WATCH: Arnold Schwarzenegger Meets Hostage Relatives, Shows His Support

CALIFORNIA (VINnews) — Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday met relatives of three hostages captured by Hamas and now being held in Gaza,

The former actor and GOP governor of California is hopefully leveraging his celebrity status to support those whose loved ones are still unaccounted for following the Hamas terror attack.

Declaring himself “a big friend of the Jewish people and Israel,” Schwarzenegger said he wanted to promote the message not to abandon those who remain captive.

Among those he met was Bar Rudaeff, 27, whose father Lior Rudaeff, 61, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak.

Schwarzenegger also met with Jacob Bohbot, 36, whose brother Elkana, 34, was kidnapped, and with Ella Shani, 14, whose cousin Amit Shani, 16, was kidnapped in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, taken to the Gaza Strip, and released Wednesday. Ella’s father, Itzik Kozin, was tragically and horrifically killed in the kibbutz attack.

Thank you @Schwarzenegger for meeting with the families of the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists.

You are a true friend. pic.twitter.com/xxqcTxkXzB

— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) December 2, 2023

Schwarzenegger gave token gifts to his visitors at a video production company in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles. They presented Schwarzenegger with “Bring Them Home” dog tags.

“This is where I come in because when you’re a celebrity, then you have a certain kind of a power to communicate to the mass because you have a lot of cameras show up,” said Schwarzenegger, who was governor from 2003 to 2011.

The meeting was arranged by the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.