Former hostage Amit Sousanna receives prestigious US award

By Mike Wagenheim

(JNS) — Former hostage Amit Soussana was decorated with an International Women of Courage Award by the U.S. State Department on April 1 as she called for a global effort to free the remaining captives held in Gaza.

Soussana, who was sexually assaulted after being taken from her Kibbutz Kfar Aza home during Hamas’s rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was the only one of the eight award recipients asked to give a keynote speech.

“While I am here, my friends remain in the darkness, 543 long days and nights,” said Sousanna, who has advocated globally for the remainin...