As Israelis and Jews across the world lit the first Hanukkah candle on Wednesday night, dozens of Israeli teenagers took to the streets in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the hostages still held in Gaza. The protesters called on the Israeli government to immediately organize a deal to release all the hostages.
The teenagers marched from HaBima square to the Kirya military base, where they met with families of hostages protesting there.
“I came because the hostage issue is extremely important to me,” 17-year-old Ella Hen of Karkur said. “I know that if me or my family were hostages, I would want people fighting for me. It’s the most moral thing to do right now, even though my parents are mad at me for going out to protest too much instead of studying for exams.”
Hen said she didn’t think the protests would cause the government to change course. “We’ve seen how unmoved they are by mothers crying in front of them, so a bunch of teenagers? But I do think it affects our values,” she said. “People see us going out and understand that people care about this. That’s important too.”
Nahar Siddhi, a 16-year-old from Tel Aviv and one of the organizers of the protest, said that the young group of organizers attends protests at Hostages Square each weekend and throughout the week. “Our message is clear—the youth won’t be quiet and we won’t be indifferent. Our first priority isn’t school, going out, TikTok, or anything else. It’s the future of this state, our future. We don’t agree to grow up in a society that doesn’t prioritize the sanctity of human life.”
“We’re out here to show that we care,” Siddhi said. “We’re the generation that will enlist in the army in the next year or two, and we want to know that if, God forbid, something happens to us, the state is there for us, protecting us, not abandoning us.”
He said that the presence of youth and protests for the hostages sends an important message. “Youth are the hope, and we’re here to provide hope for the families who have experienced the worst thing imaginable,” he said.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Leah Schwartz.
