A Shabbat table in Montreal has been set for 242 missing Israelis

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A Shabbat table with a white tablecloth, a challah, wine glasses and 242 empty seats was set up on the front lawn of the headquarters of Montreal’s Jewish community.

On each chair was a T-shirt with a printed face and the names and ages of each of the captives being held by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7. Several dozen stuffed animals were at the place settings of the children. The names of each of the hostages was broadcast on a loudspeaker.

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It has been nearly a month since Hamas raided Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking another 245 hostage. Three of those hostages have since been released, but hundreds more families have yet to be reunited with their loved ones. Yair Szlak, the president and CEO of Federation CJA, which speaks for Montreal’s Jewish community, called the situation a tragedy that all of humanity should be speaking out against.

“The Jewish tradition is to gather with family on Shabbat, and for the fourth Shabbat in a row, 242 innocent souls will not be spending Shabbat with their families,” Szlak said. Shabbat is the Jewish day of rest, or sabbath. “The world is not crying out to end this. That is the message we are giving out today, and we’re calling on our politicians and anyone who will listen to us to bring these hostages home as soon as possible.”

Szlak said the Jewish community has been shocked and saddened by the events of Oct. 7 and the war that broke out between Israel and Hamas, which has resulted in the loss of many lives on both sides of the conflict. But he said the hostages, who include children as young as nine months old, should be brought home as the first condition in any sort of cease of hostilities.

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In Montreal, he said there have been instances of Jewish people posting pictures on lampposts and walls of some of the hostages, only to have them taken down by opponents.

“There’s a feeling of mourning,” Szlak said. “We’re mourning 1,400 innocent lives who were butchered in the most barbaric ways, and we’re worried about 242 souls who are now captured and sitting hostage in bunkers in Gaza, and quite honestly, we are shocked at the reactions of those around us who are silent as people are tearing down posters of innocent children being held hostage by Hamas. And we’re scared, because who knows what this means for Jewish communities worldwide. The levels of antisemitism have reached an all-time high.”

He said he hopes those who pass by the installation will hear the cry for help from the Jewish community and amplify it.

As he spoke, he was overcome with emotion when he heard his first name called out on the loudspeaker, as one of the hostages shares his name.

Eta Yudin, the vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs — Quebec, said the path to peace isn’t a ceasefire, but the dismantling of Hamas.

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“They’re terrorizing two populations: the Israeli population and the Palestinian population,” she said. “Just yesterday, we heard a report of terrorists using 100 women and children as human shields. The path toward peace is to eliminate the terrorist threat, and to have Hamas surrender, put down their weapons, return the hostages and bring peace to the region.”

She added that she, too, is disappointed that there seems to be a lack of a global outcry for the hostages.

“I would love to see an outpouring of condemnation for what these terrorists are doing, and an international call to release these hostages,” she said. “This empty table is shocking: 242 seats that should be filled with people and is instead filled with pictures. We need to bring them home.”

The empty Shabbat table is one of many that was set up by Jewish communities around the world on Thursday. Others were set up in New York’s Times Square and the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C. Yudin said there will be more events held to advocate for those who are still missing.

jmagder@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jasonmagder

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