In the days after October 7, 2023, the National Library of Israel created a stark and moving installation: rows of empty chairs, each paired with a carefully chosen book dedicated to one of the abducted hostages. Conceived and led by NLI Reference Librarian Dorit Gani, the project fused scholarship, sensitivity, and profound human care. The empty chairs signalled the aching absence felt by families and communities, while the selected books – chosen to reflect each hostage’s interests, character, or story – honoured the lives so abruptly torn away.

Displayed throughout the Library’s reading halls, the installation invited visitors to stop, reflect, and hold space for those still waiting to return home, affirming the Library’s role as both a keeper of memory and a place of collective mourning and hope.

In this session, Dorit Gani will share the story behind the project, its impact on hostage families, and the wider resonance it continues to have.