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Photo Essay: In Israel, Two Exhibitions Honor Victims, Heroes of Oct. 7
Haim Jelin, the former head of the Eshkol Regional Council and resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, got the date of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel tattooed on his arm. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Two exhibitions commemorating survivors and victims of the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas opened ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day on Sunday evening.
The first opened at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on Thursday with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon in attendance. The exhibition, called “06:29- From Darkness to Light” — in reference to the exact moment that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel’s border with Gaza — features personal testimonies from 25 women who went through the horrors of the day that became known as Black Shabbat.
The exhibition’s producer, Malki Shem Tov, is the father of Omer Shem Tov, who is being held hostage in Gaza.
Visitors can walk through mockups of mobile shelters, where recordings of sirens and communication devices used on Oct. 7 can be heard.
Among the featured women are Yasmin Porat, who escaped the Nova music festival to Kibbutz Be’eri, where she was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists; Noam Ben David, who played dead for hours in a dumpster at the Nova festival; 15-year-old Ela Shani, who founded a public diplomacy project in memory of her father Yitzhak, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists, that caught the attention of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone; Ricarda Louk, mother of the late Shani Louk, who was murdered at the Nova festival; Miriam Beit Talmi, a Holocaust survivor from Kibbutz Zikim who was rescued under fire; Chen Almog Goldstein from Kfar Gaza, who was taken captive into Gaza with her children after her daughter and husband were murdered in their home; Mali Shoshana, the commander of the Sderot Police Station on that Saturday; and Lt. Col. Or Ben Yehuda, commander of the Karakal battalion on the Egyptian border who fought against dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Envelope, the areas of southern Israel near the Gaza border.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, May 9, 2024. Photo: Guy Sidi
“For far too many months, weeks, and days, the light has been blocked by the dark shadows of a cloudy sky,” Herzog said at the exhibition’s opening. “And even though the sun seems to keep shining, we wake up to this cruel darkness each morning, which stays with us throughout the day. In this harsh reality, this important exhibition — here, in the Museum of Tolerance — brings such a precious and important voice that must be heard loud and clear.”
Museum of Tolerance CEO Yoni Riss said the testimonies presented in the exhibition are “proof of the strength that the citizens demonstrated” on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel from Gaza, murdered 1,200 people, and abducted over 250 others amid other mass atrocities against the Israeli people.
“Alongside the great darkness, the shock, and the sorrow, the great light of Israeli society has been revealed. The volunteers, the fighters, the rescue teams, and defense forces — everyone rallied and demonstrated solidarity that gives us hope for the future,” he added.
“06:29- From Darkness to Light” exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. The picture on the wall shows the burnt cars of festival-goers following the attack on the Nova Music Festival. Photo: Guy Sidi
A second exhibition, “Humans of October 7,” opened a day later at the German embassy in Tel Aviv
The ongoing project by photojournalist Erez Kaganovitz is part of a traveling exhibit that will be shown all over the world, including on college campuses such as Harvard, MIT, and Penn State.
It will mark Kaganovitz’s fourth photographic venture in the “Humans” series, after Humans of Israel, Humans of Tel Aviv, and Humans of the Holocaust, all of which received widespread praise in exhibitions globally.
Kaganovitz said he launched the project to “fight back” against rising antisemitism and misconceptions about the Jewish state “by showing the human side of Israel” and to serve as a “reminder of what Israeli society is all about and what we are actually fighting for.”
Haim Jelin, the former head of the Eshkol Regional Council and resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, got the date of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel tattooed on his arm. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Among the 30 Israelis featured in the series are survivors of Oct. 7 as well as people who have turned into national heroes, such as Rami Davidian, a farmer who rescued hundreds of people from the Nova festival. “I got into places where the army wouldn’t go — under fire and without weapons or bulletproof vests for protection. I had a goal to save as many people as I could,” he said.
Ruth Haran, Holocaust survivor who also survived Kibbutz Beeri massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Another portrait is of Hamid Abu Arar, a Bedouin from Gaza who saved the life of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers after his wife and another passenger in his car were murdered by Hamas terrorists. “I told myself: Hamid, you have to make a snap decision. I grabbed my baby, opened the electric cabinet doors, and ran toward the soldiers. I warned the soldiers that they were walking straight into an ambush,” he said. “If they had advanced five more meters, they would all have been shot dead on the spot. No question about it. It was a miracle that me and my baby survived and that the soldiers were saved.”
In late February, Abu Arar was granted permanent residency status by Israel in light of his heroism.
Hamid Abu Arar. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Kaganovitz said he hopes the exhibition will highlight “the unique Israelis who stood up against terrorism.”
“It shows Israeli DNA at its best and the incredible spirit and resilience of the Israeli people,” he told The Algemeiner.
Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, praised Kaganovitz for his ability to tell “the human stories behind this tragic day.”
“The 7th of October has left deep wounds in the Israeli psyche. But the courage and solidarity many Israelis have demonstrated during or after this horrific attack also convey a strong message of community and hope,” he said.
The post Photo Essay: In Israel, Two Exhibitions Honor Victims, Heroes of Oct. 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War
The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has replaced air defenses damaged during last month’s conflict with Israel, Iran’s Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army’s deputy for operations.
During the conflict in June, Israel’s air force dominated Iran’s airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country’s air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
“Some of our air defenses were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure,” Mousavi said.
Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defense system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defense systems to Iran in past weeks.
Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defenses in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack.
The post Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding
Members of Internal Security Forces stand guard at an Internal Security Forces’ checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Residents reported calm in Syria’s Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented.
With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, “paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate.”
Reuters images showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city.
US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had “navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities”. “The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process,” he wrote on X.
Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city’s residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. “The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,” he said by phone.
Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. “Houses are destroyed … The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital,” he said in a voice message to Reuters from Sweida.
The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organized by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi’ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical.
The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze.
Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbours were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia.
Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against “our Druze people.”
He has blamed the violence on “outlaw groups.”
While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.
COASTAL VIOLENCE
After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the defense ministry in Damascus last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida.
He also said Israel would protect the Druze.
The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days.
A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered.
On Sunday, Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria’s coastal region in March, where Reuters reported in June that Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority following attacks on security forces.
The presidency said it would review the inquiry’s conclusions and ensure steps to “bring about justice” and prevent the recurrence of “such violations.” It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings – if appropriate – as soon as possible.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said on July 18 it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people.
Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.
The post Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Pope Leo called for an end to the “barbarity of war” on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza.
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows.
Speaking after his Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed in the incident.
“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population,” he said.
The post Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church first appeared on Algemeiner.com.