Joe Biden has been claiming credit for the release of the hostages who were held by Hamas and have been released so far. It’s hard to know exactly what role he played, if any, given his history for puffery. As we’ve noted, Biden has somehow managed to achieve more and varied things than Forrest Gump. At least in his mind. But whatever the story, it’s great that some are now getting out from the clutches of the terrorists. However, so far, only one American hostage has been released, four-year-old Avigail (Abigail) Idan.
I wrote about how Biden made the announcement that little Avigail had been released. His statement started out good but then turned a bit creepy when he talked about wanting to hold the child.
You may be able to pick up an interesting connection between Biden and this CBS description that Townhall, our sister website, picked up.
Abigail “has been through a terrible experience,” said Mr. Biden, who added that she was now in Israel. Hamas militants shot and killed the child’s mother in front of Abigail, before shooting down her father while he was shielding Abigail. Biden stated that Abigail ran to her neighbors for assistance.
He said, “What she went through is unimaginable.”
In a Sunday statement, Abigail’s cousin Noa Naftali and Abigail’s great-aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali said, “We prayed and hoped today would arrive.” We are grateful and relieved that Abigail will be safe and return home.
If “Liz Hirsh Naftali’ sounds familiar to you, it probably should.
Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali has been identified as a buyer of Hunter Biden’s art.
She is a Los Angeles-based real estate investor and philanthropist who has been influential in California Democratic circles. She also donated money to Joe Biden. Biden also gave her a plum position.
Naftali’s appointment to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad was made in July 2022 – eight months after Hunter’s first art exhibition. The purchase date is not known — it’s unclear if the purchase took place before or after the appointment.
As I said at the time:
Hunter Biden had privately expressed the desire to seat friends on the commission. Eric Schwerin was Hunter Biden’s longtime business partner and was appointed to the same position by President Barack Obama.
I explained how the House Oversight Committee wanted information from Naftali. The Committee has issued a subpoena to her. We will need to wait and see what she says to the Committee.
About ten Americans are still being held, hostage. Biden said he did not know the status of Avigail when he spoke about her. John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said that some hostages may have been moved to “other groups.” We previously reported that the Israeli hostages, Kfir Bibas (10 years old) and Ariel (4 years old), had been transferred to a terrorist group who were allegedly refusing to release them.
