Ted Budd, Thom Tillis invite family of North Carolinan held hostage to State of the Union Address
On Tuesday, Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) said he and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) invited the family of Keith Siegel, a North Carolina native and Hamas hostage, to be their guests at the State of the Union Address, to be delivered by President Joe Biden on Thursday night.
According to representatives from Budd, Siegel’s niece and sister Lucy accepted the invitation.
Siegel is one of six Americans being held hostage by Hamas amid the group's ongoing war with Israel.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked the southern border of Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages.
“The American people cannot forget that six of our fellow citizens are being held hostage by Hamas terrorists for more than 150 days,” Budd said in a statement.
Budd has pushed for the release of Siegel in the months since the war began. During a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in November, Hamas released Siegel’s wife, Adrienne "Aviva" Siegel, of Chapel Hill.
“While it is a great relief that Aviva has been released, we are still working to secure Keith’s freedom from Hamas captivity,” Tillis said in a statement.
Calls for a ceasefire have been growing across the Triangle. In February, Durham City Council approved a ceasefire resolution.
On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris said called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of all hostages.
President Biden said he is optimistic a six-week ceasefire will get done in the coming weeks, but representatives from both Israel and Hamas said the statement was premature.
The State of the Union Address airs at 9 p.m. on NBC.
