Buffalo attorney's family vacation in Israel coincides with history again

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo attorney who found himself in Israel for the start of the war while on a family vacation is now back there on another vacation, in the middle of history yet again.

Steven Cohen, a prominent civil rights attorney from Western New York, was in Israel on a family vacation when the attacks occurred at the Nova Music Festival on Oct., 7, 2023. Over 1,200 people were killed and hundreds more were kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas, an Islamic political and militant organization that governed Gaza.

As for Cohen and his family, what happened that day is something they'll never forget.

"We're walking in the Port of Jaffa and we're seeing missiles exploding overheard," Cohen said. "We stayed out in this for over an hour and by the time we got back to our hotel, we were ushered into the bomb shelter in the hotel ... It was absolutely traumatic to hear bombs bursting outside of our hotel."

Cohen and his wife have now returned to the country two years later, on another vacation that now coincides with the historic ceasefire agreement and Hamas's release of the hostages.

While in Tel Aviv on their latest trip, Cohen and his wife Pam visited Hostage Square, a central site in the city where the hostages' families have long gathered to support each other and rally for their release of their loved ones.

"We got to see the families of the hostages who were praying for the return of their families," Cohen said. "There's an enormous clock in Hostage Square that was counting the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds since these hostages were taken."

Some of the families they met at Hostage Square were hopeful and relieved by the news that their loved ones would soon be coming home, but there were others that Cohen says felt differently.

"We met people who were waiting for the remains," Cohen said. "People who knew their loved ones, their children, their siblings, their parents, were killed by Hamas. They knew that they would only be getting bones back."

Whether or not this results in lasting peace remains to be seen; however, Cohen feels it's a first step in the right direction.

Cohen and Pam are still in Israel on vacation, hoping these latest developments result in a permanent end to the war.