Anyone who was out and about in downtown Vienna on Friday may have noticed an empty Shabbat table. This is an installation that aims to draw attention to the hostages kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. The initiative “Hostages and Missing Families Forum – Bring them home now” is behind the campaign.
Between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, a table with 229 chairs was set up in downtown Vienna. Each chair should display a missing persons report in memory of a person who was abducted by Hamas from Israel to the Gaza Strip. A plate, a fork and a knife were laid out for each person. At one end of the table were pastries and a bottle of alcohol. The Jewish Austrian students posted photos of the installation on the platform “, she helped organize the Jewish community of Vienna. The Israeli initiative was launched 24 hours after the Hamas attack. Since then, Jewish communities have been organizing actions all over the world, most recently in London, Rome and Paris. In this way, attention is to be drawn to the unbearable, difficult situation of the kidnapped family members. “Great suffering of the families and friends” “The empty chairs at the Shabbat tables represent the great suffering of their families, friends. Every week on Shabbat, the entire family comes together to eat together and begin the day of rest. We hope with all our hearts that the common Shabbat will soon be possible again for the many torn families,” said Immanuel Turkof, organizer of the initiative in Austria, in a broadcast. There will no longer be a peaceful Shabbat as long as the 229 hostages do not celebrate it could, added writer and historian Doron Rabinovici.Here you can see a critical posting about the action in Vienna.Mixed reactionsOn the X platform, the reactions were mixed. While some emphasize hope and thank you for the initiative, others believe that the action does not show any solidarity. One user noted that all deceased Palestinians could have been remembered. On Friday evening it became known that Israel’s army had begun its expected ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. This was announced by Jordanian Foreign Minister Aiman Safadi. The ruling Hamas is said to be using the largest hospital in the coastal area as a command and control center. A ceasefire is a prerequisite for the release of hostages, said a representative of the terrorist organization.
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