Father of Youngest Oct. 7 Hostage Shares Vision for Israel

Ruby Chen, whose 19-year-old son Itay Chen was murdered while serving in the Israeli military during Hamas’s cross-border assault, is channeling his grief into advocacy for broader normalization between Israel and its Arab neighbors, according to Mike Brest writing in Washington Examiner.

Itay Chen was among 46 Americans killed in the deadliest attack in Israeli history. Hamas seized his body and transported it to Gaza, only returning his remains in November 2025.

The bereaved father now questions the meaning of his son’s sacrifice if it merely delays the next wave of violence by another five to ten years. He wants something more substantial—a fundamental transformation of the security landscape that has claimed so many Israeli lives over eight decades of conflict.

Middle East Legacy Initiative Targets Abraham Accords Expansion

Chen has established the Middle East Legacy Initiative with the explicit goal of expanding the Abraham Accords, President Donald Trump’s signature first-term foreign policy achievement that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. During his second term, Trump added Kazakhstan to the accords.

The initiative focuses on strengthening the United States-Israel relationship through economic prosperity rather than aid dependency, while simultaneously working to secure Israel’s long-term security through regional integration and normalized relations.

Chen, who describes himself as an ordinary father thrust into the unfamiliar terrain of Washington politics through his family’s hostage advocacy work, believes the majority of Israelis support normalization with neighboring Arab states, including Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Normalization Remains Key Objective

The Biden administration had been pursuing an Israeli-Saudi normalization agreement prior to October 7, 2023—precisely the outcome Hamas and its Iranian backers sought to prevent through their terrorist assault.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has actively sought to expand the accords, though progress has been measured. In May, he stated he was demanding multiple Arab nations join the framework as part of negotiations related to the regional conflict.

Last month, Trump signed a multibillion-dollar nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, currently under congressional review. The president has explicitly tied American nuclear cooperation with the kingdom to Saudi participation in the Abraham Accords.

Personal Connection to Late Senator Graham

Chen was in Washington last week to attend memorial services for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, with whom he had developed a close relationship during his frequent trips to the capital advocating for greater American efforts to secure hostage releases.

The two men first met approximately one week after October 7, when Graham and other lawmakers, including then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, traveled to Israel following the attacks. Chen immediately recognized Graham’s compassion and genuine concern for the hostage situation.

Graham subsequently invited Chen to attend then-President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address as his guest.

Chen argues that Trump possesses unique political capital and a distinctive window of opportunity to create a lasting legacy that benefits Israel, Arab nations in the region, and prevents future tragedies like the one that devastated his own family.

With information from Washington Examiner