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Chief Rabbi visits Hove memorial to the victims of 7 October Hamas attack
Set up one month after the terror atrocities, the tribute has been vandalised 20 times
The Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Lady Mirvis this Sunday attended the memorial in Brighton and Hove’s Palmeira Square dedicated to the 1,200 people murdered in Israel on the 7th of October.
The Chief Rabbi spoke of being in “awe” of the volunteers who created the memorial and who perform a service dedicated to a different victim of the Hamas massacre each night.
He said: “Let the world know and let the world internalise this message and be aware of the suffering of the Jewish people as victims on that horrific day. And that explains our determination to do whatever we can in order to bring the hostages home.”
The memorial was set up on November 7th, a month after the attacks. It has been vandalised 20 times since but Jewish and non-Jewish volunteers have rebuilt each time.
Victims are from 33 countries and more than a dozen were from the UK. Local resident Adam Ma’anit – whose 18 year old relative Ma’ayan Idan was shot and killed on October 7th said: “Ma’ayan just turned 18. The balloons from her birthday party were still up in the house.
“When the terrorists came into the house she tried to help her Dad hold onto the door. But they shot her in the head and she died in his arms. She was just starting her young adult life when she was so cruelly murdered. Her father, Tsachi, was dragged away by the terrorists with the blood of his first born daughter still on his hands and clothes as he desperately tried to save her life.”
Lady Mirvis tied a yellow ribbon around a tree to symbolise the continuing wait and wish that the hostages would return home soon. The ribbons are part of a Yellow Ribbon campaign to raise the profile of the hostages and particularly six British connected captives.
The ribbons were first tied last Sunday and the next day were vandalised with graffiti with links to a far right website.
Adam Ma’anit added: “I can’t tell you how much it means to me and my family. I tell them how many people come out and how many care about the hostages and the victims. You care. You do things in your own lives. You keep the memory of the hostages and the victims alive.”
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