Unity in remembrance: Creative tributes by top companies on October 7

Honoring October 7: How top companies in the economy pay tribute through art, lectures, and solidarity to remember the fallen and support the hostages' families.

 October 7th is celebrated in Azrieli Tel Aviv (photo credit: ERAN LAM)
October 7th is celebrated in Azrieli Tel Aviv
(photo credit: ERAN LAM)

The largest companies in the economy bow their heads to mark October 7th, the day when all of our lives changed beyond recognition. The various companies chose diverse ways and inspiring gestures to mark the Remembrance Day on the one year anniversary of the war. Photo exhibitions and memorial displays, a minute of silence and inspiring lectures by the survivors are just some of the moving gestures, which we have compiled here in the article.

Photographic exhibition "Seventh of October" by the photographer Ziv Koren at the Discount campus

The Discount Group is marking the National Day of Remembrance for the October 7th Massacre and the Swords of Iron War, and will host on its campus the photography exhibition "Seventh of October" by the photographer Ziv Koren, who was one of the first photographers to go to the battle zones and document the difficult events on that Black Saturday.

During October, Ziv Koren will host a special lecture for bank employees about the exhibition and his photographs from the war. On the screens in the bank's branches throughout the country, pictures and names of those who fell and were murdered, in the war of Swords of Iron, will be projected. On October 7, bank employees will arrive with white shirts and at 10 o'clock they will unite with the fallen in a minute of silence.

Isracard

The company is holding tributes and events of identification and remembrance: Today, October 6, in the evening, a huge yellow tape will be pasted on the front of the company building and in cooperation with the headquarters of the families of the abductees, stickers of the 101 abductees who have not yet been released will be pasted on all the elevators in the building. On the morning of October 7th at 11:00, the company will hold a gathering of all employees to release 365 balloons. The company will host a lecture by Edva Abramowitz, who lost her daughter Noam the observer on October 7.

In addition, there will be a series of lectures in collaboration with the Natal and Adler association that helps trauma victims: Dean Miroshnikov will come to the lecture in front of the employees to share about the difficulty that exists for trauma victims personally as well as in wider circles, about the challenges in dealing with the individual, in front of the community and society and how it affected his work as well as a lecture performance by Jimbo J as a resident of the envelope and his personal coping after the 7.10 through music. Alongside, a lecture by a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma and a lecture for parents with recruited children. In addition, similar to other companies, Isracard also joined the project "Enveloping the Otef" intended to strengthen the residents of the Gaza border communities and as part of it, during the week of October 7, outdoor signage will be posted in Sderot, Ofakim and the area of the Gaza border settlements.

 Rotem's 3D printed chair, Stratsys  (credit: COURTESY OF THE FAMILY)
Rotem's 3D printed chair, Stratsys (credit: COURTESY OF THE FAMILY)

Riseup employees will tell about their relatives who fell in the battles

At Riseup, the Israeli fintech startup that helps consumers control their financial expenses, using artificial intelligence and the wisdom of the community, there will be a ceremony for employees at the company's headquarters on October 7th, during which the employees will tell about their loved ones who have fallen. Tamar Abramson, the director of Riseup's activities in Israel, will tell about her relatives, Yosef Malachi Gedaliah, a soldier of the Dovdevan unit, who fell in the difficult battle in the Gaza village, while heroically rescuing residents on October 7. In a diary found by his widow after his death, he wrote: "Remembrance Day - the goal is not to cry about what happened and how heroic people were, but to understand that each of us has the ability and strength to do what they did, and they inspire us to see how much strength we have." Another relative Abramson will talk about is Maj. Gen. Ben Zusman, a fighter in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion who was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip and in his will asked his relatives not to hold a sad Shabbat, but a week of fun and friends on October 7.

The Windows of Hope exhibition will be hosted by Amdocs 

On September 30, Ziv Koren, docu-photographer and journalist, was hosted at Amdocs Park in Ra'anana in his lecture "Seventh in October". Ziv told about the danger of documenting in a war zone, the difficult sights and the mobilization of citizens to defend their homeland, accompanied by his photographs from a war that, unfortunately, has not yet ended. 

