An empty chair and child’s book for Kfir Bibas were part of an exhibit at Israel’s National Library. Photo by Aviva Engel

Behind the glass walls of Jerusalem’s magnificent National Library stand row after row of black chairs. On each one rests the photo of an Israeli hostage taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and a book to represent them.

Since the exhibit “Every Hostage Has a Story” launched in Nov. 2023, I’ve observed, with mixed emotions, as the sea of what was once more than 200 seats has gradually shrunk. Some have disappeared with news of horrifying deaths; others, once the hostages to whom they were dedicated have returned, miraculously alive.

Now, as Shiri Bibas and her precious babies, Ariel and Kfir, have returned home as corpses, three more chairs and their accompanying books will tragically be taken away — along with our nation’s shattered hopes.

“As heartbreaking as it is, we remove the chairs and books of those who are killed,” said Dorit Gani, the exhibit’s curator, when I spoke with her by phone last month. “Many of the books represent hope, and looking at them with the knowledge that the person is no longer alive is far too painful.”

Of all the chairs, the ones for Ariel and Kfir drew the deepest emotional response from the library patrons, often moving visitors to tears, said Gani. The symbolism behind the chairs’ colors was deeply affecting. For Ariel, who was 4 when he was kidnapped: green, a symbol of vitality and promise. For Kfir, who was 9 months old, the color white evoked his purity and innocence, as well as heartfelt prayers for peace.

Ariel’s tiny chair was paired with Mummy and Me, a book by British author and illustrator Emma Chichester Clark, which centers on the tender relationship between parent and child. The story’s orange-colored bears were reminiscent of the sweet redheaded Bibas children, said Gani, who selected each hostage’s book. And the book’s cover depicted a mother cradling her child, mirroring an iconic photo of Shiri Bibas holding her children in a protective embrace.

Mounted on Kfir’s highchair was Where is Pluto?, a beloved children’s book by renowned Israeli author Leah Goldberg, about a puppy who rips his leash and embarks on an adventure.

“All Israelis grow up with this story,” Gani said. “Most know the book by heart.” It was a book that, she said, was almost certainly read aloud to Kfir. The dog Pluto, like the protagonists in Mummy in Me, is also orange, which Gani said was fitting.

“People were most emotional in front of this display,” said Gani, “because they either read the book as children, or read it to their kids and grandchildren.”

The book’s optimistic ending, she believed, encapsulated the nation’s yearning for a happy conclusion to the horrifying nightmare of the Bibas family’s ordeal. “You’re back home,” the child in the book says to Pluto. “What a joy!”

Dear beautiful Bibas family, you are indeed back home, but not in the way any of us had hoped.

Yet your story will live on in the heart of our nation, so terribly devastated by your loss.

Your legacy will never fade. Your chairs, though empty, carry an eternal weight.

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