To bring awareness to the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, Bearcats for Israel, a subgroup within Hillel at Binghamton, tabled on the spine on Wednesday afternoon.

Established from noon to 4 p.m., the table featured posters of the hostages with their pictures and descriptions. Members handed out pins and bracelets in Israeli colors to passersby. The table was also handing out “Myths vs. Truths” flyers — which was described as a fact sheet about Israel and Palestine and the events of Oct. 7.

“On October 7th, 2023 more than 250 innocent people were taken hostage by Hamas,” Hillel at Binghamton wrote in a statement. “As of today, 327 days later, 108 of those people are still being held captive in Gaza. This is a matter deeply personal to many members of the Jewish community here at Binghamton. There are 8 Americans still in captivity, including Omer Neutra, a 22 year-old who was planning to attend Binghamton University after his gap year program. This crisis impacts many communities and we feel it is important to continue to raise and spread awareness through events such as today’s tabling. We at Hillel at Binghamton stand in solidarity with the hostages and their families and will continue to advocate for their release.”

Over the last 10 months, many large Jewish organizations on campus have led vigils and rallies calling for the hostages to be brought home. In October, just days after the Hamas attack, Hillel, Chabad at Binghamton, the Orthodox Union-Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus and the BU Zionist Organization organized a vigil on the Peace Quad to mourn the 1,200 Israelis killed, where many community members shared personal stories about their families in Israel. [HYPERLINK https://www.bupipedream.com/news/campus-news/israel-is-my-family-universitys-jewish-community-organizes-vigil/141780/]

Last spring, members of the Jewish community at Binghamton attended a men’s basketball game in solidarity with Neutra [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/campus-news/at-recent-basketball-game-zionist-organization-led-show-of-solidarity-with-omer-neutra/147826/]. He was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when he was taken by Hamas during their October attack.

Bearcats for Israel hosts two events a month, one being the tabling for hostage awareness and the other aiming to be fun or educational. Logan Swerdloff, the head of Bearcats for Israel and a graduate student pursuing a master’s in business administration, shared how she hopes the table will play a role in advocating for the hostages’ return.

“The purpose of this event is basically to raise awareness for the hostages [and] to remind everyone that it has still been 327 days, and the hostages have still not been returned,” Swerdloff said. “They are going through some horrible conditions. There is a little baby who has been kidnapped. There’s women who have been kidnapped, and it is just basically a reminder to the students on campus that this is not over yet, and there are still people who are suffering in Israel.”