Dorin Hirvi sang about the plight of the hostages in Israel at the demonstration, which was attended by public officials including Beverly Hills City Councilwoman Sharona Nazarian, third from right. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A large crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators gathered in Beverly Hills on Nov. 20 along North Santa Monica Boulevard and Beverly Gardens Park to shine a light on the plight of the 240 hostages being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

The Nov. 20 gathering came a day before a temporary cease-fire was announced between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the release of some of the hostages in Gaza. The event in Beverly Hills included testimonies from young people who narrowly escaped with their lives during the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, and stories about those who remain missing, many of them young children. The crowd chanted “bring them home” as demonstrators waived Israeli and American flags. Musical guest Dorin Hirvi sang heartfelt songs in tribute to those being held in captivity.

The gathering centered around “Ray of Hope,” a temporary exhibit featuring 240 searchlights representing the hostages, pointing to the sky and coming together as one. Posters with photographs of the hostages were placed on the ground, illuminated by faux candlelight. “Ray of Hope” was created by artist Rachel Kahn Evenhaim in conjunction with the Israeli American Council.

“We’re aiming to get a huge, powerful video message that will spread across the world, especially to Israel,” Kahn Evenhaim said. “It’s to let the hostages know that we think about them, we feel their pain and we love them. And their families, we think about them and we love them and are sharing their pain.”

Beverly Hills City Councilwoman Sharona Nazarian addressed the crowd and called attention to the fact the many of the hostages are children. She highlighted that the event was held on World Children’s Day.

“We’re coming here to be a voice for them, to be a voice for these innocent civilians that have been taken,” Nazarian said. “There are 40 children under the age of 18. Many are toddlers and infants who have been away from their mothers and missed their mother’s embrace for 45 days now. In what world is that justified? We need to serve as a voice. And we need to stand as a community, to stand up against terror, hate and antisemitism. We demand that the hostages be released. Bring them home now.”

Beverly Hills resident Shuki Zanna and his son Ron attended the event in solidarity with those who were taken.

“[We know] one of the people here, his neighbor’s son was kidnapped, so we are trying to show support,” Zanna said. “We are going to take a picture and a video and send it to Israel to let them know. Hopefully they see it, and hopefully they get good news for their son.”

Beverly Hills resident and Israeli American Council ally Elliott Kahn said it is important for the community to come together.

“The city of Beverly Hills in particular, and the city of Los Angeles, have really come together in such a powerful way to be on the side of peace, in particular supporting hostages,” Kahn said. “That’s why this is a peaceful, very peaceful installation, to shed light on the fact that there are 240 people still being held captive. These are civilians that were taken from their homes, 40 of them are children who are still stuck in the middle of a war. It’s our way of doing our part on this side of the world to say bring these people home.”

Kahn Evenhaim said the installation would only be in place for one day, Nov. 20, but she hopes it has a long-lasting impact on the people of Israel, particularly the families of the hostages.

“I would like for us as people to come together and spread more light,” Kahn Evenhaim said. “This is spreading light on the situation that we have 240 of our people being held captive in Gaza. It’s not a political thing, it’s not a war thing. It’s a life thing.”