HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A South Florida family is thankful for their 13-year-old relative to have been released by Hamas, but they are still hoping for the release of the girl’s mother who was also taken in Israel on Oct. 7.
Samantha Lerman, whose husband’s family has been held hostage by Hamas, said Hila Rotem recently celebrated her 13th birthday without her mother, Ryaa.
Video taken at an Israeli hospital shows Hila being given a cake and blowing out the candles.
“Her mother said in captivity, ‘When we get out, I promise I’ll bake you your biscuit cake,’” Lerman said. “So release her -- let her make her daughter a cake.”
Relatives said the mother and daughter were kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 and were separated two days before Hila’s release.
“Kidnapped, held hostage and then, on top of it, to be separated -- this is psychological warfare,” Lerman said. “I could never imagine the pain they are going through.”
Ryaa is still being held by Hamas. Nir Lerman is her cousin and lives in Broward County.
“She was very close (with her daughter). This is her only child,” Nir Lerman said.
“His grandparents are survivors -- Ryan’s grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and survived to then be taken by Hamas,” Samantha Lerman said.
Hila’s family baked her a cake as a symbol that there will be better days -- a day when she can be reunited with her mother and when all families can be whole again.
“It is unacceptable in 2023 -- the rise in anti-Semitism, the hate in this world -- we shouldn’t have this anymore,” Samantha Lerman said.