Mothers of hostages lead 'Shift 101' on fourth day of silent protest - Israel News

Shift 101, a group led by mothers of hostages that advocates for hostages through non-violent and non-political protest, gathered Thursday for the fourth day of silent protest.

Dozens gathered outside the entrance Prime Minister‘s Office, sits in the road and blocks it. The location of the protest has changed every day since it started on Monday, with demonstrators sitting outside Knesset and previously the Prime Minister’s House on Aza Street.

The participants wore white and sat quietly; There was no singing or drumming during the protests, and organizers emphasized that there was no political message behind the protest that was entirely focused on bringing the hostages home.

“There are no words,” Devora Idan said during the protest on Thursday. Idan’s son Tsachi is held hostage by Hamas and Tsachi’s 18-year-old daughter was murdered. October 7. Last week, Idan’s cousin fell in Lebanon.

“We are at a loss for words,” she added. “For a year we tried to speak everywhere – the words yielded no results. The only way this can yield results is silence, togetherness and joining together,” she said.

A tour with the families of the kidnapped in Kibbutz Beeri (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)

“I believe in this silent protest,” Niva Wenkert, mother of hostage Omer Wenkert, said during a Shift 101 protest earlier this week. “The power of perseverance, and determination, and tranquility, and (wearing) white, surpasses all.”

The protest of the hostage mother

“We were in the middle – a couple of mothers,” she said, describing a moment of the protest. “And then all of you, everyone who was (here), sat around us, like a protective shell – as if we were the core and you were circles around us, and it was the first time I felt the true meaning of ‘ our hearts are with us’.

“Thank you so much, really.”

The moment this happened was when the group, as part of the demonstrations, blocked an intersection that they had not intended to block.

“My heart was beating at 200 (beats per minute) because I am a law-abiding person and have never blocked roads or sat on the ground in my life,” she said, explaining that she felt like she had “her own had to break my heart.” borders,” because her son is a hostage.

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“After a year there is no choice,” she explained.

This moment — scared of blocking a road and surrounded by protesters supporting her — made her feel like she wasn’t alone, she explained.

“I waited a year for the call (to bring them home) to come, not from the hostages’ families, but from the people.”

It cannot be that there are 101 hostages, and this does not bring the nation to the streets, she added, calling on protest participants to bring more people to the next protest to join the families until all the hostages are gone. returned.