protests

This came just two days before the European Jewish Association Annual Conference, which began in Madrid on Monday.

All the mothers expressed deep frustration over the lack of clear communication from the government and the ongoing uncertainty about the fate of their children.

"America is the greatest democracy in the world," Rumeysa Ozturk said. "I have faith in the American system of justice."

Although Gylenhaal has publicly identified as Jewish, its unkown if she raised her daughters in the faith.

Israel Police emphasized that the right to protest is protected, but only when public order and the law are upheld.

Among the participants at the rally at Tel Aviv's Hostage Square were former hostages and soldiers who were wounded during the war.

Tensions have flared in recent years at Haifa, whose campus enrolls the largest proportion of Arabs of any Israeli university.

Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel's Druze community, and MK Hamad Amar issued a joint statement asking activists to clear the roads and return home.

Police officers headed off an anti-Zionist demonstration that made the Jewish neighborhood its intended destination.

Alternative ceremonies, protests, and prayer services will be held nationwide, as families and supporters refuse to celebrate while hostages remain captive.