Berlin
Solidarity campaign: empty chairs remind us of hostages
A festively set Shabbat table in Berlin with 220 empty chairs, representing the Hamas hostages. photo
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
“Bring them home”: On Shabbat, hundreds of people in Berlin took a stand against anti-Semitism and remembered the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas.
At the beginning of the Jewish holiday Shabbat, several hundred people took part in a solidarity campaign Berlin is reminded of the fate of the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
More than 200 chairs remained empty at a festively set table with wine, bread and candles in front of the Jewish community in Berlin on Fasanenstrasse. The faces of the kidnapped hostages and their names could be seen at the squares. Such actions had already taken place in Tel Aviv, among other places.
The Berlin police spoke of around 350 people who gathered at the long Shabbat table in the west of the capital on Friday evening. These included numerous state and federal politicians who also wanted to take a stand against anti-Semitism and condemned attacks against Jewish institutions in Germany.
A sign of solidarity
The chairman of the Jewish community in Berlin, Gideon Joffe, said that the families of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas were experiencing a nightmare that was hard to imagine. It is therefore important to send a sign of solidarity. Culture Senator Joe Chialo (CDU) called for the abductees to be released immediately. He shouted: “Bring them home”. Both also thanked the Berlin police, who work day and night to protect Jewish life.
“We must ensure the security of Jewish institutions, that is our historic obligation,” said Senator for Culture Chialo. Nobody should have to live in fear. “It cannot be the case that Berlin’s Jews have to hide their identity.” There was an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Berlin-Mitte about ten days ago.
According to Israel, Hamas has taken more than 200 hostages in the Gaza Strip, including babies, women and the elderly. They were taken to the Mediterranean region in the October 7 attack on Israel. There are also several dozen foreign citizens among them. Since then, the Israeli military has attacked hundreds of targets in the densely populated, sealed-off coastal strip.
Shabbat is a Jewish holiday that begins at sunset on Friday and ends 25 hours later. In Israel, most shops remain closed during this time because Jewish religious law prohibits any work on Shabbat.