President Trump must get off his lazy and fat ass and demand that Netanyahu free American hostage Sama Safi. Sama, a 20‑year‑old American citizen and honors psychology student at Birzeit University, was kidnapped by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from her family’s home near Ramallah at 3 a.m. on June 2.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D‑MD) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D‑MI) are warning that her life is at risk. Sama, whose family lives in Florida, was taken without charge and transferred to Ofer Prison, then to the Moscovia interrogation center in Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.
Her family says she has a chronic condition that causes fevers up to 105°F and requires daily medication and a quarterly injection she must travel abroad to receive. She was one of five Palestinian women detained that week, including two members of the Palestinian women’s national football team. The Israeli military claimed the women were suspected of “promoting terrorist activities.” Rep. Tlaib and Sen. Van Hollen have both demanded her release. “I am really sick and tired of the Israeli government taking American taxpayer dollars and then mistreating Americans,” Van Hollen said. Israel has not told her family or the U.S. Embassy where she is being held. Rep. Tlaib said, “Her life is at risk — our government must free her now!”
As an American, I am hopping mad to see my tax money support Israeli crimes against Palestinians and Lebanese — and now the kidnapping of a United States citizen. Read more about her case: https://freepress.org/article/israeli-forces-kidnap-4-college-students-including-1-american-birzeit-university.
Where are our Secretary of State and our “America First” President when you need them? Israel has clearly violated U.S. sovereignty by kidnapping a United States citizen. Unfortunately, the Trump administration doesn’t care about Sama because she’s not Snow White. Just look at his cabinet — it lacks diversity and representation.
President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are supposed to work for us, not for other countries or for AIPAC, which has lined their pockets with money. When an American citizen is taken hostage in a foreign land, their silence is tragic.
Shortly before assuming office for his second term, Trump threatened that if Israeli hostages held in Gaza were not released by January 20 — or if no hostage deal was reached by then — he would drop the “mother of all bombs” on Gaza, killing the remaining hostages and their guards.
Trump even ordered Steve Witkoff, his special envoy to the Middle East, to hold direct talks with Hamas — a group he labeled a “terror organization” — to secure the release of Edan Alexander, a 21‑year‑old Israeli‑American from Tenafly, New Jersey, who was freed on May 12, 2025. Alexander was serving with the IDF near the Gaza border when Hamas fighters captured him, armed and in uniform, on October 7, 2023.
President Trump skipped his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding to Bettina Anderson on May 21, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Florida, yet he found time to fly to Israel for a photo‑op with a freed Israeli‑American POW. What a shame — especially considering Alexander chose to serve in the IDF rather than enlist in the U.S. armed forces.
In a show of support for Prime Minister Netanyahu, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee attended a hearing at the Tel Aviv District Court for Netanyahu’s criminal trial, but he could not find time to inquire about or demand the immediate release of an American college student being held hostage. This is dereliction of duty, and Huckabee should be fired.
Even Israeli lawyer Ben Marmarelli showed more concern than U.S. officials when he stated on June 12 that Palestinian prisoners he represents beg him not to visit because they are raped each time, he is scheduled to meet them.
It is well‑documented that the IDF and Israeli police have been accused of torture and abuse. Most recently, last May, the IDF allegedly tortured, humiliated, and assaulted members of Western nations — including a U.S. citizen — who were kidnapped aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla for one long week. Sama has likely been subjected to similar abuse. Hopefully she is still alive.
The Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned Sama’s kidnapping by the IDF in the Israeli‑occupied West Bank and urged its members to call their Representatives in Congress to demand her immediate release. This is despicable. This is un‑American. Patriotic Americans should be roaring in anger.
US Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) tweeted, "The US must secure her release & demand accountability from the Israeli government."
If this had happened to Israeli students, the whole world would faint. It is sad that the Trump administration appears to value Black, brown, and Palestinian lives less than their Israeli counterparts. This is fueled by hasbara and anti‑Palestinian racism fed to the American people on a daily basis. This is what hypocrisy and double standards look like.
Mahmoud El‑Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com
