Dear John,

We are overjoyed that the remaining living hostages have been freed and back home in Israel. It is a time to exhale and exult.

WATCH: Beautiful moments as hostages reunite with loved ones. Images courtesy of Israeli government.

Seeing the videos and pictures of the reunification of the hostages with their loved ones is a moment the people of Israel and Jews around the world have been anxiously awaiting for two years. At the same time, we anxiously await the return of the bodies of all the hostages from Gaza and join with the families of those murdered hostages in their grief and sorrow as they prepare to say goodbye to their loved ones.

And we will never forget 10/7 — the deceased, the toll on the families of those killed, wounded or held captive, and the impact on all of Israel and indeed all Jews worldwide.

We are incredibly grateful to all parties who worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. We thank President Trump and his Administration, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Israeli and Arab leaders from across the region, U.S. political leaders on all levels of government and so many other voices for their efforts and commitment to bringing home the hostages and ending the war. We particularly express our appreciation and admiration for the tireless work of the families of those held captive and those who supported that advocacy, notably the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Indeed, my encounters with these families have been among the most devastating, emotional, yet inspiring times over these very tough two years.

We are proud of all that the ADL community has done as part of this fight to bring them home. ADL worked tirelessly through public and private advocacy to help ensure that the hostages remained front of mind for world leaders and the international community and to ensure that all possible levers were utilized to push for their release.

We hope the ceasefire and release of the hostages brings closure to the people of Israel, allowing them to begin healing and returning to a sense of normalcy. We also hope this moment provides the people of Gaza the opportunity to restart and rebuild their lives free from Hamas.

At the same time, we must not be naive and assume all will return back to “normal.”

We are still waiting to see the return of the slain hostages; we will not stop until each and every one of them is returned for proper burial. Israel still faces many challenging security threats, from Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, to frequent missile attacks from the Houthis in Yemen and the multitude of ongoing threats posed by the Iranian regime.

Here in the United States and in Jewish communities around the world, we are experiencing the most significant spike in antisemitism since WWII. There is much work that needs to be done before the people of Israel and Jews around the world can feel safe again.

But for today we hug, we rejoice and we feel resilience and relief along with everyone in Israel and around the world who has spoken out for the freedom of the hostages and an end to the suffering of all of the innocent.

Am Yisrael chai.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Greenblatt

CEO and National Director

ADL