“He’s been getting stronger physically and mentally,” she said. “He has professional support and also spends time with friends who came back from college, and that helps him. He doesn’t talk much about what he went through, except with other former hostages. Sadly, he’s part of a group that endured the worst imaginable, but I’m glad he has them — they understand him better than anyone.”
Asked how captivity changed her son, she replied: “I don’t feel like it changed him, though I’m sure there are things he doesn’t share. He’s still very much Edan — full of humor and positivity. Even our first phone call, the one I dreamed of for 584 days, felt like we had just spoken yesterday. At home, I can’t stop hugging and kissing him. Sometimes, I apologize for being a clingy mom, but I just can’t help it.”
Edan Alexander vows to return to the IDF
(Video: FIDF)
Yael said she was caught off guard by his decision to re-enlist. “I didn’t expect it at all. But he’s happy with the choice, and if it came from him, I support it. I hope it will help with his emotional healing. He’s already signed with the IDF and knows which unit he’s returning to, though that’s not for publication. He feels a deep connection to Israel, he’s patriotic, caring and principled. After everything he went through, to make this decision shows he still believes the country can recover and grow.”
Still, she admitted, “It will be very hard for me to leave him in Israel and go back to New Jersey, but I have no choice. I need to take a deep breath and respect his decision.”
Her other children, she said, are unlikely to serve. “Mika is in her second year of college in the U.S., and Roi just started high school. It’s too early to say, but I don’t think they will join the army.”
In New Jersey, Edan has become something of a local figure. “Walking with him in New York or Miami is an experience. So many people recognize him and come up to say, ‘Welcome home.’ And it’s not just Jews, but Americans in general, which is not something to take for granted. Even when he’s not with me, people ask if I’m Edan’s mom. His story really touched people.”
The family’s town of Tenafly, N.J., went even further, announcing it would name a street after him. “We were very moved,” Yael said. “This morning, they’re holding the ceremony to unveil it, and the whole community will be there to honor him.”
Yael said she feared some negative reactions, but so far has only seen warmth. “Honestly, I worried about that, but Edan is so warm and good-natured — how could anyone say something bad to him? What happened wasn’t his fault. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
She admitted the rise of pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism in the U.S. has been painful. “It’s like a punch in the stomach. It keeps getting worse. To see Hamas flags everywhere — how did we get here? When we were fighting for Edan and went to Washington for meetings, people were outside the Israeli Embassy shouting ‘Free Palestine,’ ‘Genocide’ and other horrible things. It was extremely hard, especially when we were already so emotional.”
But she said the family does not plan to return to Israel permanently. “Our lives and our work are here. I don’t see that happening now.”
For now, she added, “There’s no real routine. Every time we try, something happens. We spent a long time in Israel in recovery and then were stuck because of the war with Iran. Recently, we went to Long Island for a ceremony honoring Lt. Omer Neutra, who was killed. Even if we want a normal life, it’s not possible. There are still precious people in captivity, and this isn’t over. I saw the families protesting in Jerusalem before Rosh Hashanah, with the sadness and despair in their eyes. It broke my heart. Enough is enough — everyone must be brought home now.”