A televised campaign will be broadcast across North America, set to air on smart TVs and premier digital platforms, on Monday in the hours leading to the start of the Passover holiday, to remind viewers of the Israeli hostages still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
For the first time, the National Public Diplomacy Directorate and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum have come together to launch a joint international campaign to share poignant images of the captives with their families from the previous year's Seder night.
The campaign features five distinct videos, each showcasing five captives (totaling 25 individuals) in familial photos from the last Seder night at the homes of their families. In each video, the figures of the hostages vanish from the family photos where they were once seen celebrating, happy and smiling.
These videos will be promoted across top news websites in the United States and through connected television streaming services (CTV) starting from Monday morning through the end of the Passover holiday. The content is expected to attract tens of millions of views. Each video carries the poignant plea: "Let our people go, bring them home now."
"Passover was always a family holiday for me, sitting at the holiday table together, singing songs, and being joyful," shared Shai Binyamin, daughter of hostage Ron Binyamin before the launch of the campaign.
"But this year we cannot rejoice, this year the holiday is not joyous. How can we sit at the holiday table when my family is broken? When my father is not present? How can we read the Haggadah when we are experiencing the same thing in 2024, when 133 captives are not free?"
First published: 23:02, 04.21.24