Members of Sydney’s Jewish community have gathered in Moore Park to plead for Australians not to forget the plight of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas.
Supporters met on Thursday to launch the “Set Them Free” campaign, brandishing banners holding the names and faces of some the at least 199 people believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.
Sydney resident Michal, who did not give her surname for security reasons, said her nephew Yarden Bibas, his wife Shiri, and their sons Ariel and Yfir were among those taken hostage.
She said she had not heard from her nephew since images were posted on social media appearing to show Hamas militants entering their family home in the southern Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz, and urged Australians to “stand with Israel, for the sake of our families”.
“The last thing he said was ‘they [Hamas] are coming, and we have to leave’,” she said. “There should be one question out there to Hamas: when are you going to release our hostages, our families, our children, our sons and daughters and grandparents?”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Jillian Segal said the campaign’s aim was to remind Australians of the hostages’ plight and sustain demands for their immediate and unconditional release.
Read the article by Angus Thomson in The Sydney Morning Herald.