As my husband and I walked through the streets of Yerushalayim, as we do every summer when we stay at the timeshare apartment we inherited from my parents, there was a different feel in the air. We joined the tourists and enjoyed the usual street entertainment surrounding the bustling cafes in the center of town and Mamilla. However, wherever we looked, there were reminders of the war, the soldiers who fell, the hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.
Similar to the rest of the country, the faces of hostages are plastered on bus stops and streamed on screens. Yellow ribbons can be seen hanging throughout the city and painted on the pavement. Stickers showing the faces and quotes of soldiers who fell in the war and those who were murdered appear high and low, on big walls and in small corners. Anywhere they can stick. And when they can’t stick, there’s graffiti. People are enjoying their summer, but the war hovers.
Among other things, the war has caused much political divisiveness. With so much at stake, there is a lot of yelling. But some try to bridge the gaps between the opposing sides. When having coffee at a café on Rechov Yafo, my husband and I suddenly heard singing from a table nearby. There was a table of elderly men and women singing and smiling. They seemed to be trying to make a point. I approached their table to get a better look. The “leader” explained that they come there daily to sing and make people smile. That day, they were “short-staffed” They usually have around 15 people. They do not allow any discussion of politics. Only good vibes. They asked what song I would like to hear. I hesitated, not knowing what to request. Seeing that I was religious, they sang “Tachzik Chazak,” by Avraham Fried. They have signs on their table stating their rules and messages. As the Queens Jewish Link is always on my mind, I asked if I could photograph them and write about them in my column. They were happy for me to do so and told me that someone had already written about them in a publication in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
My husband and I visited the newly opened Museum of Tolerance. The museum was built on part of an ancient Muslim cemetery. The story goes as follows. The museum plans were filed with the City Hall. Anyone who wants to object to the construction of a building has six months to do so. Nobody protested and nobody knew there were graves in that land. When digging began, they found bones. But by then, it was too late to object. The case went to court. The high court ruled in favor of the museum because the museum would create so much potential for good.
Before the museum’s recent official opening, it served as a drop-off point for war supplies. It also hosted a Pesach Seder for orphans of the war. Now it presents two exhibits. The 6:29–From Darkness to Light exhibit conveys the life-altering experiences and challenges of October 7th while highlighting acts of mutual responsibility that arose from what happened. A photographic exhibit documents 75 years of the story of Israel. Israeli media producer, Malki Shem Tov, whose son is currently being held captive in Gaza, has worked with the Museum of Tolerance to create this exhibit.
The October 7 exhibit begins with the enlarged numbers of an alarm clock set to 6:29, the exact moment that Hamas invaded Israel on Simchas Torah. It was a wake-up call for Israel. There is a model of a protective space similar to those found in the Gaza Envelope. The rooms that were built to provide protection essentially became death traps. There are photos, some of them graphic, documenting the atrocities. I did not look closely. Visitors can listen to videos of personal testimonies given by women who survived the massacre. There was an interactive map that tracks those who were murdered and taken hostage on that day. A room displays a wall filled with colorful Post-it Notes written by visitors to the museum. They hope to one day exhibit the notes in a display of unity.
I’ve been to many museums depicting the Holocaust and thousands of years of Jewish persecution. Even though there are still Holocaust survivors living to tell their stories and the impact of the Holocaust is still felt, all the exhibits in these museums present events that took place in the past. We are amazed at how people could be so cruel and commit the acts they committed. But then we leave the museum and go back to our lives. This museum is different. It presents atrocities that just happened and are continuing to happen. When we leave the museum, the exhibit is not over. We are living the exhibit. As hard as we try, we cannot leave and return to our lives.
We hope this exhibit will soon be a presentation of an event from the past.
Please continue to daven for the recovery of the wounded, the release of the remaining hostages, and the success and safe return of all the chayalim and security personnel.
Suzie Steinberg, (nee Schapiro), CSW, is a native of Kew Gardens Hills and resident of Ramat Beit Shemesh who publishes articles regularly in various newspapers and magazines about life in general, and about life in Israel in particular. Her recently published children’s book titled Hashem is Always With Me can be purchased in local Judaica stores as well as online. Suzie can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and would love to hear from you.
