Tel Aviv U transforms memorial stickers into Oct. 7 monument

A new memorial at Tel Aviv University transforms the ubiquitous memorial stickers into a monument, remembering those killed on October 7, 2023, and soldiers who fell in the military campaigns that followed.

Called ‘Engraved Voices,’ the monument is a low steel wall etched with some 500 phrases taken from the stickers that have been plastered across benches, lampposts, and train and bus station walls across Israel, each phrase representing a person, memory, or story.

The memorial is an open space, part of the campus pedestrian sidewalk network, close to the Gilman Building near the campus center.

It was designed by architect Lihi Ein Gedi Davidovitz, an alumna of the university and lecturer at its School of Architecture. Her proposal was selected from 147 submissions in an open design competition initiated by the university.

“When I began designing the memorial, the first question I asked myself was how to create a space of remembrance for an event that is still so present in our lives,” said Davidovitz in a statement. “I wanted to create a place that allows for grief and personal reflection, but also for hope and continuity. A place where memory is not separated from life, but exists alongside it.”

Davidovitz said she was deeply moved by the phenomenon of memorial stickers in which loved ones chose words that reflected the personalities, values and messages of those whose lives were lost.

“What touched me most was that many of the phrases were not about death or mourning, but rather about life, love, friendship, courage, joy and hope,” she said.

Since October 7, memorial bumper stickers have become an inseparable part of the Israeli landscape. They appear everywhere, bearing short phrases, often inspirational and optimistic, chosen by family members and friends in memory of their loved ones.

Davidovitz wanted the memorial to become an integral part of the campus, an accessible place where people could sit to reflect on a person or a memory, and also encounter the monument on their way to class.

Alongside the physical memorial, a digital archive containing approximately 1,000 memorial stickers was created, allowing visitors to discover the stories of the people behind the phrases.