In ‘Hostage Square,’ focusing attention on those abducted by Hamas

CHICAGO — Fences, a metal detector and security guards were already in place when “Hostage Square” opened Tuesday morning in a gravel parking lot about a mile east of the Democratic National Convention.

Among the hundreds of people who would arrive during the day: relatives of several of the men and women taken captive by Hamas during its attack on Israel last October.

“It’s so surreal to walk in here and see my son’s name and face,” Orna Neutra said as she passed a picture of Omer Neutra on a 10-foot milk carton, one of eight lining the lot, each with an image of an American hostage.

On a piece of tape on her shirt, Neutra had written “319” — the number of days since her 22-year-old son was abducted.

The Israeli American Council organized the event, modeling it on an advocacy site in Tel Aviv. Leader Elan Carr acknowledged the concerns about safety given the heightened tensions around protests this week. “We want to exercise our First Amendment rights, but we don’t want to endanger our community,” he said.

By painful happenstance, the square’s timing came on the same day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country’s military had recovered the bodies of six hostages, ages 35 to 80, in the Gaza Strip. The relatives joining Carr near the symbolic milk cartons spoke about those men, their own loved ones, their hopes for ongoing cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

They said they are closely following the speeches and activities at the Democrats’ gathering this week.

“The DNC is crucial for the fate of our loved ones and also the fate of democracy,” said Gili Roman, 40, of Tel Aviv, as he stood with a cousin wearing a “Bring them home” shirt. “We are here to ensure they are not forgotten.”

Roman’s sister, Yarden Roman-Gat, was taken by Hamas and released 54 days later. While in captivity, she told him later, she heard radio reports about Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and felt supported. He had visited the site — he continues to press for the release of Yarden’s sister-in-law — and was encouraged to see a similar one at the Democratic National Convention with “the representation out in the open.”

Andrea Weinstein, whose sister and brother-in-law were killed in the Oct. 7 rampage, visited the site after attending the convention’s first night of speeches. Her relatives’ bodies have yet to be recovered, and she said she was gratified to hear President Joe Biden and others onstage mention the hostages.

“This is a reminder of how supportive they have been,” said Weinstein, 65, who traveled from Connecticut. It “overpowers the currents of antisemitism.”

Neutra echoed that sentiment. She and her husband, Ronen, addressed the Republican National Convention last month, and both were at the United Center on Monday evening. If asked to speak to the Democratic delegates, they would immediately accept, she signaled. “We will use any platform to raise awareness of our son’s plight and that of the 109 hostages who are still being held in Gaza.”

A few state and federal lawmakers came by, including Rep. Bradley Schneider (D-Ill.), who represents Chicago’s northern suburbs. Also stopping were the deputy U.S. ambassador to Israel and the Israeli consul general to the Midwest. They took in the other elements positioned on the lot, including a sculpture of a bloodied orange tree similar to the trees at an outdoor music festival that was overrun by Hamas militants during their deadly assault.

In the afternoon, several strangers showed up at the entrance. They turned out to be part of the evangelical group Generation Zion and had demonstrated briefly the day before with about 40 others in support of Israel — at the same time that a pro-Palestinian rally drew several thousand people.

“It’s important that people come out here and make our voices heard. If there’s a monopoly on the narrative, it’s going to push the Democratic Party in a direction it can’t recover from,” said Andrew Perkins, 33, a youth pastor from Columbia, S.C., who identified himself as politically unaffiliated.

The security concerns remained. Some of the visitors were delegates who are Jewish, and they said they have wondered whether to openly wear jewelry with Jewish symbols during the convention.

“We are all texting each other saying, ‘Are you wearing your star out? Is it traitorous if you tuck it in?’” said Sandy Marks, a party chair from Alexandria, Va., whose Star of David necklace was visible. “We don’t really feel safe, but we want to be brave.”

The council was the only pro-Israel group to apply for a city permit to rally, according to Carr. Officials denied that request, writing in their response that the proposed event “would be a direct interference with a previously planned permitted activity or public assembly and would create public safety issues.”

Pro-Palestinian groups received permits for demonstrations Monday and Thursday, and the police chief has said the department does not plan to block what is expected to be the largest pro-Palestinian march on Wednesday even though it does not have a city permit.

The council is approved to speak on a city platform near the Democratic National Convention’s secure zone on Wednesday, in the same park where four pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested after breaching a security barrier on Monday. Their time slot coincides with that pro-Palestinian gathering.

Carr said his group is still considering whether to utilize its allotted 45 minutes. “We’re going to do something for sure,” he said, but “we have to ensure that our community is safe. That’s why there’s a perimeter and heavy security today.”

In the evening, demonstrators on both sides faced off outside the Israeli Consulate. “Free, free Palestine!” the one side shouted, alluding to the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza since Hamas’s cross-border attack. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Police ordered the crowd to disperse before arresting more than five dozen people in streets near the consulate, a spokesperson for the National Lawyers’ Guild Chicago said late Tuesday.

The sole disruption at “Hostage Square” had happened as organizers were dismantling things a few hours earlier. Several protesters walked up to the fence, chanting through a megaphone. A Chicago police officer monitored the scene.

“They’re a little late,” said Aya Shechter, the Israeli American Council’s chief programming officer. “We had a good day and a lot of people came. We made our voice heard loud and clear.”