On October 7th, Amdocs' main memorial event will be held from the offices in Sderot, in which a ceremony will be held led by the Sderot team and a lecture by the journalist Omri Essenheim, about the heroes of the war. On October 7th, two exhibitions will be presented in the atrium of Amdocs Park in Ra'anana: The Windows of Hope exhibition - a social art gallery presents throughout the country and the world the portraits of the hostages and the abductees as they are reflected in the eyes of 50 Israeli artists in order to raise awareness and emotional connection through art and mobilize public opinion in support of their urgent release. An exhibition of the late Eli Elgart - Eli's son, Sharon Elgart, is an Amdocs employee in Colorado. In the October 7th attack, Eli's house was burned down and at his son's request, Amdocs got involved in collecting and storing the remaining photos and is excited to display them in the park.

A commemorative stand with the stories of the fallen at Meitav Investment House

A commemorative stand will be set up at Meitav Investment House that will include stories of the company's employees and relatives of employees who were murdered on the seventh of October. Next to the commemorative stand will be placed photos of the 101 abductees who are in Gaza, words of empowerment written by fallen soldiers and a blank board where the workers can express themselves, write memories, wishes and more. In addition, the employees will be able to commemorate people who are close to them. The commemorative stands will be placed both in the company's offices in Bnei Brak and in Ma'agan.

 Itai Bichler and Edva Gershka, the brother and mother of the late Tal Gershka (credit: COURTESY BEZEQ, PR)
Itai Bichler and Edva Gershka, the brother and mother of the late Tal Gershka (credit: COURTESY BEZEQ, PR)

Bezeq salutes the late Tal Grushka and invites you to connect with grandparents 

The Bezeq media company salutes the late Major Tal Grushka, a soldier and commander who fell in battle near Kibbutz Kfar Gaza on the morning of October 7. Tal believed in the importance of family ties and made sure to maintain a particularly warm and loving relationship with his grandparents. Every weekend, in the briefing before Going Home asked his soldiers to take out their phones, call their grandparents and wish them Shabbat Shalom, inspired by his legacy, and with the participation of influencers, Bezeq launched a special digital initiative called "Staying Connected", calling on the Israeli public to strengthen the relationship with their older family members. 


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The campaign was created by students from Reichman University, and 9 favorite Israeli influencers who are connected to their family members take part, who talk about the importance of the family connection for them, including Liran Kohner, Talia Ovadia, Lial Eli, Guy Eitan, Kevin Rubin, Sapir Borgil, Evelyn Chaimovich, Or Elkaim, and Livyland.

In addition, today, October 6, the company is hosting Itay Bichler, Tal's brother Grushka, who will tell the company's employees about Tal, who was a beloved commander who was predicted to have a military future, who was good at soccer, piano, and theater and, above all, was the glue of the family. 

An exciting 3D commemoration of Stratasys

Last February, the late Sgt. Rotem Sahar Hadar from Kfar Aviv was killed in a battle in southern Gaza. As a fighter and commander of the medical squad of the entire battalion in a paratrooper patrol. Rotem fought bravely from October 7. Rotem was entrusted with leading the medical team to rescues and fighting under fire, and did so dozens of times during the war. During his high school studies, Rotem, who was known for his sense of humor, wrote on a student's chair: "Rotem's chair", so that he would always have a place to sit. After his death, the chair with Rotem's handwriting was passed on to his family. A few weeks after his death, his family members contacted the 3D printer company Stratasys from Rehovot, in order to see if they could help with a lovely commemorative project in his memory. Stratasys immediately got involved and the project got underway. Stratasys' team of application experts assisted in the design of the model, in collaboration with the LMI Manes Ziona company.

On the occasion of Rotem's commemoration, about 200 miniature models of chairs were printed in 3D, with the inscription "Rotem's chair", and a scannable QR code leading to the memorial site in his memory. The printed chairs were given to the family and distributed to Rotem's relatives, neighbors and friends, who usually meet every Thursday evening in his memory. The name of the meeting is: "Rotem's chair", to emphasize that forever, Rotem will have a place with all his lovers.

 Migdal - The Missing Brake Campaign (credit: PR)
Migdal - The Missing Brake Campaign (credit: PR)

A memorial ceremony and a campaign with a message for the return of the hostages at Migdal Insurance and Finance

The Migdal Insurance and Finance company, which employs over 4,000 people, will hold a variety of activities to mark the anniversary of the war, most of them at the company's campus in Petah Tikva. The company will hold a memorial ceremony on October 7 at 11:00 a.m. that will include a minute of silence, a speech by the CEO and a song of hope. The flags at the entrance to the building will be lowered to half-mast. In addition, the company will set up two memorial stands: A memorial candle light stand that will be placed in the entrance plaza of the building and a memorial wall that will be placed in the lobby of the building where the employees will be able to paste photos and write memories about people they have known and been killed since the beginning of the war. After the ceremony, employees will be offered a wide range of volunteer opportunities, such as visiting the wounded, cooking meals for the needy, and assisting in trauma centers These will reach their peak towards the 7.10. 

