Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) lit up the UK headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in yellow this week, calling on the humanitarian body to take stronger action for the 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
The move, which comes just days before Passover, was accompanied by the message “Let my people go!” – a reference to the biblical Exodus and a call for liberation.
“As the Jewish community prepares to celebrate Passover, a festival commemorating Jewish liberation, our thoughts are still with the 59 hostages being held hostage in the captivity of antisemitic genocidal Hamas terrorists,” said a CAA spokesperson.
The charity criticised what it called “lacklustre and vapid” international efforts to secure the hostages’ release, singling out the ICRC for its perceived inaction.
“Many in the Jewish world no longer regard the ICRC as much more than a glorified taxi service,” the spokesperson said. “Sitting aside for months as hostages languish in abominable conditions and then patiently waiting as psychopathic terrorists parade their traumatised captives onstage in grotesque ceremonies before carting them away as though nothing had happened.”
The ICRC has stated that “for the hostages in Gaza, the Red Cross is neutral” but denies being a bystander. CAA rejected that claim: “Tell that to the Jewish people waiting for their brethren to return. ICRC, we say to you: Let my people go!”
Hamas, which launched the 7 October terror attack on Israel and is holding the hostages in Gaza, is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, EU, US, and others.
