As anti-Israel agitators stage demonstrations near the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago this week, advocates of Israel have created a unique art exhibit to honor the victims of Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The art exhibit, dubbed "Hostage Square Chicago," aims to remind the world of the hostages who were taken Oct. 7 and remain captive in the Gaza Strip.
The exhibit was unveiled early Tuesday at the corner of Madison Street and Morgan Street, about a mile down the road from the United Center, which is hosting the DNC this week.
The showcase displayed giant milk cartons with the faces of those who remain in captivity. Another giant mural showed a child holding a teddy bear.
"It’s so important, with the eyes of the world focused on Chicago this week, that we come here as patriotic Americans and express our First Amendment rights, to stand strongly with the United States and solidarity with the State of Israel," Exhibit organizer Elan Carr told Fox News’ Paul Mauro. "We expect these hostages, these faces sitting around us, to be returned home, because they are sitting in Hamas hell for far too long."
Carr said there "couldn’t be a starker contrast" between the art exhibit organizers and the anti-Israel agitators.
"We’re here as proud patriotic American Zionists. The other side destroys buildings, blocks students from going to class… chants genocidal slogans like, ‘from the river to the sea’ or ‘globalize the intifada.’ And they burn flags. Not only Israeli flags, they burn American flags," Carr said. "You couldn’t possibly have a starker contrast with the kind of patriotism and love and hope for the future that you see here and the destruction that you see on the other side."
Tomer Peretz, who was born and raised in Jerusalem but is now living in Los Angeles, created a massive display of bloody sweatpants, a nod to Na’ama Levy, a 19-year-old Israeli captive who was seen on a shocking video being pulled from the back of jeep. Her hands were bound behind her back with thick blood stains between her legs.
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Peretz, who was in Israel the day of the attack, said he wanted to "stab people with a knife of emotion" with his art.
Another artist named Neil Salti, who lost more than 20 friends at the Nova Music Festival massacre on Oct. 7, created a rendering of an Israeli tree, raining drops of blood.
"After the festival I had a strong urge to go to the site to see what happened to my friends," Salti said. "I traveled by myself there, and it was so quiet and so peaceful. But there were still burned trees and a lot of personal objects of people, and I felt I wish these trees could talk. And that’s how I came up with this idea to create this tree that can talk."
More disturbingly, Salti said he saw a rope hanging from a tree that he later learned Hamas had used to rape and burn girls.
"I created this so people will feel like I felt when I went to the site. I felt like the ground is soaked with blood. It's still burning," he said.
Another artist at the exhibit, who goes by Shmutz, set out to draw, in charcoal, portraits of all the remaining hostages still being held in Gaza.
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"I’m drawing all the hostages that remain in Hamas’ captivity. And I have five minutes to draw each one. The idea behind it is, it’s charcoal that I’m using, very quick sketches, you don’t have a lot of time within a day to draw 115 people. But these are my people, my brothers, my sisters, and so we want to keep their memory alive," Shmutz said. "We’re losing touch with our loved ones. We’re losing touch with the people who are in captivity. And that’s what the quick sketches represent."
Some 1,200 people were killed, and 250 more were taken hostage on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants stormed into Israel. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday’s exhibit comes as Israel’s military said earlier that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in the attack.
