Tapper to Israeli Hostage’s Mother: ‘I Wish I Had Words to Console You’

Monday on CNN’s “The Lead,” anchor Jake Tapper got emotional attempting to comfort Orit Meir, whose son, Almog Meir, has been taken hostage by Hamas.

Tapper said, “Almog Meir went to the Nova music festival in Israel to celebrate a big job. At 7:45 Saturday morning he called his mom to say the party stopped because there was shooting all over. He said he would update her with more information and he loved her. That was his last phone call to her. He was abducted and kidnapped by Hamas.”

Meir said, “You can’t imagine how I suffer. I feel that my life is over. It’s like a hole in my heart, and everyone in my family, we don’t know what to do. We decided that we want everyone to know about our story. It gives me power, my son, to go to everywhere I can to talk about it and that everyone knows how they behave.”

Breaking down, she continued, “What can I say? It’s so hard for me that he is there, that he’s kidnapped. I’m afraid to think what is going on.”

Tapper said, “I wish I had words to console you.”

While crying, Meir said, “I want my son back. I want him back.”

Tapper said, “I know, I know.”

Meir said, “I ask international community to bring Almog and all the hostages home today. That’s what I want now.”

Tapper said, “I think there’s nothing else to say, bring the hostages home now. that’s exactly right. that’s exactly right. that is the message, and that is the only sane, the only sane thing to say, bring the hostages home now.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN