The Knesset launched a number of exhibits on Tuesday in honor of Israeli hostages in Gaze.
The first exhibit was a yellow light that will be projected into the sky every night. The color was chosen because it's the color being used to represent the hostages.
Next, posters bearing the names and faces of the hostages were placed in every seat of the Knesset plenum section that is usually designated for the public. For security reasons, the public isn't being allowed to attend plenums for the duration of the war, and the seats, which face the Knesset speaker's seat and the podium, are now full of hostages.
Posters with the faces of the hostages were also placed on easels in the hallway of the Knesset, and the personal screens at the MKs' seats in the plenum all default to collages of the hostages.
Lapid asks Speaker Ohana for exhibit
"The public's section is placed above the heads of MKs who look up at it and will act as a reminder of the suffering of the hostages being held by a terrorist organization and of their families," said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. "The beam of light that will glow from the Knesset's roof and light up Jerusalem's sky in yellow symbolizes Israel's hope for the safe return of the hostages as well as our soldiers and security forces."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid had asked Ohana to arrange for a permanent exhibit of photos of hostages in the Knesset earlier on Tuesday morning but had not received an answer. The Knesset said that the exhibits launched on Tuesday evening had been in the works for weeks.
"Before even the operational objective, the State of Israel has a primary duty to ensure the hostages return home as soon as possible," Lapid wrote in his letter. "Until they have returned, we cannot look the families in the eye."
Other exhibits in honor of the hostages have been set up in Israel and abroad over the last few weeks. The exhibits range from shoes, to beds, to tables with empty seats.