January 14, 2026
When Jews learn of the death of a loved one, we tear a black ribbon and wear it on our clothes throughout the mourning period to express our loss. After the horrific attacks on October 7th, 2023, we relied on this ritual to express our communal loss and fear. We tied blue ribbons around trees in our yards and chairs and our sanctuary as a sign of support for the hostages and our longing for the day when they would return to take their place as free people in a peaceful world. When we first tied the ribbons to our trees and our chair we wrote, “We will remove the ribbon when the last hostage comes home.”
As of January 2026, all but one of the hostages taken on October 7th have been released, or their bodies returned home. The last hostage remaining in Gaza is Master Sgt Ran Gvili, he was killed on October 7th while defending Kibbutz Alumim, and his body was abducted into Gaza.
We pray for the day when Ran is returned to his homeland, bringing relief and closure to his family. We pray this day will also mark the completion of the first stage of the peace plan, and allow the peace process to move forward. As Ran’s parents have said, “Israel can only begin to heal when we know that every soldier and hero who sacrificed themselves receives our unwavering commitment to bringing them home.”