Thursday, October 1, 2026
Rep. Tom Suozzi announced that Ronen Neutra, a Plainview resident and father of slain Israeli Defense Forces soldier Omer Neutra, will be his guest at President Donald Trump’s Joint Congressional Address on Tuesday.
“With so much going on, we cannot forget that our local resident, Omer Neutra, was murdered, and his body is still being held hostage by Hamas,” Suozzi said.
Neutra, who grew up in Plainview and attended The Solomon Schechter School of Long Island, was serving as an IDF tank commander near the Gaza border when he was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Until December 2024, it was believed that he had been captured alive, but Israeli officials later confirmed his death. His body remains in Gaza.
Suozzi previously met with Neutra’s parents, Ronen and Orna, in Tel Aviv in December 2023 and invited them to President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union address last year.
“I had forgotten that I had met Omer and his brother, Daniel, when they were in school,” Suozzi said. “After I met their parents in Israel in 2023, they sent me this photo.”
The congressman emphasized the importance of securing the return of hostages taken during the attack.
“It has been 17 long months since Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel,” Suozzi said. “Everything possible must be done to get all the hostages home, so those who are alive may return to their families and so those who were killed can be laid to rest in dignity.”
