Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Orna and Ronen Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, a tank platoon commander who was killed on October 7, 2023, his body taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.
The Neutras, Israeli-born Americans who have been living in the US for the last 20 years, talk about the last days since the start of the ceasefire, the joyous return home of 20 living hostages, as the bodies of 13 hostages are still held in Gaza.
Orna Neutra discusses how they knew they would never hug their son again, but how difficult it is to reconcile his death until they can bury his body.
Ronen Neutra offers more details about October 7, 2023, his son's heroic final moments as a commander on the so-called White House IDF post near the Gaza border.
The Neutras discuss their alliance with both the Biden and Trump administrations over the last two years, their more than 40 visits to Washington, DC, and how each US administration embraced the hostage families.
Yet, says Orna Neutra, there is still the challenge of explaining that a deceased hostage is still a hostage, and can't remain in Gaza.
Ronen Neutra talks about the gray zones of the ceasefire agreement concerning the deceased hostages, and how this war is not over until the last hostage is back.
And so this week, we ask Orna and Ronen Neutra, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.
IMAGE: Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, killed on October 7, 2023, his body still held in Gaza, at the October 18, 2025 rally at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square (Tzachi Dovrat/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
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