago Ronen and Orna Neutra stood before the Republican National Convention and asked then-former US President Donald Trump to bring their son Capt. Omer Neutra home from captivity in Gaza.
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, they intend to speak again. i24NEWS spoke to the couple on Thursday afternoon.
They said, "The world has lost some of its moral compass" and that international "moral clarity" over terrorism has eroded since October 7. However, they said they were there to spread a message of unity and togetherness, not division.
Ronen explained why they had chosen to speak on the anniversary of 9/11.
"Orna was pregnant with Omer during 9/11," Ronen said. "She had to cross the bridge while nine month's pregnant, and we had to save him at that time."
Ronen continued,"25 years later, we found ourselves losing our son, who was a hero who fought on the border, trying to save the kibbutzim."
"It all connects with radical Islam and their desire to take over the free world and influence our lives wherever we are," Ronen said.
"It's all interconnected. We should never forget that."
They praised President Trump for bringing back every hostage and ensuring that no one was left behind. "He's proud of the fact that he was able to bring back all the hostages."
The pair also reiterated calls for an investigation into the failures surrounding October 7, saying, "Our interest is obviously to avoid another October 7 in Israel. So we are calling for a thorough investigation of what happened there, taking responsibility and making sure it will never happen again on Israeli soil and families won't have to go through what we went through for over two years."