MPs hail ‘extraordinary strength and resolve’ of hostage families in Commons debate
Jon Pearce MP, who secured Monday's debate, leads the praise for Mandy Damari, mother of British citizen Emily, who is among those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza
MPs have paid tribute to the remarkable strength and resolve of the families of hostages still held captive by Hamas after noting a speech given at the weekend by a British mother of one of those kidnapped.
In a Commons debate, held on the first anniversary of the October 7 atrocity, Jon Pearce MP said he had spoken with Mandy Damari who had made clear her daughter’s status as a British citizen.
Like the rest of the families struggling with the ordeal of having relatives held captive, Pearce, the parliamentary chair of the Labour Friends of Israel group said their “strength and resolve is extraordinary and empowers all the rest of us.”
Dame Siobhain McDonagh added: “I too had the opportunity to meet Mandy Damari, who wanted our Government to acknowledge that her daughter Emily is a British citizen and requires the support of her Government to do everything they can to allow for her release as a hostage.”
Mandy Damari, mum of 28-year-old Emily, had bravely spoken at Sunday’s event in Hyde Park, organised by the Board of Deputies and other communal groups.
In a debate dominated by contributions from Labour MPs, Jim Shannon of the DUP, hailed “the bravery, the courage and the determination of those families” fighting for the release of the hostages.
Pearce noted: “There are four other individuals being held hostage who are connected to Britain, and they also need to come home as soon as possible.”
While long-time LFI supporter Sharon Hodgson MP added: “I listened to Emily Damari’s mum Mandy at the memorial in Hyde park yesterday, pleading with us all who were present to do something to help her daughter.
“As a mum to an Emily, who is exactly the same age as her Emily will be now, I am here tonight to ask if my hon. friend will join me in pleading with the Minister and our Government to work night and day to ensure that Emily and the other 100 hostages still being held in unimaginable horror in Gaza are released as soon as humanly possible.”
Responding for the government, foreign office minister Stephen Doughty said: “I reiterate that we will continue to use every diplomatic lever to bring that about and secure the release of hostages in coordination with our partners. We all want to see them brought home.”
Also in Monday night’s debate Luke Akehurst told the House:”One of the tragic ironies is that this was an attack on communities that were almost all kibbutzim and moshavim.
“These were idealistic communities founded on a co-operative ethos, the residents of which practised what they preached about co-existence and peace. I visited such communities in peacetime. They are bucolic and idealistic.
“The people there spoke about sending money across the border to people they knew in Gaza through third countries, in order to support them. They organised transport to hospitals for people from Gaza. ”
Pearce later noted: “I am sure that the whole House will join me in saying that we stand with and by our Jewish fellow citizens in the face of this hatred.
“The 7 October atrocities showed humanity at its worst, exposing once again what Holocaust survivor Sam Kaltman termed the thin and fragile “veneer of civilisation”. But, as the late Martin Gilbert argued, even on the darkest days there are sparks of light.”
Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson told MPs: “It is worth pausing to reflect on the fact that the atrocity was so bad and so many people lost their lives at the hands of Hamas because Hamas intended for that to be the case.
“In the year that has followed, so many innocent people have lost their lives, suffered and been displaced.”
He urged all in the House to condemn Hamas “and its evil actions, which took place on 7 October.”
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