On Saturday morning, 18-year-old Roni Sharabani, a recent graduate who lives in the central Israeli city of Herzliya, was texting as usual with her best friend, 17-year-old Israeli-American Natalie Raanan. The two had just returned from a trip to Italy together, and Natalie had rejoined her family at a kibbutz in the nation’s south.
At 11 a.m. — about three hours after the air raid sirens began sounding in Jerusalem and the world realized that an attack of unprecedented scope was underway — the text messages stopped. Raanan’s father texted Sharabani that Raanan’s grandmother had seen her and her mother being led away by militants. Nearly a week later, that’s all the information they have. They believe that Raanan and her mother are among some 150 hostages being held by the Hamas militant group, which launched the stunning weekend attack.
VOA’s Anita Powell spoke to Sharabani, who in 11 months will report for her mandatory service with the Israel Defense Forces.
Q: Can you tell us what you know about Natalie's situation?
A: Her last texts were overwhelming, that her mom's bedroom was bombed. But she said that her mom was OK. But ever since 11 a.m. I didn't hear from her, and, like, nobody heard from her. …. We don't know her current state. We don't know if she's actually, like, fine right now. And we're still waiting for any updates.
Q: That must be really difficult for you to deal with day to day.
A: On Sunday, I woke up and I hoped to hear some good news, and it was the complete opposite. My mom came to my room crying, and I started crying, too. And every, every day since then is just a nightmare that just kept going. My mom is going through, like, a really tough time right now. Natalie is my childhood best friend. It's really difficult for the both of us.
Q: If you could give a message to Natalie, what would you say?
A: I just want her to know that she's one of the most important people in my life. Like, ever. And I love her so much and that I'm praying for her and for everyone right now, but especially for her and her mother because she means so much to me. Ever since she came to Israel, I’ve realized that more and more. I just want to let her know that she has me for life.
Q: What would you like to see the leadership do? Do you have any recommendations for President Biden or Prime Minister Netanyahu about the hostage situation?
A: I understand that this is a war. But they need to understand that there are so many people — like I think 150 people — we don’t know what's happening to them. Nobody knows what's happening to them. And I think they need to take this more seriously. I think they need to, like, bring them back as soon as possible. It's been like a couple of days, and we have no updates. This is not OK.
Q: Next September you report for mandatory military duty. Do you feel differently about that today than you did last month?
A: My country needs a military now more than ever, and I think I'll be willing to go in and serve. It's just really scary, but it doesn't change my opinion.
Q: What future do you want for Israel and the next generation of people there?
A: We were born here. We're proud Jewish people. And we want to defend our country. … Of course, like, the normal answer is that I want peace, but it's not that easy. I don't know what's going to happen in the upcoming days. The innocent ones in in Gaza, the Palestinians, I don't want them to die, no innocents should die no matter what. But on the other side, I live in Israel and I want Israel to have a good future. I want the next generation to feel, like, proud to be a Jew and not scared. Right now, a lot of people are scared. I just want my country to keep staying strong and become even stronger.
Q: Is it meaningful to you that President Biden is so firm in his support for Israel?
A: I saw the speech and I felt, like, it was a really good feeling. I think Biden really showed his support to Israel. I really appreciate it. That means a lot to me and to my family and to all of the Israelis in the world right now. It's good to know that America has our back right now.
Q: How do you feel about what we're hearing from Prime Minister Netanyahu?
A: I kind of relate to the fury right now and the anger and the confusion and everything. I don't really want to get into politics, but I never really liked Netanyahu. I just kind of feel, like, that he's not with us. Like Biden's speech, like, I don't know how to explain it — it was, like, I really felt his, like, emotions going through it. I feel like our prime minister is, like, not even close to showing as much emotion right now. Especially when we need it right now. It's just been a roller coaster of emotions this week, and it's really hard to think straight at this point.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say about how young people feel in this moment?
A: As Israeli students, like, in history classes we were always studying wars. And it's just crazy to me that we're going for one right now. Like, I can't even process it. It's just, it's crazy, the whole situation. Ever since Natalie came here with her mother, me and my mom were, like, the happiest people alive. Like, they were our everything, they were our, like, best friends. I just want them to be OK. They don't deserve this.
