NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Hundreds of Israelis taken hostage by the terror group Hamas remain unaccounted for. That motivated a group of moms in the Nashville Jewish community to come up with a creative way to share the stories of those innocent men, women and children.
"Candidly, I’m sad, I’m angry that there isn’t more happening yet. It’s been over a week," said the local organizer, who asked for anonymity given some of the anti-Semitic comments she's heard recently. "We don’t sleep at night, we’re just thinking about all these families that are torn apart."
A group of about 20 women, armed only with fliers, tape and good walking shoes, spread out across Nashville hanging fliers that tell more about each of the hostages. "I can’t sit at home anymore, I can’t do nothing and I think all of you are with me in that feeling helpless is not an option anymore and we have to do something," said the organizer.
While many of the Israeli victims don't have any direct connections to Tennessee, one in particular hits very close to home for the organizer.
"This is the nephew of my cousin’s neighbor," she said.
Twenty one-year-old Almog Gan was celebrating a new job he was starting soon, when he was taken hostage by Hamas. NewsChannel 5 spoke to his mother and uncle through a Zoom call from Tel Aviv, Israel.
"We want the world to see, or the citizens of Nashville, to see that it can happen everywhere. It can happen even in your community," said Aviram Meir, Almog's uncle.
The emotion is high, captured in video above, voices raspy from tears.
"I have hole in my heart, you can’t imagine what it’s to wake up in the morning not to see — not to feel him, not to hug him. I miss him so much. So much," said Orit Meir, Almog's mother. "My life changed in one day."
Orit says she feels helpless as they wait for news about her son.
"We don’t know where he is, what he’s doing, if he eats, if he sleeps well. No, nothing about him," she said.
Of course, just hanging a sign in bus stops and businesses can't bring the hostages home.
"It’s barbaric, it’s insane what we’ve witnessed that has taken place there," said the organizer.
But if people stop and think about these families, even for just a moment, these moms think it might replace some of their feelings of helplessness with hope.
"We hope that everybody starts being aware of what’s happening there," she said.
These fliers are being posted all across the country. If you'd like to, you can download, print and hang the signs in your own community.
