As the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack approaches, the Beverly Hills City Council intends to reinstall a memorial flag display in Beverly Gardens Park to remember the victims of the horrific massacre.
At its Aug. 20 meeting, the council approved a $75,000 budget to revive the memorial from Sept. 30 to Oct. 14. This two-week window also coincides with the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, providing the community with a special place to gather, mourn and reflect during the High Holy Days.
The installation will be very similar to the memorial on display this spring with 1,400 flags denoting the nationality of each of the lives lost during Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel. This time around, City Council also requested the installation of flags to memorialize the hostages murdered since the attack. In addition, the city will place four temporary honorary street signs around the park designating the area as “October 7 Memorial Square”.
Earlier this year the Women’s International Zionist Organization California hosted a delegation of families of the hostages in Beverly Hills, who shared their heartbreaking stories of loss and uncertainty. Staff is currently working with the Israeli Consulate to determine the exact number and nationalities of the hostages who have been killed.
“I think adding the flags for the hostages is very important to a lot of people who are deeply impacted by that,” said Vice Mayor Sharona Nazarian. Nazarian also suggested that Council consider bringing back the display once again from Dec. 11 to 14 when Beverly Hills will be hosting the Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism.
In future meetings, the council will continue to discuss plans to establish a permanent Oct. 7 memorial.
“For a lot of us, this is something that’s seared into our memories,” said Councilmember John Mirisch. “Just yesterday, they rescued the bodies of six hostages who were murdered, and I would like there to be a constant reminder of this.”
Out of the $75,000 budget for the installation, approximately $47,000 will go to private security, $20,000 will go to the flags, $7,000 will go to upkeep and the replacement of damaged materials and $1,000 will go to signs.
Beverly Hills Police Department Chief Mark Stainbrook recommended that the city have two private security guards at the installation, which is why security is the most expensive part of the project.
“When we first had the flags out, we had at least 11 or 12 incidents where there was vandalism, protest issues and other things in or near or around the flags,” said Stainbrook. “It’s a safety issue, I think, just to have one security guard there.”
In addition, Stainbrook said it is possible the flags could attract more protest this fall as tensions simmer around the upcoming election and UCLA students head back to campus.
“We don’t really know what will happen with the UCs in terms of protests there,” he said. “They may be really locked down against protests at the UCs, so since we’re close they may try to come to this area and hold protests or events.”
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Mark C. Scarsi issued an injunction stating that UCLA must take action against antisemitic protests and ensure that all students, including Jewish students, have equal access to campus.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmember John Mirisch quoted Scarsi’s ruling which said, “In the year 2024, in the United States of America, in the state of California, in the city of Los Angeles, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith.”
Mirisch said he was appalled that UCLA is appealing this decision and asked that next meeting council consider a motion calling on UCLA to drop the appeal and better protect Jewish students.
