Harvard Hillel, Chabad Students Install 200-Foot Shabbat Table to Represent Hundreds Held Hostage by Hamas

Students from Harvard Hillel and Harvard Chabad assembled a roughly 200-foot Shabbat table running the length of Tercentenary Theatre Friday as a tribute to the more than 240 civilians, soldiers, and foreigners held captive by the Islamist militant group Hamas.

After a gathering Friday morning, more than 100 Harvard affiliates assembled at the installation at 4 p.m. to offer calls for solidarity, sing the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah,” and condemn antisemitism.

Organizers taped posters displaying the photo, name, and biographical information of each hostage to the back of each seat at the table. The installation, which included candles, plates, baby bottles, teddy bears, and high chairs, was taken down by organizers just before sunset.

University President Claudine Gay joined the afternoon gathering to listen to student speakers, survey the installation, and exchange words with Rabbi Getzel Davis and Jewish Chaplain Hirschy Zarchi. Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana joined both the morning and afternoon gatherings and helped students disassemble the table at sundown.

University President Claudine Gay attended a gathering at a Shabbat table installed by students from Chabad and Hillel Friday afternoon. By Frank S. Zhou

Zarchi, the founder and president of Chabad, delivered speeches at both the morning and afternoon gatherings urging students to have faith and not give in to fear.

“We gathered here with a call to bring home the hostages,” Zarchi said. “To bring home the babies, the children, the mothers and fathers who are being held by monsters in Gaza.”

Davis, who also spoke at both gatherings and remained at the installation “all day long,” said some of the empty seats represented students’ relatives and friends captured in the war.

“This has been a very difficult time for the Jewish community at Harvard,” Davis said. “We are feeling terribly isolated and scared and unwell and struggling psychologically and mentally, academically during this time.”

“My mom calls me at least once a day — near tears — because she’s scared for me,” said Dani M. Bregman ’25, a student on the board of Harvard Chabad who stopped to view the installation. “So I feel like that’s a testament of how it feels to be a Jewish student on campus.”

Hillel President Jacob M. Miller ’25 said organizers intentionally placed the installation in a “very visible” juncture of campus.

“It’s easy to kind of get used to the fact that 200 of our fellow brothers and sisters are being held in captivity — when that’s really a horrific, horrific tragedy that we need to remember,” said Miller, a Crimson Editorial editor. “I thought it was very powerful to see that recreated in Harvard Yard.”

Davis said the University appears to be “confused” about the line between political speech and what he described as “antisemitic, hateful speech” on Harvard’s campus. Zarchi said this is emblematic of a “double standard” at the University.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment for this article.

Jewish affiliates across the University have criticized Harvard's response to Hamas' invasion of Israel on Oct. 7. By Frank S. Zhou

Harvard’s administration drew national backlash for an initial statement about the invasion of Israel that did not explicitly condemn Hamas and its response to a joint student group statement that called Israel “entirely responsible” for the ongoing violence. In the following days, Gay strongly denounced Hamas in an emailed statement and video message.

“Our University rejects hate — hate of Jews, hate of Muslims, hate of any group of people based on their faith, their national origin, or any aspect of their identity,” Gay said in the video message.

At a Hillel event in late October, Gay announced the formation of an eight-member advisory group to combat antisemitism on campus. The group includes several top University administrators, professors, and students.

Ilana D. Kofman ’24, a member of Chabad, said the installation is intended to show passersby the impact of Hamas’ kidnappings and evoke disgust. Any other reaction, she said, means “we as humanity have to rethink a lot.”

“We've come a long way since the Holocaust, to be frank,” Kofman added. “But I think right now, things are tough for Jewish students.”

Bregman said the installation is a symbol of solidarity.

“This is just one example of how strong we are,” Bregman said. “And how much love we have for each other.”