I feel the pain of the families of the hostages and want to show my support,” said Shira Goldstein, a New York resident who has been wearing a dog tag since October. “But I also wear it with a sense of frustration at the Israeli government’s handling of the situation. It’s a complex emotion, but wearing this necklace helps me process it.”
As the war continues and efforts to secure a ceasefire intensify, the divide between American Jews and Israelis on the issue of the hostages remains, with each group interpreting the situation through its own lens. The dog tags, worn as symbols of solidarity and remembrance, serve as a reminder of the complexities and contradictions within the Jewish community as it grapples with the ongoing crisis.
Ultimately, the hope of both American Jews and Israelis is the same: to see the safe return of the hostages and an end to the war that has torn apart families and communities. The journey towards that goal may be fraught with challenges and disagreements, but the unwavering commitment to bringing the hostages home remains a unifying force in a time of great turmoil.
could see that it is possible to support peace and advocate for the hostages’ release at the same time. These are not mutually exclusive goals.”
Regenerate understood that a ceasefire and bringing home the hostages are actually the same things. They’re not different sides.”
Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza outside the Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
In Washington, D.C., since shortly after the Hamas attacks, about 100 people gather every Sunday for a “Bring Them Home Now” rally in front of the American Red Cross headquarters. Because they are Israeli Americans — members of the group UnXeptable D.C., formed before the war to protest Netanyahu and his proposed judicial reforms, later pivoting to support Hamas’ victims, aid Israel’s vulnerable populations and advocate for the release of the hostages — the vigil organizers have tried to straddle the line between what the cause means back home and to non-Israeli American Jews.
“At first we were very careful not to be political, and the strongest goal we had was to keep the issue of the hostages in the public eye,” said Vered Guttman, a food writer, one of the rally organizers and a representative of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel. “After about three months we were starting to be more frustrated with the Israeli government. And as more time passed, it became very clear that it’s a political issue that we could not ignore — or ignore what was happening in Gaza.”
The speakers started to demand that the government sign a deal, and to praise President Joe Biden for talking about the hostages and an endgame to the war in ways that Netanyahu avoided. Most of those attending the vigil are American Jews, who keep returning while occasionally bristling at the politics of some of the speakers.
“We’re kind of gentle,” said Guttman, noting that while UnXeptable speakers will call on the Israeli government to sign a ceasefire deal, they invite guest speakers from across the political spectrum, from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat, a frequent critic of Israel, to Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which has close ties with Israeli officials.
Such an approach, she said, “makes our tent wider, and it brings a new audience to the discourse.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
To regenerate means to restore or renew something, usually referring to growth or healing. It can also mean to bring something back to life or to make it functional again.
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