‘No joy and no Torah’: Protesters mark somber Simhat Torah, calling on government to free hostages

24 October 2024, 7:17 pm

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Photos of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, on display at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square to mark the one year anniversary on the Jewish calendar of their abduction. (Pro-Democracy Movement/Sharon Ben-Porath)

Anti-government protesters gather in Tel Aviv to mark the Simhat Torah holiday and one year on the Jewish calendar since Hamas’s brutal massacre on October 7, 2023, that left some 1,200 people murdered and 251 kidnapped to Gaza.

Activists and relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza gather around photos of the abductees displayed at the iconic fountain at Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square.

During an event at dusk, participants recite the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead in memory of the victims.

Protesters also carry a banner reading, “There is no joy, there is no Torah, only neglect,” calling on the government to secure a deal to free the remaining 97 hostages held by terrorists in Gaza since October 7 last year.