California rabbi and congregants hold symbolic shabbat dinner

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A rabbi and his congregants in California made a powerful statement on friday to bring awareness to the people being held hostage in Gaza.

Along the Santa Monica Boulevard, a empty shabbat dinner was set up just off the busy roadway.

The table was set with 200 vacant seats and missing signs as the seating chart to represent the 200 hostages in Gaza.

A banner was also displayed near the table with the faces of those taken.

The goal to bring awareness to the amount of individuals not able to be at their own dinner table with their family members.

Rabbi Yossi Cunin of the Chabad talked about the installation and its importance:

"This table just represents those who are being held hostage...and that's a little over 200, but there's over 1,300 people that were killed that won't be at the Shabbat table...plus all those who are in the hospital. If we had to have a table this block, Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills is not long enough for us."