Praying for Their Return: Volunteers Create 'Tree of Freedom' as a Symbol of Hope for the Hostages' Return

I discovered the enchanting project of the 'Knitting with Love' group not by chance. As a former resident of Lod, I had heard several months ago about the charming initiative created by city volunteers. After spending the past year knitting for soldiers and evacuees, the volunteers decided to work on a knitting project that would symbolize their longing and prayers for the return of the hostages.

For three months, they sat together knitting more and more butterflies symbolizing freedom and release. "We wanted to create something that would express our hope and prayers for the hostages' freedom," one volunteer explains, "something that would give hope to us and to all of Israel."

Symbolically and unintentionally, the work on the magnificent creation was completed exactly on the day when all of Israel was waiting for the hostages to return after more than a year and a half in Hamas captivity. "We are very excited and pray to see everyone at home," the group volunteers conclude, "we will continue adding more and more butterflies to the tree until they all return."