Words Outlasting Paper
The project, titled Voices Etched in Memory - Open Memorial Space, is not a wall covered in the original stickers. It takes the language of those small paper tributes and gives it a durable form through engraved phrases.
According to the university, the stickers appeared in public spaces across Israel and abroad, reflecting the personalities, values and outlooks of those being remembered. Many messages concern love, friendship, courage and hope, making room for the lives people led as well as the loss that followed.
Moving the words into a permanent material changes how they can be encountered: a message seen in passing becomes something visitors can return to in the same place. The stickers are the memorial's inspiration, rather than its construction material.
A Place Along Campus Routes
Architect Lihi Davidovich Ein Gedi designed the space. Her proposal was selected from 147 entries in an open design competition, and a gift from the Gray Foundation made the project possible.
The site sits at an important intersection of campus walkways, near the central plaza and the Gilman Building. A path passes through the memorial, allowing people to make a deliberate visit or encounter it during an ordinary journey across campus.
The university describes this as a way to place remembrance within everyday life, creating room for gathering and reflection while grief and continuity coexist. Its announcement does not provide dedicated visiting hours or separate access arrangements for the memorial.
Nearly 1,000 Stickers in a Digital Archive
A growing digital archive accompanies the physical structure. According to the university, it contains nearly 1,000 memorial stickers collected for documentation, research and remembrance, allowing visitors to explore the material behind the project.
That figure refers to stickers in the archive. It is not necessarily the number of phrases engraved on the wall or the number of people commemorated. The announcement does not give a comparable total for inscriptions on the monument itself.
A QR code at the site provides access to the project website. The university says requests to add stickers can also be submitted online, allowing the digital collection to develop beyond the installation of the physical memorial.
October 7 and the War That Followed
University President Prof. Ariel Porat said the initiative honors those murdered and those who fell on October 7 and during the subsequent war. He connected remembrance with the cost of living in Israel and the need to continue pursuing peace.
Jon and Mindy Gray described the project as honoring those lost while also celebrating their lives. The architect emphasized integrating memory into a place of knowledge, conversation and encounters between people and ideas.
The memorial's scope therefore extends beyond victims of the day of the attack alone. It includes losses during the ensuing war, as explicitly defined by the university.
The Collection Can Keep Growing
The university published its announcement on November 2, with Jerusalem Post coverage following on November 3. The announcement does not specify a separate, precise inauguration ceremony date.
The project combines a physical site with an expanding collection. The wall gives the messages a lasting campus presence, while the archive preserves the original form of remembrance that inspired them. Together they offer a way to encounter people through words chosen by their families and friends.
