Leadership voids, grassroot movements, hostages, and creating discourse

I am horrified and saddened by the situation in Israel.

There is no leadership among the Israeli government. The ministers of this pitiful government are dysfunctional.

In the absence of true leadership, ordinary people must fill the void. Ordinary people must step up and help the displaced, the victims, the shattered families, the wounded.

Ordinary people must do the extraordinary and distribute food, arrange accommodations, collect equipment, transport, treat, care, heal. ?

Cry.?

In the absence of leadership, grassroots movements grow to provide solutions and comfort those in pain.

One such grassroot movement was initiated by Tal Huber , a gifted graphic designer, who decided to generate posters that raise awareness and create discourse to release those who were kidnapped and are being held hostage in Gaza. Her project mobilizes people all over the world and is gaining momentum because it is so simple and so necessary.

Yesterday while hanging her posters in Vienna, I experienced two opposing events.

The first was when I went to a shop to print the posters.?

I paid for printing a full set of posters, and once the print job was complete, the vendor handed me the file, and said, "I just realized what I'm printing. I'll print you another set of posters for free. You'll hang the posters up, won't you?” and she started to cry.?I left the shop with two sets of posters, tears in my own eyes, and a much stronger commitment to share these pictures..

The second event was in the evening. My husband and I went to the Danube Canal - an open recreational area, where the city of Vienna legalized graffiti and street art. As we were hanging the posters, we heard a young man talking with his friends. We listened quietly to their conversation, realizing that the man was Muslim, did not support our actions, but that he had no interest in talking to us. He continued to drink and hang out with his friends and we moved on, looking for additional areas to glue another cluster of posters.

When we ran out of glue we retraced our steps. We regretfully saw that the young Muslim completely peeled back that cluster of posters before the glue could dry. A few other posters, a little further away, were also torn and thrown on the floor. Whether by him, or by someone else - we don't know.?

From these two events, my husband and I drew two conclusions: the first is that given an opportunity, even in a very short encounter, these posters evoke clear and intense emotions in the viewer - some to tears and sympathy, and others to anger or insult.

The second conclusion is that raising awareness in the public sphere is not a simple matter. Even a message as basic as bring?back our hostages is not accepted by all. But this applies to both sides. Just as we were disappointed and angry that our posters were taken down behind our backs, in a cowardly and despicable act, that same young Muslim also had to acknowledge that we exist in the same city and hold a different opinion, which we intend to voice, even if it doesn't suit him.

I am asking all my friends acquaintances: in the absence of responsible leadership, please join the grassroot movement, help us build momentum. Share these posters online in your social network, hang them in your city, create discourse, create impact, create awareness, create discussion with those who crowd your space. Don’t let these hostages be forgotten. We want the babies, children, mothers, grandfathers, families back. We want them back!!!!

A link to the posters can be found here:

https://www.kidnappedfromisrael.com

As a side note,

To all my friends and acquaintances who want to discuss the current suffering of the Palestinian residents of Gaza: That is not the purpose of this post. Nevertheless, here is my short answer:?

Yes, Palestinians in Gaza suffer.?

They suffer because just as Hamas murdered and burned Israeli babies, Hamas also uses Palestinian babies as human shields. Hamas does not recognize the right to live. It glorifies Jewish death above Palestinian life.?

Don’t take my word for it - Read the Hamas covenant for yourself. Listen to speeches of Hamas leaders.

Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is recognized as such by the European Union, the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK and more. If you care about the Palestinian suffering in Gaza, then you too should help Palestinians get rid of Hamas once and for all.?