It’s been a hard 10 months for Effie Yahalomi.

Her brother Ohad Yahalomi was one of around 250 hostages abducted by Hamas in the Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel. After an exchange during a brief ceasefire, and nearly a year of war between Israel and Hamas, 115 hostages remain in captivity, including Yahalomi. On Sunday, his sister pleaded for his release in a ceremony opening, “Boston Unites Against Terror,” a three-day immersive exhibit about the hostages’ plight at Boston’s City Hall Plaza.

“I am standing here with a broken heart,” Yahalomi said, for her brother and “114 other innocent people still in Gaza, held hostage.

“Please let it sink in,” she continued. “They are held hostage – not guests, not prisoners of war. It’s been over 10 months now.”

Yahalomi, an American citizen, was there to remind the world about her brother, who worked for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and lived with his wife Batsheva and their three children in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

“He adores and protects nature and wildlife,” she said, noting that Ohad had saved an injured eaglet several years ago.

Yahalomi’s husband, Mark Avsker, told the Journal that his brother-in-law was also an expert on scorpions and loved to share his overall knowledge of nature.

“He was passionate about the desert and loved the area,” Avsker said.

On Oct. 7, Ohad Yahalomi and his entire family were kidnapped. Batsheva escaped with her daughters that day. Their son Eitan was a hostage for 52 days before his release in a ceasefire exchange. Ohad is still in captivity, having turned 50 as a hostage.

Ruby and Hagit Chen were also there to publicize the plight of their son, Itay Chen, who was an 18-year-old IDF servicemember when he was taken hostage.

“They were outnumbered and surprised,” Chen’s father, Ruby, a U.S. citizen and executive committee member of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told the Journal.

“He tried to keep the people safe from being harmed,” Itay Chen’s mother Hagit said. “He was a hero on that day. He fought and tried to protect innocent people.”

Five months after the attacks, in mid-March 2024, the Chens were told that their son would not return home alive.

“Alive or deceased, they need to come back,” Ruby told the audience. “Jewish tradition says that the soul needs to rest. We need all hostages now. We call on you guys to tell your congressmen and senators, ‘What have you done to get the hostages out?’”

Through the exhibit, visitors had a chance to experience what the organizers said it is like to be a hostage in Gaza. Eight of the captives are American, and three are believed to be dead.

According to the organizers, the exhibit was based on body-cam and cell-phone footage from Hamas on Oct. 7.

Dr. Aylit Schultz, who helped organize the exhibit with attorney Doug Hauer, called the exhibit “a unique opportunity” for the Boston community.

“Boston is a city that itself faced the horrors of terrorism,” she noted, citing the Boston Marathon bombings and the attacks of 9/11 (two of the flights originated from Boston). “Boston is a city known for its resilience, compassion and commitment to justice. It’s an opportunity to reaffirm those values. Your presence sends a powerful message that Boston won’t stand idly. It transcends politics.”

Volunteer Jake Donnelly of Swampscott led a group of four people through the exhibit, designed to resemble a tunnel beneath Gaza.

“Everything you’re going to hear happened on Oct. 7,” said Donnelly, who works for the Israeli American Council New England. Alluding to the low visibility, he added, “It’s going to be very dark.”

On the right, they passed a broken toilet in one compartment; not long after, a prison door opened, revealing a mattress and a dirty baby doll. Footage was shown of multiple individual hostages, including 26-year-old Noa Argamani, whose abduction on a motorcycle was captured on film, and who was one of four hostages rescued by the IDF in a special operation. Three kidnapped members of the Bibas family were also shown: mother Shiri, 5-year-old Ariel and baby Kfir.

Near the exit, a four-word message appeared: “Bring Them Hope Now.”

The exhibit, which ran from Sunday to Tuesday in Boston, included 30 sponsor organizations along with eight synagogue sponsors. B’nai B’rith International was a principal organizational sponsor.

“Ten months have passed,” B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “People are forgetting these people who were dragged from their homes … living in these horrific conditions as hostages.”

In his remarks to the crowd, Mariaschin remembered participating in a similar demonstration on behalf of hostages 51 years ago, also at City Hall Plaza. Back then it was to publicize the situation of Israeli servicemembers captured by Syria during the Yom Kippur War.

“Syria’s objective during the Yom Kippur War was to destroy the State of Israel with their allies,” said Mariaschin, who worked for the Jewish Community Relations Council at the time. “The objective of Hamas in 2023 … was exactly the same.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently made his ninth trip to the Middle East in hopes of securing a peace deal, amid media reports of recalcitrance by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Asked about Blinken’s latest journey, Mariaschin replied, “We always need to be hopeful. We need to pray that this time, this works.

“The cruel manner in which these hostages have been held is abhorrent … we are hoping this negotiation can work and that the hostages will be released as soon as possible.” Θ