The Board of Deputies this week honoured the volunteers who attended vigils for the hostages in Gaza from 2023 until the last living hostage was released in October.
The volunteers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, stood at Westminster for two hours every week while Parliament was in session to keep public awareness of the hostages alive.
Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg thanked all those who had attended the vigils. He said: “Rain or shine, you were there to make sure that the hostages were never forgotten. Some of the most moving moments came when visitors from Israel who thought that the world had moved on, saw you outside Parliament and realised we were keeping our promise to remember them. We are so very grateful for your wonderful efforts.”
Board of Deputies Communications Manager Adam Ma’anit, whose cousin Tsachi Idan was tragically murdered in captivity, said: “Sometimes it can feel as though wearing a yellow ribbon or standing with a hostage poster outside Parliament won’t change anything. As a hostage family member, I can tell you it means everything. Knowing that people across the world – many of them strangers – care about our families and our loved ones has carried us through the hardest moments of our lives. Your solidarity has held us up. Together, we brought so many home. Together, we will bring back Dror, Ran, and Sudthisak. Thank you for being a light in the darkness.”
Nivi Feldman and Haya Langerman from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum UK said: “Thank you for your compassion, time and strength. Thank you for helping to carry a burden no family should ever of had to bear. It has been one the greatest honours of our lives to stand alongside you.”
Board of Deputies Campaigns Officer Ariella Knoble-Gershon also thanked the volunteers for their efforts. She said: “It has been truly so meaningful to stand with each and every volunteer and educate passers-by on the plight of the hostages.”
Photo (left to right: Phil Rosenberg, Haya Langerman, Adam Ma’anit, Nivi Feldman, Ariella Knoble-Gershon