Riding for the hostages
"You are making a difference by being here today. Sending a clear, loud and strong message to the world – bring them home."
Hundreds of community members came together on Sunday morning – some on two wheels and some on foot – to mark 100 days since October 7 and call for the return of kidnapped Israelis in Gaza.
Around 60 riders took part in an early morning advanced bike rise while others joined families in a leisurely ride around Centennial Park, where an art exhibition was also held featuring the hostages.
Addressing the event, which was organised by the Zionist Council of NSW (ZCNSW) and Maccabi Cycling Club, ZCNSW president Orli Zahava said, “Our hearts break for every hostage held in Gaza and we’re coming together today in solidarity with their families with a simple message – release these hostages now.
“You are making a difference by being here today. Sending a clear, loud and strong message to the world – bring them home.”
Reading the names of those being held by Hamas, ZCNSW CEO Yossi Eshed said, “If the list feels a little bit long, it’s just because it’s very long.
“We are waiting for you. We pray for you. We think about you. We will not forget you until you come back home. Today.”
Sean Bloch from Maccabi Cycling Club read a letter from Israeli Shai Binyamin, whose father Ron is being held captive in Gaza.
“My dad, Ron Binyamin, went to ride his bicycle an hour’s drive from where he lives, an hour’s drive that turned into 100 days of hell,” he read out.
“I want him to know that we worry and think about him every second of the day. He is in our hearts.”
United With Israel’s Avi Efrat said, “We will never forget the hostages.”
Addressing the rise in antisemitism since October 7, he added, “It is only makes us stronger. It only make us more united.”
Representing the Christian community, political activist Freya Leach, whose father Mark Leach was arrested in October for flying an Israeli flag at a pro-Palestinian protest, condemned demonstrators as “a movement of people who don’t share our Australian values”.
Father and daughter are both involved in organising a “Never Again is Now” event against antisemitism, to be held on February 4.
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