Jewish world sheds symbols of support, marking first day without hostages in Gaza
President Herzog removes his yellow pin, as does Israel’s UN ambassador; parents of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin remove masking tape counting days since Oct. 7
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After 843 days, Jews around the world put down their masking tape, yellow ribbons, and pins: The last Israeli hostage in Gaza was home.
The return of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s body on Monday ended an advocacy campaign of more than two years to return the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The campaign galvanized Jews around the world and introduced a visual vocabulary of symbols meant to keep the hostages in the public consciousness and add pressure for Hamas to return them.
Some Jews removed or reduced their hostage displays in October, when all of the living hostages were released. But others said they would not do so until the last hostage was home.
Now, they are shedding their symbols. President Isaac Herzog posted a video of himself removing his hostage pin. The clock in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, counting the days the captives were in Gaza, stopped on Tuesday.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was murdered in captivity, announced that they would not wear the masking tape marking the number of days since October 7, a symbol they popularized.
“In solidarity with all of the families who have had to bury loved ones since October 7th, 2023, we take off our masking tape and pray for comfort…for us all,” they posted on Instagram.
“We are looking forward to tomorrow morning for the first time in 843 days, not having to put masking tape over our hearts.”
Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, parents of the late Hirsch z”l, in a chilling message to the family of Ran as we all mark this unforgettable day. ❤️???? pic.twitter.com/cRX27HRZrD
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) January 26, 2026
The return of Gvili’s remains marks the end of a period of intense pain for Israelis and Jews around the world and clears the way for a new phase in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect in early October 2025. It also raises questions about whether ties between Israeli and Diaspora Jews would suffer without the hostage issue that has united them.
The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, also removed his yellow pin, while accusing the UN of fueling antisemitism during a speech at the General Assembly marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“The time for talk is over. The time for action is now. In recent years, we have heard many warnings from this podium about the rise in antisemitism, about dangerous lies, about how hatred begins with language,” Danon said. “Those warnings are right, but they ring hollow when the lies that fuel antisemitism are allowed to spread, including here in this building, in the UN. When false narratives are repeated in this chamber, they do not stay here, they spread across the world with the rubber stamp of the UN. They harden into belief, they turn into hatred.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog removes the yellow ribbon pin from his lapel in his office. pic.twitter.com/lVC9BqzeTZ
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 26, 2026
Danon cited accusations of genocide against Israel and Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, issuing an unfounded accusation last year that 14,000 babies were going to die immediately in Gaza.
“Hatred does not spread on its own, it is enabled, it is legitimized, it is given authority, especially over the last two years. This institution, the UN has failed that test,” he said.
“Too many in this building have buckled under the pressure of biased media, false propaganda and antisemitic campaigns. Do not repeat that failure, do not surrender moral clarity for political gain, do not wait until words turn into blood. Never again demands action, not tomorrow, not in a year. Never again is now,” he said.
Danon connected the Nazi genocide to Hamas’s hatred of Jews.
“Hamas comes with the same hatred and the same intent as the Nazis — to murder Jews,” he said. “But unlike 1941, today, there is a different reality. We crashed and stopped Hamas’s terror machine.”
“We have shown that the Jewish people are no longer defenseless. Today, we have our own army — the soldiers of the IDF,” he said, to applause. “They are the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and of the founders of our nation, now standing proud to ensure Jewish survival.”
Eylon Levy, a pro-Israel influencer and former government spokesman whose profile ascended during the war, said he was removing his pin but would keep it in his pocket, not shelve it totally. He said the conditions under which the war ended, with Hamas still armed and in power in much of Gaza, meant it might be useful again. He referred to the Palestinian security prisoners released in exchange for the hostages.
“The October 7 hostage crisis is over, but it won’t be the last hostage crisis,” he said. “We put the hostage takers of tomorrow back on the streets.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.