Blue Ribbons for Israel
USA: Campaign in remembrance of the Hamas hostages in Gaza
More than 120 people are still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The nationwide "Blue Ribbons for Israel" campaign in the USA aims to remember them. The umbrella organization Jewish Federations of North America is leading the campaign. There are also various regional initiatives.
At the New York City Marathon, for example, activists put up blue ribbons for return along the First Avenue route at night. “Until every single hostage is brought home safely we will continue our campaign,” explained one woman.
The idea behind the Blue Ribbons campaign came from the Jewish Federation of North America. It is the umbrella organization of 152 Jewish communities in the United States. The idea was put into practice within 48 hours, reports Andrew Hochberg. "We had hundred of thousands ribbons made and distributed. And people have been wearing them throughout the country. It is viewed as a campaign of the community in general, not as a campaign only of the Jewish community." Hochberg is the Jewish Federations' contact for domestic policy and government affairs. However, he does not want to talk about politics in relation to the Blue Ribbons. He emphasizes that the campaign is a purely humanitarian concern.
Rabbi Leslie Gordon in Boston agrees: "There are so much news every single day about the conflict, about Gaza and Israel. And the political situation. The hostages are not mentioned. And we think this should be the first item every single day."
The rabbi and her husband David Goodtree have launched the local initiative "Blue Ribbons on Trees". People tie blue ribbons around trees in parks, streets and gardens. Some afternoons, the couple go from house to house ringing door bells. They then say: "We want to bring the hostages to mind, we don’t engage in politics. Can we tie a blue ribbon?" The response has been tremendously positive, says Rabbi Leslie Gordon.
The umbrella organization, the Jewish Federations of North America, has taken its Blue Ribbons campaign to the offices of political decision-makers in the capital. The Federation also helped organize the "March for Israel", in which almost 300,000 people demonstrated in Washington on 14 November 2023 for the release of Hamas hostages. A photo shows leading politicians all wearing blue ribbons at the rally. "We handed out ribbons to every office in the United States capitol, both the House and the Senate," says Andrew Hochberg. Even on the airplane, flight attendants asked him what the blue ribbon he was wearing stood for.
Members of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, a Jewish community in the state of Ohio, even traveled to Israel and spoke to the families of hostages. The most important message they brought back to the USA was: "Please do not forget our loved ones". And the blue ribbons are intended to keep this memory alive.
When October 7 happened our hearts were broken. How does one represent 240 people who have been kidnapped and 1200 people who were brutally murdered?
Nancy Schwartz-Katz
Artist Nancy Schwartz-Katz, who specializes in Jewish motifs, finally had the idea of creating an installation with blue and white ribbons. "Ribbons are well known. Ribbons for awareness. For every situation people use a ribbon. So this is something people can relate to. The iconography, the visual language, is very clear, very simple, very direct."
In 1979, during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Americans all over the world pinned yellow ribbons on themselves. They were protesting against the hostage-taking of 52 compatriots in the US embassy in Tehran. The hostage-taking lasted more than a year. Of course, everyone is hoping these days that the hostages in Gaza will be released much sooner.
The city of Atlanta in the state of Georgia, in the Deep South, adorns itself with ribbons in the color of the Israeli flag. In the equally conservative Midwest, the governor of Iowa called for citizens to wear blue ribbons for a week in solidarity. And in San Francisco, students at Stanford University attached blue ribbons to the entire campus.
Rabbi Leslie Gordon in Boston and her husband David Goodtree are now being supported by sponsors in ribboning trees. At first, the couple bought gift ribbons and tied them to trees, but quickly realized this would not be practical on the long run.
Goodtree discovered a ribbon that is used on construction sites. Very wide and dark blue. He contacted the manufacturer - who donated the material. Enough for 40,000 trees. And he still does to this day. "He also did all the publicity," reports the rabbi. "We’ve deployed I think over 100,000 ribbons in the Greater Boston area." A similar initiative asks people to post a photo of their ribboned tree online.
Nancy Schwartz-Katz in Ohio has made her installation of blue and white ribbons a reality with the help of non-Jewish local companies.
In front of the Jewish Federation building in Cleveland, two wooden frames now tower into the sky - almost five meters high and three meters wide. They are covered by two huge blue and white ribbons. Photos on them show the faces of all 240 original Hamas hostages. The installation is illuminated at night. It stands just two meters away from a busy road. And the two loops point in opposite directions. "So when the people are driving past they can see the installation from all directions. They can see the ribbons - and the faces."
Nancy Schwartz-Katz herself has no friends or relatives among the hostages. But she knows a couple whose son was murdered on October 7. And a woman. Her daughter's best friend has been kidnapped.
I run into her in the grocery store. And I: „can I give you a hug“? There are no words. It is like family. These are our friends, these are our babies, our grandparents, our sisters and brothers. And they need to be out there seen. For the humanity of it.
Nancy Schwartz-Katz
The blue ribbons can be ordered online here.
The story was first published in German as a radio report and as a text on my website.