Time is running out for mother desperate to hug Chinese-Israeli hostage in Gaza
- Liora Argamani is battling terminal illness as she pleads with international leaders and China’s online community for support
- Academics and people with China connections in Israel are also lobbying for the return of 24-year-old Noa Argamani, captured by Hamas on October 7
Just 10 attended a second demonstration, but while the group is small, it is determined to keep drawing attention to her case in the area outside the city’s Museum of Art that since the October 7 attack has become known as “hostages square”.
Argamani’s mother, Liora, was born Chong Hong Lee in Wuhan, Hubei province, in central China. She met her husband Yaakov in Israel, while attending a professional training programme in 1994 and no longer holds Chinese citizenship.
Rallying the Chinese-Israeli community to gather regularly has not been easy, according to Taili He-Brenners, a 27-year-old Chinese-Israeli who answered a call to action on a group chat to demonstrate in support of Argamani and her family.
He-Brenners, who has regularly turned up to the demonstrations, said she felt an immediate connection to Argamani, whose case revived memories of the pandemic when she sometimes felt “cast out” as an Asian in Israeli society.
