Quiet and sombre

Arriving at Ben Gurion airport and walking down the ramp towards passport control, I was very moved to see the pictures and posters of the 134 hostages who have been held for six months in captivity by Hamas. Some of the pictures had messages added by family and friends with the length of time in captivity gradually amended as the weeks pass by.

Tel Aviv is much quieter than previously, with less people and traffic. Posters of the hostages with the caption, BringThemHomeNow are everywhere, and around the fountains in Dizengoff square there are blind-folded teddy bears painted with red streaks to represent the children who were taken hostage. I went to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and outside in the square, (now called Hostage Square) stretches the empty Shabbat table, set with plates, wine glasses and chairs. As it was just before Purim, many school children were offering hamantashen and sweets to visitors and stall holders, who were raising money for the hostages by selling sweatshirts and bracelets.

I went into the gallery and asked where the Impressionist art was. They told me that the exhibition was closed because of the war. I asked why and they explained that the gallery couldn’t get insurance for the art work which was now stored below ground.

Although the mood was sombre, there were many small children with their teachers in Purim costume dancing on the Tayelet near the beach, and lots of shops selling Purim costumes, gragors and of course hamantashen were everywhere.

Returning to the UK, it is hard to hear the increasingly vehement calls for a ceasefire without the corresponding demand for the immediate release of the hostages and the surrender of Hamas.

Kay Bagon

Radlett, Herts