Migdal also takes part during the short break, which was joined by a number of leading companies in the economy such as Bank Hapoalim, Colmobil, Tnuva and more. The companies will launch television campaigns on which yellow squares will be worn that will hide part of the campaign, with the inscription: "As long as they are missing, we are not complete." In addition, the company will hang a sign on the main campus building in Petah Tikva, which can be seen from the Jabotinsky axis, with a message calling for the return of the abductees. The activity will take place at the same time also within the internal organizational framework of the company. 

The Taboola company will hold a ceremony in the management of the employees and will host Avital Dekal Chen, the wife of Sagi who was kidnapped in Gaza:

At Taboola, we will celebrate October 7 in several ways, all of which show the initiatives of the company's employees. The first event will take place on September 30, before Rosh Hashanah, and as part of it the company will host Avital Dekal Chen, the wife and mother of the children of Sagi Dekal, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and has been held captive in Gaza ever since. In addition, at the initiative of a Taboola employee, a photo exhibition will be held in memory of the late Major (res.) Kalkidan Mehri, who fell five months ago in the Swords of Iron War. Taboola mobilized to organize a commemorative event in collaboration with the family and friends of Mehri, who was a photographer.

On the opening night of the exhibition, the company will host his family, friends and company employees for a joint memorial evening in its offices. On October 7, a ceremony will be held at the initiative and management of Taboola employees to commemorate Black Sabbath. The ceremony will touch on the grief and pain of October 7, on the abductees who returned and the abductees who are still in captivity, and will also deal with the mutual bond and hope that sustains us all these days. During the ceremony, the company employee will tell the story of Shlomi Ziv, her relative, who was kidnapped from the Nova party and rescued by the IDF as part of Operation Arnon. 

Memorial stand in memory of Tomer Achims at NESS company  

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Seventh of October disaster, the company established a memorial station on the Ra'anana campus in memory of Tomer Achims, the son of Moshe and Anat Achims, a NESS employee. The late Tomer fell while fighting fiercely against many terrorists, for the protection of the residents of Kibbutz Nirim during Black Shabbat. Also, the company will host on campus Ezra Nagar, the father of the late Tomer Nagar who was killed in an assassination attempt on Black Shabbat. The company will even maintain a memory space in the internal application Her organization, where the workers can share their personal stories - stories of loss and bereavement alongside stories of heroism and hope. 

In addition, NESS employees were invited to visit the exhibition of photojournalist Ziv Koren, which is held at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and documents the events of Black Sabbath. Employees who registered to visit the exhibition will be able to tour it during the month of October. Along with all of these, NESS along with a number of leading companies joined the "Otifim da Ofetaf" project designed to strengthen the residents of the Ofetaf, and as part of it, during the week of October 7, outdoor signage will be deployed in Sderot, Ofakim and in the area of the Ofetaf settlements. The signage was purchased from an advertising company that was owned by the late Kobi Friante, who was murdered on that Black Sabbath.

The Azrieli Group will illuminate the Azrieli Tower with a lighted candle and the inscription Yazkor, throughout the month of October  

The Azrieli Group will place in its various properties representatives of remembrance, which include: An Israeli flag, a memorial screen, yellow ribbons and a yellow chair. In addition, the square tower in Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center will be illuminated throughout the month of October with the sign of a lighted candle and the inscription: "Yizkor 7.10". At the top of the tower is the number of days the abductees have been held captive by Hamas in Gaza. The count began on August 1, marking 300 days into the war, and will continue until the abductees return home. The Azrieli Group mourns the victims of the terrorist acts, prays for the safety of the IDF soldiers and the security forces, hugs the families of the abductees, stands by their side and wishes for everyone's return soon, in health and in peace.

