In the latest show of support for the State of Israel, the city of Beverly Hills has unveiled an art installation featuring 1,400 flags representing victims from over 30 countries who were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
On Jan. 25, Beverly Hills leaders and representatives of the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles attended a ceremony marking the opening of the flag display, located at Beverly Gardens Park.
“Looking at the unprecedented explosion of Jewish violence and racism in this country and around the world, we thought it was important to express our solidarity with Israel, with our Jewish residents,” Beverly Hills City Councilmember John Mirisch said in a phone interview afterwards. “We’re one of the few Jewish-majority cities outside of Israel, and we wanted to make a statement against anti-Jewish racism and bigotry of all kinds.”
That they have. The installation’s site, a popular grassy area near the bustling intersection of Beverly Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, is now dominated by a sea of blue-and-white flags, a striking reminder of the Jewish lives lost in Hamas’ unprecedented massacre on the world’s only Jewish state, along with those who were abducted by the terrorist group and remain in captivity.
In a nod to the foreign nationals who also were tragically killed during Hamas’ massacre, there are flags from other countries, including the United States, Argentina, Ukraine and the United Kingdom on display as well.
In a social media post, Beverly Hills City Councilmember Lili Bosse wrote “1,400 flags. 1,400 souls. 30 nations savagely murdered by Hamas on October 7, each flag in memory. Pierces the core of my being. No words. Sacred.”
Leadership from Beverly Hills as well as the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles collaborated on the project, which launched just two days before International Holocaust Memorial Day, held Jan. 27.
“The State of Israel is at the forefront of the fight against global jihadist terror. A sadistic terror that is unprecedented in modern times. A terror that opposes the most basic human values on which the U.S. was founded,” Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Israel Bachar said in a statement. “From Beverly Hills, which represents these values, we call for the release of the captives and remind the world as we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, ‘Never again! We will prevail.’”
Beverly Hills officials expect the display to remain up for at least one month.
“I’d like to see it up there for as long as it takes, at least until the hostages are free, and possibly beyond that,” Mirisch said, adding the site provides the community with an opportunity to reflect on the horrific event in a tactile, experiential way that goes beyond simply reading facts and figures.
“Each flag represents a life extinguished by barbaric terrorists. It brings home the full extent of the tragedy in ways numbers can’t.” – John Mirisch
“Each flag represents a life extinguished by barbaric terrorists,” the councilmember said. “It brings home the full extent of the tragedy in ways numbers can’t.”
On Jan. 26, one day after the unveiling, a drone circled above the flags, likely an effort to prevent any vandalism. Pedestrians walking by stopped to snap photos of the flags, each one flapping gently in the breeze. Among the visitors was Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold, who was having a moment of quiet contemplation, taking in the surroundings, before sharing his views with the Journal about the installation. “This was a Jewish tragedy, but it was also a world tragedy, and it impacts the world,” Gold said in an interview. “And the flags in front of us are just a visual demonstration of the fact that it’s not just the Jews. This is a world upside down.”
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.