• Key Chains bearing the names of the eight capture soldiers
  Can be ordered from www.freethesoldiers.org for 5 dollars each
• Posters bearing the names of the eight capture soldiers
  Can be ordered from www.freethesoldiers.org for 50 dollars each

All of the money spent on these items go directly toward funding awareness programs on the topic of these missing soldiers. Additionally, extra money is sent to the families of the soldiers. Through the use of the key chain and the poster, we have the opportunity to educate people about our cause and ensure the release of these innocent victims.

Ask families and friends to take a photo of your family celebrating Shabbat, a family gathering, etc. In the photo, leave an empty chair (or 3) to symbolize the 3 missing soldiers. This is a very powerful image. Email this photo to nfty@urj.org and saveoursoldiers8@gmail.com. It is our goal to have 10,000 photos to send the the families of the soldiers and the Israeli government.

Designate three chairs in your synagogue for the kidnapped soldiers. Three empty chairs will mark the absence of these three Jews from their families, but not from the hearts and minds of the Jewish community. Three empty chairs will symbolize our hopes for the geographical and national integrity of the State of Israel, missing at present. Three empty chairs will send a message to the three families that the Jewish people are with them in their dark hour. Three empty chairs will focus our attention on our obligations towards the people of Israel. Three empty chairs will remind us of the many lives interrupted by this conflict.

They may be designated with Israeli flags, or with banners printed with the soldiers’ names. Banners ought not to be black, as we hold every hope for the soldiers’ safe return. Congregations ought to consider when they will implement this symbol: will it remain in place until the soldiers are released or the situation is resolved?  Ask your clergy if the chairs be displayed during Shabbat services and take a digital photo of your congregation’s Three Empty Chairs and email it to nfty@urj.org and saveoursoldiers8@gmail.com.

Contact your state legislature and see if there is already a Resolution written. If this is the case they can skip these next steps and begin by bringing the Resolution to Congress.

1. Begin by contacting both houses of Congress within your state legislature.
2. Ask for your Congressman to propose your Resolution
3. Suggest that the Resolution gain support of other members of Congress
4. Once a sponsor and co-sponsor are gained, the resolution can be brought to Congress

 Once you get support, click here for the five steps to bring the Resolution to your state Congress!

1. Gather a group of people together who believe in humanitarian freedom and advocacy
2. Inform them about the situation, including about the soldiers and how and why they were kidnapped, their current status, and them as individuals
3. Begin an advocacy campaign, now that everyone in the group knows about the cause and begin to spread it around your synagogue, school, and community.
4. Follow the steps outlined in "Bring Resolution 1701 to Your State Congress"
5. Begin the other initiatives such as selling the dog tags, or the Empty Chair Campaign
6. CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MADE AN S.O.S. chapter

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to visit the Save our Soldiers website at www.sos8.wordpress.com, or email SOS at saveoursoldiers8@gmail.com