JERUSALEM (RNS) — After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, many Jews and their allies around the world started reciting special prayers for the release of the hostages held by Hamas. They’ve worn dog tags reading “Bring Them Home” and yellow-ribbon pins in solidarity with the hostages’ families.
At the urging of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, many have worn a piece of masking tape inscribed with the number of days since the hostages were kidnapped.
With the recent return of all living hostages, and all but three of the bodies of deceased hostages, a question has emerged: What should be done with these deeply valued symbols and rituals that have played a central role in the lives of Israeli and diaspora Jews over more than two years?
Many have also questioned how to mark this hopeful turning point while appropriately remembering in perpetuity those who suffered and died.
“These symbols represent the struggle and pain and trauma that Jews have been going through,” said Rabbi Anina Dassa, a rabbinic fellow at the Adas Israel Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Washington, D.C. “Throwing them out would be doing a disservice and would not allow us to do the healing we need to do. And beca …