After graduating from Tenafly High School, a Jewish American young man left his home in Tenafly, NJ and made the courageous decision to volunteer for the Israeli Defense Force in 2022. On Oct. 7, 2023, this 21 year old was patrolling his base when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists. Over 500 days later, he has yet to make it out of the underground tunnels where he is being held. As tensions in Israel and Gaza heighten once again, his fate – along with the fate of 59 other hostages still in captivity – remains uncertain.
For many, this story may be unfamiliar. If that’s the case, this young man’s name is Edan Alexander, and he deserves our support. Tenafly is less than an hour away from Westfield, yet the fight for his return home is muffled by the distance between our two towns.
He is a young man close to our own age, not only from our own nation, but our own state. Edan Alexander should be a household name at this point, especially within New Jersey. However, it unfortunately does not surprise us that Alexander’s story isn’t being told or heard.
As we sadly remember, hostage posters were ripped down in our community of Westfield within weeks of being put up.
The faces of Alexander and other hostages were torn apart and vandalized, serving as a visual display of our community’s apathy toward the hostages being held in Gaza.
It is so easy to get caught up in our own world, but desensitization and lack of community is something we must actively fight against. Just a short drive north from our homes, there is a family desperately waiting for their loved one to return. Each day, they wake up not knowing whether today will be the best or worst day of their lives.
According to interviews from northjersey.com and AP News, the Alexander family is urging policy makers to do everything they can and focus on bringing him home — the last remaining American hostage in Gaza.
This is something we, as a town, can help with. Urging elected officials to ramp up pressure against Hamas is the most effective way for our community to support the cause. This starts by understanding Alexander and his story.
Leslie Klieger • Apr 10, 2025 at 9:18 pm
Thank you for bringing Edam’s story to the Westfield high school community!
Bill • Apr 6, 2025 at 1:41 pm
I think of this young man, his family, his friends, loved ones all of the people in his and my home town of Tenafly each day since his captivity began. I cannot imagine the horrible pain he and all are experiencing praying and waiting for his safe return. I also look to each new day and wonder if today maybe the day he can finally come home.