At Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, a weekly ritual of grief, hope and community

Tel Aviv — Every Saturday night, scores of Israelis (along with some tourists) stream into the courtyard of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which has become known as Hostages Square, to commune and to call for the return of people held captive in Gaza. As of last Saturday’s rally, Hamas still held around 58 of its 251 initial hostages, some alive and some believed dead. Speakers at Hostages Square that night included former hostage Naama Levy and family members of other Hamas victims. “In captivity, I saw thousands of people standing here, wrapped in flags, shouting, singing, holding pictures of the hostages — of my picture. It made me feel that I wasn’t forgotten. That it wasn’t over. That I would return,” Levy told the crowd, according to a translation. The hostages rally is actually one of two regular, well-attended Saturday night protests in Tel Aviv; the other, a kilometre away at Habima Square, is explicitly political: they want the “corrupt government” of Benjamin Netanyahu gone. It’s part of the same movement that began before October 7, protesting Netanyahu’s proposals to limit judicial power, among other things. In Hostages Square, however, they aim to be apolitical, even if they don’t always succeed. As attendees flooded out of the square after last Saturday’s rally, National Post editor-in-chief Rob Roberts spoke to Nili Gefen about why she comes. What draws people out every week? I come here every Saturday, especially because at first we came because I thought it would make my government do something to bring them back. Now I come so the families don’t feel so alone. I don’t know, after 600 days almost, I don’t know if this will change what the government does, but I do hope the families don’t feel so alone with their pain. Yeah, so it’s important we come here, not only sometimes. September, when the six hostages were murdered, we came every night. You know, we have children, jobs and things like that, but this is a terrible, terrible reality that I hope will change soon for everybody. You talk about first coming here to try to send a message to the government. Obviously, you don’t think they’ve listened. What did you want the government to do? It’s hard, because the seventh of October didn’t happen in a vacuum, because, like, a year before, there were protests every Saturday against the government. Over the judicial changes? Yes, and after the seventh of October, I think everybody — for me, it was very hard to continue protesting. Because it was hard for me to protest when the soldiers and the police are giving their lives to the country. You wanted to be united as a country. Yes, and from what I understand, also the families — some were more political, some didn’t want the politics. But everything is politics now, we understand that. We’re just like, they’re putting us on their little chess game. And for me, the only thing I think now is important is that the hostages just come back. This can’t continue, that people are being tortured and being starved. This has to stop. Afterwards, we’ll go back — I’ll go back — to protest against the government. But right now, I think the only thing that is important — everyone does what they can, because I think mostly we feel very helpless. Hamas has said they will do October 7 again, if they get the chance. Do you feel a need to eliminate Hamas as well? I’m a psychotherapist. I have no idea how to solve this thing. No idea. But in terms of setting priorities. I want, I think, that my government should do everything in its power, first to get them back, then to keep us safe. And I’m sure that the people there should know how to do it, and if they don’t, go home and get other people who do know how to do it. I have no idea how to do it. OK? So I’m not telling anyone what to do. I’m just saying, I mean, this is common sense. I believe that also in the Gaza Strip, not everyone is Hamas and we can’t kill everyone, and we have to find a solution that is both, I say — political and army-wise — I don’t have enough good English, but I’m sure there are people who know how to do it. I’ve been struck that when Israel is under what seems an existential threat, that the emphasis is given to not just hostages — naturally, because they’re living people — but even to the return of the deceased. Can you speak to that? I feel it’s like a human (thing), and also very, very Israeli thing, because it’s a small country, and that it’s been threatened always. And you know, it’s not like if I look at my own personal history, my mother came here as a baby, but they came here because they had to flee Germany because of the Holocaust, and my father came here as a small child from the Fahrud in Iraq, where they were also prosecuted. And so I think this is a small country, and that the reason that it tries and survives is because everyone is important. And I don’t know how you say this in English. It’s Arvut Hadadit. It’s like — that, I will do anything for you, and you will do anything for me. You know, most of us are in the army. That’s, that’s what you do. You do anything you can for your brothers and sisters. And I do feel, and I think many people feel, that it’s our brothers and sisters over there. And even though, if we don’t know them personally, we cannot heal if they are not here. And we know what it is for the families that they don’t have a grave. And also in the Jewish tradition, it is that you have to bring people to their grave, to give them the last piece, and the families they have to have the last piece and the closure. National Post (This Q&A has been edited for clarity.)

• ‘It feels so good’: Toronto's Walk with Israel breaks record with 56,000 participants
• 'I guess they made a mistake': Israelis returning to north after Hezbollah demolished

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.