Bring Them Home Now, the Los Angeles chapter of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum that was created with the goal of freeing U.S. citizens who are being held hostage by Hamas, is hosting a rally in Beverly Hills on Sept. 5 from 6-8 p.m.. The group was organized just a week after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and has chapters in major cities around the world. Following an unexpectedly large turnout at their Culver City rally on Aug. 7, Bring Them Home Now seeks to continue their impact by rallying in other nearby cities.
“What we want to achieve is just a sense of support for the hostage community in LA,” event organizer Jessica Lipman told the Courier. “I think the biggest thing is [that] we email all the families and let them know, ‘If you’re ever in LA, you have a place to stay. And, LA supports you.’”
The rally will be held outside of Beverly Hills City Hall and Lipman encourages anyone who wants to help bring the hostages home to participate, regardless of political affiliation. As event organizer Debbie Paperman explained, the group was created as a non-partisan approach to helping those who are being held hostage. She believes their demands that the hostages be brought home are separate from any political affiliation. “The second we bring in politics, either way, it’s going to take away from the mission,” Paperman told the Courier. “The mission is to remember the families, to make sure people know that they exist, to hopefully show our elected representatives how important this is to us.”
Lipman echoed this sentiment, explaining that it will take more than just the Jewish community to achieve their goal. She believes that people can rally for the hostages without picking a side. “It’s a humanity conversation at the end of the day,” she said.
As the group urges people to rally, their number one concern is making it a safe space. The Beverly Hills Police Department will provide heavy security at the event and groups like Magen Am and BSecure will be present. At the rally on Aug. 7, which took place in Culver City in front of the world’s largest mural for the hostages, more than 500 people showed up to demand that they be brought home. Before the rally, Bring Them Home Now hadn’t expected a crowd of even half the size. As a result, they planned the September rally and expect to hold rallies in the coming months, until the hostages are released. Currently, there are still eight American hostages being held in Gaza.
As Paperman explained, the group’s ultimate goal is a ceasefire, but with certain conditions. “You can’t have a ceasefire until the hostages, including the ones living and dead, are all released,” she said.
