At 4 a.m. on Friday morning, Noa Argamani was joined by a small group of family members and families of other hostages being held by terrorists in Gaza to pray at the Ohel in Queens, N.Y., the resting place of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
The former hostage, who was rescued from Gaza in a daring raid by Israeli security forces on June 8, prayed at the sacred site and extended her thanks for her own freedom, praying for the safe return of the more than 100 men, women and children still held in captivity. Together with the customary note left at the Ohel, Argamani placed photos of hostages and their names there.
She then joined Rabbi Mendel Fogelman, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Central Massachusetts, and partner in Chabad Youth Organization of Israel’s Terror Victims Project, on a visit to 770, the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. There, the Argamanis visited and prayed in the synagogue that is in the Rebbe’s office.
Argamani, 26, was abducted by Hamas terrorists during the Re’im music festival massacre on Oct. 7. Images and videos of her—some of the first released by Hamas on that day—pleading to her captors from the back of a motorcycle, her arm extended in hope and screaming “don’t kill me,” were some of the first markers of the brutality that would await the hostages.
She was reaching out to Avinatan Or, 31, who was also kidnapped on that day. He is still held in captivity in Gaza.
In November, Noa’s father, Yaakov, joined 170 other family members of hostages in a visit to New York to pray at the Rebbe’s Ohel. Organized by the Terror Victims Project of the Chabad Youth Organization, the flight was chartered for the sole reason of bringing family members to pray for a miracle at the holy site.
Yaakov prayed for his daughter’s release and was seen clutching a picture of his daughter bearing the words “bring her home now.”
At the time, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky—a member of the Rebbe’s secretariat and chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch and Machne Yisrael, Chabad’s respective educational and social-services arms—addressed the crowd with words of hope.
“Our days and our nights are focused in prayer, demanding that your loved ones—our loved ones—come home to you safe and sound, physically and spiritually,” Krinsky said.
At that point, Yaakov didn’t even know if his daughter was alive.
Confirmation of Noa’s state eventually became clearer when she appeared in a video of the hostages released by Hamas in January. But it wasn’t until June 8—245 days after she was taken into captivity—that Argamani and three other hostages were rescued from Gaza in a joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet and the Israeli Police.
Noa’s mother, Liora, who was terminally ill and had expressed her last wish was to see her daughter, was there to welcome back her daughter. She died three weeks later.
According to the Israeli government, 120 hostages still remain kidnapped in Gaza.
For a complete list of their names and to say a prayer for their safe return, visit: Chabad.org/Hostages.
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