Far from Israel, NJ lawn signs aim to keep hostages in limelight: 'This is about morality'

Chavie Hagler wants the world to know she's awaiting the safe return of her family.

It's the same for Dalia Stelzer and Dr. Shlomit Stein.

The Bergen County women, all members of the North Jersey Jewish community, have erected signs on their front lawns calling for the immediate and safe return of their "family" — the "men, women and children abducted by Hamas from Israel," as the signs explain.

None of them have blood relatives who were kidnapped in the Oct. 7 attacks, yet they feel tied to them as members of the Jewish faith who have many friends and family there.

They hope to blanket the Garden State with their red, white and blue lawn signs demanding the release of about 200 people whom Hamas terrorists captured.

"They kidnapped dementia patients, disabled people and babies," said Hagler, who runs a home for adults with special needs. "It's not just a Jewish issue; it's a universal issue that everyone should support. The hostages need to come home."

The signs are being sold for $10 apiece. Stelzer said proceeds will be sent to charitable organizations in Israel. But the goal of the project is not to raise money but to raise global awareness of a humanitarian crisis, she said.

"This is not about politics or about land," said Stelzer, a travel adviser. "This is about morality. You can't take a side that doesn't condemn brutal terrorism against civilians. We want to see one of our signs on every front lawn."

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199 hostages

As of Monday afternoon, the death toll on both sides of the war had surpassed 4,000, with thousands more wounded. At least 199 people were being held hostage in Gaza, Israeli officials said.

The group of roughly 10 North Jersey women — including Stelzer, Hagler and Stein — are spearheading the campaign in the hope their message will stretch beyond their own communities.

Thus far, the idea seems to be catching on: As of Monday afternoon, Stelzer said she had received orders for 700 signs and additional inquiries from Connecticut, New York, Texas and Florida and from as far away as Switzerland and France.

Everyone in the group has loved ones who live in Israel whose lives were affected by the attack, Stelzer said. At least one woman in the crew has a friend who was kidnapped.

The U.S. death toll rose to 30 as of Monday, and the State Department said 13 Americans remained missing, though it could provide no count on the number of U.S. hostages. Among those unaccounted for are Edan Alexander, a Tenafly High School graduate and soldier in the Israel Defense Forces who was serving near Gaza.

Since she put the sign in her yard over the weekend, Stein, a physician, said she's gotten sympathetic responses from Jewish and non-Jewish neighbors who were "absolutely supportive."

"This is something that every American and human being in the world should be concerned about," said Stein, whose friend's son-in-law was killed in the assault.

The lawn signs are the brainchild of Yitzchak Brander, 18, a Teaneck native who emigrated to Israel with his family five years ago.

The yeshiva student, who said he attended seven funerals of young people last week, came up with the project as a means of raising awareness for the plight of the missing Israelis.

"I felt like we need to have these signs to let the world know what's happening," he said.

He drew up the design, and his mother, Ruchie Brander, contacted friends from around her former Teaneck hometown to seek their help in implementing the project.

"The hostages have to be returned home safely. It's not just a Jewish thing. It's a moral thing," Yitzchak Brander said in a telephone interview from Israel.

"This isn't something that anyone can be silent about."

The signs can be ordered by emailing Israellawnsigns@gmail.com.

This article includes material from USA Today.

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergenfield NJ lawn sign campaign demands return of Hamas hostages