Published October 31,2023
In the weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, fliers depicting the hostages have become ubiquitous. But in cities and college campuses across the globe, anti-Israel protesters have removed them.
Posters showing some of the people kidnapped by Hamas in Israel are displayed on a pole outside New York University on Monday. Some have been torn down.Credit…Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Published October 31, 2023
“KIDNAPPED,” the posters say, in bright red block letters above pictures of people taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, urgent reminders of the men, women and children still being held hostage in Gaza
But on college campuses and in cities around the world in recent weeks, people have been caught tearing them down.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” a man says in a video posted on social media as he watches two young people at the University of Southern California shove wadded-up posters into the trash.
“They’re making the conflict worse,” one of the young people replies, adding, “I’m not a fan of Hamas.”
In the weeks since the war in the Middle East started, the “kidnapped” posters, created by Israeli street artists, have grown ubiquitous, papering public spaces across the United States, Western Europe and beyond. Available to anyone with an internet connection, they can be printed out and pasted onto lampposts, boarded-up storefronts and subway entrances.
RELATED: Hostage posters get taken down: ‘Nothing political about this’
PNitzan Mintz and Dede Bandaid, the Israeli artists behind the “Kidnapped” posters, taping them up in the stairwell of a subway station in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn.Credit…Anna Watts for The New York Times
Published October 31,2023
(NewsNation) — Anna Tambini, an Israeli living in San Francisco, is leading a campaign featuring posters of hostages in Gaza. However, the posters are being taken down.
“These posters aren’t political. You cannot even find the Israel flag. All you can see is photos of the babies, the families taken as hostages, their names and their story,” Tambini said on NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert.”
Tambini believes the act of tearing down these posters is purely antisemitic. She said the posters are devoid of any political elements, making it clear that the intent is to expose the tragic reality of families held hostage.
The “Let the World Know” initiative mobilizes volunteers worldwide to print and distribute photos of hostages held in Gaza to raise awareness about their situation.
Will the Israel-Hamas war spiral into a regional conflict?
In New York, a non-Jewish individual confronted those tearing down the posters.
Tambini said that what’s happening goes beyond mere antisemitism, resembling a more severe form of hatred associated with pro-terrorism and even Nazism, resulting in a higher level of animosity toward Jews.
On Monday, hundreds of people stormed the main airport in Russia’s Dagestan region, rushing onto the landing field and chanting antisemitic slogans.
RELATED: Viral video shows people removing posters of kidnapped Israeli hostages
Demonstrators and DPS were recorded on separate videos removing signs near a campus entrance.
Posters featuring Israelis taken hostage by Hamas have been posted around campus, and have been torn down by some. (Photo by Drake Lee)
Published October 30,2023
Days after posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas were posted on and around USC’s campus, demonstrators and DPS officials were filmed removing them.
ATVN reported Thursday several students from the USC Chabad House put up those posters on and around campus. The posters were placed around Jefferson Avenue, 28th Street, Troy Hall and other locations around campus.
The posters are missing signs of people captured by Hamas, a militant group and U.S.-designated terrorist organization, during their surprise attack against Israel on October 7. The signs list the name, age and pictures of the victims. They also urge the reader to “please help bring them home alive.”
In a video posted to USC Chabad’s Instagram story Thursday night, two individuals were filmed taking down and throwing away posters of the hostages held by Hamas.
The video was filmed near University Avenue at the front of the school. Posters were put up on street lamps and bus stop benches.
In the video, two individuals with a bag full of crunched-up posters are confronted about taking down the posters.
The video, which received national attention, shows the following interaction:
“Excuse me, why are you taking those off? Why are you taking those off?”
“Because it’s causing the conflict to be worse…”
“My friends are one of those 200 people and you’re taking them off.”
“And that’s sad but I don’t see how that helps the conflict. People are just killing each other more and more.”
