4 The Memorial

Architects: Ollech + Tol Architects, 2024

The design of the Swords of Iron War Memorial was inspired by the Star of David, from whose crown iron panels reach out to the sky. The names of Jerusalem residents – civilians, soldiers, members of the security forces and first responders – who were killed on October 7^th and during the subsequent war are engraved on the panels.

During these 45-minute tours with the architects Tami Ollech Lerer and Aviel Argaman, who designed the memorial and the commemoration site, they will describe the stages of the work done at the site, whose aim is to commemorate the city’s victims killed on October 7^th and its soldiers who have fallen in the Swords of Iron War. They will also explain how they addressed some complex issues, such as: How to deal with bereavement when the war is still going on? How to touch the raw emotions and pain that have not yet been processed? And how to enlist the power of architecture and sculpture in order to create a monument that offers meaning, solace and spiritual healing even in the midst of a crisis, while ensuring that it remains when it is over.