Montreal – November 2, 2023 – Today, from noon to 7:00pm, an empty Shabbat dinner table will be installed in front of Federation CJA offices at 1 Cummings Square (5151 Cote Sainte-Catherine Road), reminding passers-by that the captives being held in Gaza will not be with their families for yet another Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest. 

 

“27 days after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and seized over 224 hostages, a new installation calling for the release of these prisoners will be set up in front of Federation CJA,” said Yair Szlak, President and CEO of Federation CJA.

 

The settings at the table, along with their empty seats, represent each of Hamas’ captives in Gaza. The chairs on display will be plastered with posters of the missing people, indicating “Kidnapped”. Each sheet features a hostage photo alongside their name and age. 

 

The table will include candles, flowers, kippas and wine. Some seats will be highchairs or decorated with baby bottles or stuffed animals signifying the 30 babies and children that are being held. 

 

“The table will be set by community members just as they do each week at home for their own families,” Szlak said. “It’s meant to represent a Shabbat table, an important ritual observed every week by the Jewish People and is one of a series that have been symbolically set for the hostages in cities across Canada, the United States, Israel and around the world.”

 

Federation CJA is organizing the event to push for the release of the hostages and raise awareness of their plight. 

 

For over one hundred years, Federation CJA has been at the heart of the organized Jewish community in Montreal. In partnership with a vast network of agencies and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally, Federation CJA builds and sustains this community by providing leadership and by supporting the delivery of services and programs to care for the vulnerable and those in need, to ensure a bright Jewish future, to represent communal interests, and to positively affect issues in the wider society.

 

Media opportunity with spokespersons Yair Szlak and Eta Yudin, Vice President, CIJA, scheduled for 13:30.

 

 

Director, Media Relations and Crisis Communications | Directeur, Relations avec les médias et communication de crise

Strategic Marketing and Communications | Marketing Stratégique et communications

1 Carré Cummings Square | 5151 Chemin de la Côte Ste-Catherine Road

Montréal, Québec  H3W 1M6

514-734-1327