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By Gus Saltonstall

More than a dozen Israeli hostage posters have been ripped down between West 72nd and West 92nd Streets on the Upper West Side. A count carried out by West Side Rag on Wednesday morning found 15 of the posters torn up or almost completely taken down on different sections of Broadway, Amsterdam, and Columbus Avenues within the 20-block stretch.

The red-and-white kidnapped posters went up around the city shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The posters include photos and information on Israeli citizens who have not been accounted for since that day.

In the neighborhood, the posters appear on silver traffic light poles and other streetscape structures. West Side Rag’s count only included those where it was completely clear that a hostage poster had been up.

Multiple videos have garnered attention online of people ripping down the posters throughout Manhattan, including one on Tuesday where a person removed a hostage poster in front of Zabar’s.

“Many in our community have family in Israel,” Upper West Side Councilmember Shaun Abreu told West Side Rag when asked about the torn-down posters. “Many have lost loved ones and know people who have been taken hostage by these terrorists. We must have their backs, to hold out hope and push for an end to this conflict.”

“Tearing down posters does nothing but perpetuate hate and breed more chaos,” he added.