Team aims to ‘paint world with red balloons’ until hostages come home

Thousands of red balloons are now adorning the Earth, bearing a straightforward yet powerful message: "Say no to terror."

This impactful "The Red Balloon" campaign is the brainchild of two visionary Jewish entrepreneurs: Shay Taubes, CEO of Integral Marketing Agency, and Revital Zohar Pour, a businesswoman from Texas.

The campaign was born soon after the October 7 Hamas massacre, when the terrorist organization murdered more than 1,400 Israelis and took more than 230 hostages. 

"We very quickly realized that Israel would be fighting a battle on another front," Taubes told The Jerusalem Post. "There would be a difficult hasbara battle."

Taubes said that business declined because of the war in general and because many of his clients were called up for reserve duty. So, he decided he would channel his energy into the hasbara fight, joining several groups where he could help explain Israel's story, mostly on social media.

On the other side of the world, a former client, Pour, also decided to fight for Israel and its hostages. She launched the "Bring Them Home" campaign, whose signs with big red letters have been hung in cities worldwide. But she quickly encountered several obstacles, Taubes explained.

First, she found herself either preaching to the choir or encountering opposition from people who either did not know what was happening in Israel or whose perception centered on disinformation from social media or the foreign press.

Second, the international audience was more timid than in Israel and could not handle the whole story.

Third, in many places, the signs were torn down, either because of antisemitism or by environmental activists who complained about the waste of paper.

So, she turned to Taubes. Together, they developed the Red Balloon campaign. Since then, red balloons have been displayed not only in the United States and Israel but also in Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and beyond.

Rather than a message about Israel, "We are not talking about us or them or Israel or not Israel, we are talking about an idea that the whole world can wrap its head around: no terror," Taubes said. 

Why red balloons?

"The red balloon has a strong impact visually and psychologically," he continued. 

He said balloons are happy, so people come to see the balloon displays, only to learn about the fight against terrorism and what is happening in Israel. In most cases, the "Bring Them Home" campaign is wrapped with balloons, including posters and more. 

The campaign has become viral, including several hundreds of activists and thousands of volunteers. And Taubes and Pour are now giving it 24/7 of their heart and soul.

"A big part of the campaign is to put international pressure to return the hostages," Taubes added. "We are only at the beginning. We will paint the whole world with red balloons until the hostages are home."