'Brutally taken away': Downtown display draws attention to kidnapped Israelis

Israeli hostage display in Winnipeg A display in Winnipeg shows the number of Israelis taken hostage during the ongoing war with Hamas.

A public exhibition honouring hundreds of people kidnaped in the Israel/Hamas war was on display in downtown Winnipeg Friday afternoon.

The display was set up in Memorial Park as part of a grassroots campaign taking place around the world to raise awareness of the Israelis who have been kidnapped by Hamas,

"This display is all about humanizing and externalizing how we feel, how the community feels," said Gustavo Zentner, president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, which took part in the peaceful demonstration. "To show that at this very moment there are 240 hostages – civilians – in Israel that have been captured by Hamas."

The massive display included 240 white plastic chairs set up along Broadway, each with a red balloon tied to it and a "kidnapped" poster with a person's face on it.

Some chairs had toys or stuffed animals on them to symbolize the young children who have been taken hostage.

"On many of the chairs that you see are the names and ages of children that have been brutally taken away from their families," Zentner said. "We're showing the colour red because of the barbaric nature of the attack."

The conflict began on Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. More than a month later, thousands of innocent civilians have died in Gaza as a result of the fighting.

Zentner said despite all of the death and sorrow, Winnipeg's Jewish community still has a sense of hope. "The Jewish people are well known for having hope…there's hope for the safe return of civilians back to their families."

The display was temporary, and has already been taken down.