60 | DECEMBER 7 • 2023 J
N

ERETZ

T

he Oct. 7 attack by 
Hamas on innocent 
citizens in Israel was 
heinous, to say the very least. 
If there is any such thing as 
finding a bit of good from 
unspeakable 
horror, it might 
be that Israelis 
have united in 
their efforts to 
fight the enemy, 
maintain the 
state and work 
toward the 
homecoming of 
all the hostages.
To this end, the National 
Library of Israel (NLI) is 
doing its part through an 
exhibit in the reading hall 
of its new facilities: “Every 
Hostage Has a Story.” The 
exhibit was curated by Dori 
Gani, a reference library at 

the NLI.
Gani explained, “We at the 
NLI felt we needed to help 
people around the world 
realize that the hostages held 
in Gaza are human beings, 
not just numbers and faces 
on a poster. To do this, we 
decided to make use of the 
books that fill our library. 
Something that could help 
people realize that these are 
not just numbers and faces 
on a poster.” 
The exhibit consists of 
two fundamental elements. 
First, dozens of chairs have 
been placed in the middle 
of the library’s new reading 
hall. Black chairs for adults; 
colorful chairs for children, 
along with one baby chair. 
On each chair is a photo of a 
hostage. 
The idea of chairs for each 

hostage is poignant and has 
been used often. In Detroit, 
Temple Shir Shalom had an 
outdoor display of chairs 
with blue ribbons, one for 
each hostage. Sanctuary seats 
at Adat Shalom Synagogue, 
Temple Israel, Temple 
Beth El, Congregation 
B’nai Moshe, Congregation 

Shaarey Zedek, Temple Koi 
Ami and Congregation Beth 
Shalom displayed posters 
and names of hostages, to 
say nothing of the prayers, 
displays and posters at other 
Jewish synagogues and 
communal organizations in 
Michigan.
The second part of “Every 

National Library of Israel creates poignant 
display in honor of hostages.

‘Every Hostage 
 Has a Story’

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL

