They don’t have a name. They don’t have an affiliation. But they’re hard to miss, especially with a multi-yard Shabbat table on D.C.’s National Mall.
A group of concerned D.C. citizens set up a table Friday evening for Shabbat, or the Jewish sabbath, leaving more than 240 seats empty to represent those still missing after being taken hostage in the current conflict in the Middle East.
The grassroot community organization flies flags from many nations at their dinner table and has both Jewish and non-Jewish members. They say they want the release of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th, and Red Cross access to asses their condition.
“We’d love to have a peaceful resolution,” said group leader Ron Sokolov, who is one of a small handful of leaders of this unaffiliated group. “We’d love for there to be peace in Israel. Peace in the Middle East. And peace for Palestinians and the Jews in Israel.”
Sokolov said this group sprung up organically through networking and word-of-mouth. He said they are apolitical in their mission; rather, they just want to highlight the human toll, and advocate for humanitarian aid for the hostages.
Shabbat typically lasts from Friday to Saturday night. Sokolov said it’s supposed to be a communal gathering, where friends and family come together to break bread.
Their empty table features regular chairs, but also wheelchairs and highchairs as well — symbols that depict the vast age range of the hostages that are still being held today.
“We want for everyone to look at this and say: this is not a Jewish issue. This is not an Israeli issue. This is a human issue,” Sokolov said.
“It is really to evoke the humanity of what has happened, and really the human toll of those hostages,” he added.
Soklolov said they plan to set up a table with empty chairs in significant locations all across D.C. every Friday evening for about two hours, until hostages are released. Eventually, they plan to set up in front of the White House.
