By Kate Sanders
Posters about hostages held by Hamas were removed from poles at Ithaca Commons after being vandalized.
Since Hamas kidnapped about 240 hostages on October 7, posters in red and white with the words “KIDNAPPED in large block letters” have been seen in many cities and colleges around the globe. The posters were created in New York City, by Israeli street artists Nitzan Mitz and Dede Bandaid to show support for Israel thousands of miles apart. The posters are described as “guerilla art” on their official website, which encourages people to place as many posters in public spaces as they can.
On November 13, several posters alerting people to Hamas’s hostage-taking were placed on each pole of the Commons. On November 13, all the posters were removed from Ithaca Commons and replaced with small damp red and white sheets of paper.
The City of Ithaca Code Chapter 272 prohibits posting “temporary signs”, such as the posters “KIDNAPPED”, in public places without a city permit. The Sun could not independently confirm if the city had granted the permit and if it was responsible for their removal.
Several members of business said that they did not like the fact that these posters were displayed in public spaces. Lou Cassaniti of Lou’s Street Food said that he did not approve of the posters being displayed without permission from the city.
I’m only against it because it looks bad. Cassaniti: “I’m not against it — I’m just against what controversy will cause over whether or not you can do this.” Some people think they have the right to do so, but The Commons belongs to the city. “You can’t put up posters at my home.”
Before the Commons was cleared from posters on November 14, people had attempted to remove the posters themselves, leaving behind large pieces of paper ripped off the poles. Many people who work in stores at Ithaca Commons reported that they saw people ripping down posters in this manner before November 14. Alli Streeter is a retail associate at the Commons. She was angry when she observed someone tear down posters.
Streeter stated, “I would like to be brave enough confronting them but it can feel dangerous at times.” I think that it is a very unfortunate thing to do when you hurt someone or ruin someone’s work.
Zoe Bernstein, a 24 year old Cornellian for Israel president, stated that posters are an effective way of spreading awareness regarding the hostages. Bernstein expressed her distress at the negative reaction to posters that Cornellians for Israel students put up on campus.
These are innocents who have just been kidnapped. Bernstein: “I don’t believe that this is a political request to get them back, but it has become so, because we have seen people tear them apart.”
Some students, however, have a differing opinion on the political implications of these posters in specific contexts. Some students who did not participate in the die-in for Palestine protest on November 9 brought posters with the words “KIDNAPPED”, to bring awareness about the hostage situation. In a postscript to the event, Cornell’s Coalition for Mutual Liberation – which calls itself a “broad coalition of solidarity,” in support of Palestinian freedom – cited using images of hostages as “an intimidation tactic.”
Some opponents of the Commons posters, as well as those at Cornell University, went beyond simply removing them. They covered them in pro-Palestine signs and wrote anti-Israel comments over the top. Bernstein reported that she saw a poster at Cornell with the words “#Free Palestine,” written in pencil, overlaid on it.
One graffiti piece called the hostages “Zionist Scum” and another read “Israel Is Hitler”. The graffiti was taken down around the time the posters were taken down.
Deirdre Kleinweil, owner of Sunny Days in Ithaca, whose shopfront was marked with antisemitic signs in October 2020, said she had written to the city asking for the removal of these posters, not due to their content but rather because of the controversy that they caused.
Kurzweil stated that she was told by the city that posters attached to poles were hard to remove because of their attachment.
Both the City of Ithaca and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance refused to comment despite numerous requests.
The “KIDNAPPED”, posters, and responses to them across the nation have sparked animosity between people on opposing sides. A Columbia student arrested after allegedly attacking another during an argument about the posters. In Miami, a dentist fired for being caught on camera tearing down posters.
Kurzweil stated that posters, and the negative reaction to them, are not productive ways for Ithaca’s community of having difficult discussions about the Israel/Hamas conflict.
It’s against the rules to post random posters. Kurzweil stated that this was “just too controversial and not the best way to engage in a dialogue”. It invites people to do what they have done in the past, which was put posters on top of hostage posters. This has made it more controversial. This is a difficult conversation. “There’s no simple answer to this, but it is disturbing and triggering.”
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