KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

Hope and healing, that’s how advocates are describing this moment, as twenty Israeli hostages are finally back home after more than two years in captivity.

“I see with my own eyes that they're with their families, that they're with the medical staff,” said Neta Meltzer, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau. Advertisement

The return of the living hostages marks a rare moment of peace, however fragile, after years of pain and loss.

“I think there's so much rebuilding to do,” Meltzer said. “There's so much reflecting to do. And it requires all parties."

For Thomas Becker, a Kansas City native and human rights attorney, peace in the Middle East has always been complicated.

Becker was aboard a humanitarian ship called Conscience on the same day a

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