A commemorative corner and the lecture of Deputy Adan Ram at the fintech company Nayax

At Nayax, a global trading, payment and customer loyalty platform, whose goal is to help businesses expand their business, they chose to mark the anniversary of the October 7 disaster in several company events. Virtual commemoration corners will be projected on all the company's screens, in which the employees were invited to share the stories of relatives, acquaintances, friends, or a moving story about the terrible day, which they want to share; There will be an inspiring lecture by Lt. Aden Ram, who fought in the Orim base until the terrorists entered. In her lecture, she will tell the story of her heroism, how she felt at the moment when she thought everything was over, until the moment she realized she was saved. In addition, the Nayax company purchased dozens of cases A holiday from the headquarters of the kidnappers, which were purchased as a donation and distributed to the company's employees.

Memorial and commemoration events, and community activities at Riskified

Riskified will hold a number of memorial and commemoration events, and community and volunteer activities to mark the anniversary of the Seventh of October disaster and the Swords of Iron War on October 7 - a commemoration and remembrance corner in the company, lowering the flag to half-mast, distribution of pins purchased as a contribution to the restoration of the envelope, distribution of shirts to the company's employees as part of the "wrap" project in which all The profits are donated to resiliency centers for the rehabilitation of the residents of the surrounding area.

Also, Netta Givati, HR director at Riskified, says that "we chose to mark the anniversary of the disaster by volunteering, and therefore we offer throughout the month of October with the aim of uniting in the spirit of hope a variety of different volunteering activities related to the war among them: Food preparation as part of a project in memory of the fallen soldier, Uri Garbi, A toy-making workshop for the children of random evacuees, food packaging and logistical assistance for soldiers and evacuees, a bicycle repair workshop for the children of the North and the South, tours of the Gaza Envelope and a panel of reservists for the reservists at Riskified. In addition, in a gesture of solidarity, pins will be distributed to the employees at our headquarters in the United States, and tickets will be purchased for them to allow For them to take part in the rally in Central Park led by the New York Federation."

 Necklaces with Star of David pendants (credit: PR)
Necklaces with Star of David pendants (credit: PR)

MY OFFER chain will sell necklaces as a donation to the IDF disabled organization

The MY OFFER chain is launching an exciting and significant fundraising project for the disabled in the IDF. The sale, which will be held in 18 shopping malls throughout the country, offers for sale necklaces designed with a Star of David pendant for a symbolic price of only NIS 10. All proceeds from the sale of the necklaces will be donated to the IDF Disabled Organization , in order to help those who sacrificed so much for our security. The necklaces, from designer Roni Kahan Jewelry, come in two spectacular designs - silver and gold. They are available for purchase conveniently and quickly through the MY OFFER app, which allows consumers to support this important cause easily and quickly.The special fundraising operation will be held and will end tomorrow, October 8, 2024. This is a unique opportunity for the general public to express their appreciation and support for the disabled in the IDF, while purchasing a designed and meaningful souvenir.

A project that combines VR technology and presents personal stories from Black Sabbath in general insurance and finance

Clal Insurance and Finance initiated a special and first-of-its-kind activity for thousands of its employees with the israel-is association that created a unique project using VR technology, presenting 5 chilling personal stories from that black Sabbath, on October 7, of Ofir Engel, Mazel Tazzu, Nimrod Palmach, Malat Ben Haim and Remo Salman Alhuzail. The stories are conveyed through VR glasses and provide a tangible glimpse of the painful stories, feelings and sights of destruction from personal angles in various difficult events - the survivors of the Nova, a hostage in Gaza, the activities of the security forces and the combat of a reserve officer in the field.  The israel-is project was presented in countries around the world - in the USA, Europe, South America and Australia, with the aim of changing the perception of the world and responding to the denials regarding the events of October 7th, and left a significant mark among the workers.

Voluntary activity and discussion circles at NTT Israel

The NTT Innovation Center in Israel has established a memorial corner in memory of the victims and the murdered, and is holding a circle of conversation designed to allow everyone to share their feelings and discuss the challenges and emotions that everyone experiences. In addition, there will be a voluntary activity.

Amalgamation of communities in Amplefields Investments

Amplefields Investments opened its doors to new ventures around October 7 and invited everyone in the company to make proposals on how to unite different communities in Israeli society. This is how a unique project was born, at the center of which is the way to create a real connection between the parts of society. As part of the project, each employee is asked to propose an idea along with a workable plan. The company took it upon itself to finance the same idea, with the aim of bridging, bringing together and proving that it is precisely out of difficulty that it is possible to rebuild, together.