An Israeli soldier ran the New York City Marathon on Sunday alongside scores of others to support the Israeli hostages, yelling, “Bring them home, friends!” after crossing the finish line.
Artum Zahavi, 40, was one of 150 runners who took to the Big Apple’s streets as part of a group arranged by Bring Them Home Now, a volunteer organization focused on returning the dozens of remaining hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel.
As a member of the Israel Defense Force, Zahavi could not directly speak to the media.
But as he headed for the welcoming embrace of flag-waving supporters near the finish line close to Columbus Circle in Manhattan on Sunday, he remarked that it was a “crazy marathon.
“It’s all crazy,” he said, before yelling, “Bring them home, friends!” into the din.
The crowd followed his lead and began chanting “Bring them home!” in Hebrew.
Organizer Dana Cwaigrach told The Post that the marathon group was formed in honor of five hostages for whom running was a passion: Naama Levy, Doron Steinbacher, Evyatar David, Ohad Yahalomi and Edan Alexander.
Alexander’s family, which lives in New Jersey, helped put together the supportive rally, hoping their son will one day be returned to them.
They handed out flags and signs to the spectators and cheered as sympathic roadrunners pounded the pavement in “Run for their lives” shirts.
“We are here to cheer [the runners] on and raise awareness for the hostages in captivity,” Cwaigrach said.
One of the group’s supporters, a 32-year-old woman named Sarah, said she thought it was important that citizens come out for the hostages.
“A lot of the pictures of the hostages here are those who were runners themselves,” she said. “It could’ve been you — like these are people that share common experiences with you, common hobbies. This is a civilian who’s been kidnapped for doing nothing.
“There are political tensions, sure,” the Upper West Sider continued. “But there are political tensions between many countries — you shouldn’t just go kidnap civilians.”
