Every week, Jews across the globe participate in a program called “Nation on Pause,” through which both new and experienced Sabbath observers can sign up to dedicate their weekly Sabbath observance in honor of an individual being held captive by Hamas since October 7. Through added prayers, kindness, and the keeping of Shabbat on behalf of those who cannot, the goal is to remember the plight of the hostages and to generate spiritual merits for their safe return home with G-d’s help. Each week, I join in this project in honor of Romi Gonen. She is 23 years old and has been in captivity for over 220 days. After hearing her mother speak, I dedicated my weekly Sabbath observance and recitation of Psalms on her behalf.
This weekly dedication has created a personal connection which was expressed in a more public fashion last Friday night. On the way to synagogue, walking south on West End Avenue, I saw a tall blond male, maybe in his mid to late twenties, using a big, black permanent marker to draw on the faces of Israeli hostages printed on a poster at the northeast corner of West End Avenue and 90th Street. He was defiling their pictures and writing the word “Genocide” and the number, “30,000” across the posters.
While these types of posters have been ruined for months and this development is nothing new, seeing the activity in real time and witnessing the hatred on this man’s face was appalling. A woman passing by, shaking her head, asked him if his actions were really necessary. To which he responded gleefully, without hesitation, “I don’t think the genocide is necessary.”
As I turned toward synagogue, incensed after witnessing this exchange, I watched the man continue with his drawing. Suddenly, he reached the poster of Romi Gonen – the young Israeli hostage I have in mind each Shabbat, As he wrote across her face, I could not be quiet any longer.
I was overcome by multiple burning questions: How dare you? Where is the respect and basic dignity? What do you seek to accomplish? But to this great humanitarian, who can do nothing more but blot across the innocent face of a woman in captivity, all I said was, “What if that was your sister? How would you feel if that woman was your sister?!” He delightfully replied, “I would not want my sister to get bombed.” To which I responded, “That girl is in captivity,” and walked away.
My response to him was insufficient, but as I processed what I had witnessed, the first thought that came to mind was that ignorance is bliss. It is easy to take a marker and draw all over someone’s face. It is easy to believe the absurd and inflated statistics of a terrorist organization sworn to destroy Israel and all Western values. It is easy to ignore history and the hard choice between good and evil. It is far more galvanizing to run through the streets, damage posters, and take no responsibility for the consequences.
The behavior I witnessed, as commonplace as it has become, is unacceptable. One can protest legally, one can have an opinion – but showing a lack of basic decorum is wrong, no matter what you believe. The more these actions go without any response, they become a societal norm. This man, with his marker and anger, ignores the basic cause of this conflict in the first place and the reality of cause and effect. One cannot brutally attack a sovereign nation, take its people hostage, and expect to simply get away with it. How easy it is to come in midway through a story and start drawing over innocent people’s faces.
To this individual I met on Friday night, and all those who believe that using the term “genocide” as a sort of password somehow absolves them of any accountability and makes the truth irrelevant, your actions are irrational and disgraceful. Desecrating images of Israeli captives is not a legitimate protest and does not affect the war effort in any fashion.
While you may think of yourself as a great humanitarian, believe it or not, the Israeli captives are people, too. Ironically, while not your intended goal, you have further etched into the hearts of all who keep the Sabbath, say an extra prayer, and advocate on behalf of the Israeli hostages, just how precious each of these individuals is. In their eyes, one can see the plea of a sister or brother, the pain of a mother or child. Their penetrating voices call out from every poster.
You assume that your actions will weaken Romi’s cause and the people who fight for her and the State of Israel every day. By writing across her face, you fail to understand the basic truths that the fight will not stop, Israel will prevail over evil, and her struggles are not forgotten.
Do the world a favor, throw out your marker and go read a history book.
Do not ever write on my sister’s face again.
