“I do not like that you ask us to speak about revival,” a woman told me during one of the discussion circles. “Why rush to hope when we are still deep in pain?”

I listened. Then I asked, “But how can we rise if we keep giving power only to the pain?”

It is not about ignoring sorrow. On the contrary, my work in memory and commemoration is my life’s mission. Yet to truly honor memory, we must also ask where it leads us.

I spent two weeks working at the temporary exhibition From Fracture to Revival, created by Israel’s Ministry of Heritage. It opened during the Sukkot holiday and was planned to run for only two weeks, yet it became a living meeting point for thousands. The exhibition stands across from the lot of burnt cars where I have guided so many groups before.

The exhibition takes visitors on an emotional journey, moving gradually from devastation toward hope.

Photographs by Ziv Koren bring the viewer back to the terrifying early days of the war, capturing moments that are impossible to forget. Then comes the Forest of Testimonies, where the voices of survivors and witnesses are heard, telling stories not only of what happened but also of what still can be. The short films in this forest end on a note of hope, like a deep breath after pain.

At the end of the route, a powerful film about unity born after October 7 is projected.

Ziv Koren, one of Israel’s most respected........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)