The Victims & The Quilts
This page provides profiles of each of the victims and the quilter's notes, describing the quilt created in the victim's memory. The position of each quilt in the main work is mapped for easy reference.
Gail Belkin — 48-years-old
Gail, a vibrant, beautiful woman born in Zimbabwe, emigrated from Durban, South Africa in 1987. She enjoyed tennis, Scrabble and was a professional beautician. Her elder daughter was due to be married in two weeks’ time and on that day she had accompanied her to fit her wedding dress. Gail herself had only re-married a year before the tragedy.
Quilter — Terry Mowszowski
Gail’s husband wrote a poem about her; he talks about two trees with intertwined roots. It was this aspect on which I focused in making the quilt. I have shown a faded picture of Gail between two trees, and looking down on the world. The one tree is flourishing, the other cut off in its growth. Autumn leaves cascade around the entwined roots. I used autumn shades because these were the colors Gail loved best.
Gail was accompanied by her mother Sylvia, to Dizengoff Center to select a wedding dress for Gail’s elder daughter, Lauren who was to be married two weeks later.
Sylvia Bernstein — 74-years-old
Sylvia was born in Lithuania and emigrated to South Africa and then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) as a young girl. In her later years she lived in Johannesburg where she worked for the Union of Jewish Women. She made aliyah in 1994 and lived with her younger daughter in Hod Hasharon. She was an active volunteer and coached English at a local high school, which now presents an annual student volunteer prize in her name. Sylvia was also an active bridge player and her club now awards an annual trophy in her name.
Quilter — Terry Mowszowski
Sylvia was the epitome of a “glamorous grandmother”. A vibrant, energetic woman who worked tirelessly for Israel for many years. I have tried to bring this through in the use of the gold Magen David which surrounds her picture. Her family was very musical and she loved being involved in music which I have portrayed with musical note paper and instruments. She was also a keen bridge player, depicted by the deck of cards. One of the flowers is a Flame Lily, the national flower of Rhodesia, where Sylvia spent most of her life. The other is a Strelizia, from South Africa. The entire quilt is in muted creams and whites to better show off the gold, which represents her character.
Tali Gordon — 24-years-old
She was a beautiful, lively, and interesting young woman, who was studying Political Science at Tel Aviv University. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1971, she made aliyah with her family at the age of six. At school in Givatayim, she was acclaimed as an outstanding student. Her army service was in the Paratrooper Corps in which she earned her wings.
Quilter — Terry Mowszowski
Tali Gordon was known as a free spirit, but was also a very serious student. She loved life and I have chosen to symbolize her with her name engraved in crushed stone, showing the destruction of her vibrant young life. I have used the butterflies as a counterpoint to show her free spirit, transcending life. Her Paratrooper wings, of which she was so proud, are included.
Inbar Atia — 22-years-old
Born in 1973 in Ramat Efal in Tel Aviv, Inbar was active in the Ramat Efal scout movement, participated in sport and studied ballet with a local dance group. She was an attractive girl who, despite being a diligent student, maintained an active social life. Her loves were ballet and her two motorcycles. After high school, she served in the IDF Intelligence Corps and earned distinction as an outstanding soldier. After her army duty she took a long trip to the Far East with friends. In 1995 she started studying Humanities at Tel Aviv University. The day before she died she had commenced her second year of studies in Hebrew literature. Visit the Keren Inbar site.
Quilter — Zvia Klein
Inbar had two distinct sides to her personality: on the one hand, her grace and femininity as a ballerina. On the other, her two motorbikes about which she was passionate. I have tried to capture this diversity in her quilt by dividing it into two halves: the top half in pinks and feminine colors representing her dancing. The bottom half portrays her love of motorcycling, with a big black motorcycle dominating in dark, aggressive, earthy colors. The photograph shows Inbar in the hat which she customarily wore. At the bottom right is a patch of personal clothing. Her favorite colors, white and black are central to the design.
Inbar had been at Dizengoff Center with her close friend, Tali Gordon.
Rachel Sela — 81-years-old
Born in Russia, she made aliyah with her family at the age of 10, settling in Jerusalem. After finishing school she was drafted into the Hagana, the fledgling IDF. She later moved to Tel Aviv and met her husband Moshe who was a pioneer of Israel’s printing trade. For many years she was the secretary of the Absorption Department of the Labor Party and also worked for the Israel Citrus Board. Rachel was politically, socially and culturally involved in Tel Aviv life. She died near the home she had lived in for 60 years.
Quilter — Zvia Klein
She was a very tidy woman, who loved music and theater and was an early member of the Israel Philharmonic society. She loved Chinese porcelain, Armenian ceramics and her hobby was stringing amber beads. I have incorporated all the loves of her life in this quilt by using Chinese style fabrics and Armenian designs. I have added a string of amber beads to her photograph so she is depicted wearing the beads she loved around her neck. The square containing the words “110 Ha’Yarkon” refers to the famous address of the headquarters of the Labor Party.
Yovav Levi — 12½-years-old
Yovav, born in Tel Aviv, was a leader among his peers and was very popular. According to his parents the telephone never stopped ringing for him. He won many certificates for outstanding schoolwork and for mentoring younger students. He was also enrolled in a class for exceptional students.
Yovav and Kobi (below) were close friends and were together at Dizengoff Center, on their first outing alone in the city.
Quilter — Zvia Klein
The family described him with the biblical phrase: “ואהבת לרעך כמוך - Love thy neighbor as thyself…” because he was always trying to be of help to others. The quotation is embroidered along the bottom of the quilt. The picture of Yovav on a park swing, taken when he was younger, is how his family best remember him; always smiling and full of life. Yovav played soccer for the Betar Yerushalayim junior team and I have incorporated a patch from his own soccer T-shirt bearing the club badge. In his quilt, I have portrayed his love of life, his favorite color purple, symbols of the things he loved: soccer, and youthful decorations.
Quilter — Marlyn Butchins
In creating Kobi’s quilt, I have incorporated all his loves and activities. It is edged in denim, which Kobi loved wearing. Other denim strips are in the design. The quilt is divided into three sections: the top right hand panel, depicts Kobi’s love of animals. The left hand panel is dominated by a representation of the sun and rainbow picture Kobi painted at the age of seven. In the lower right-hand section, which reflects his scholastic activities, Kobi is seen displaying the actual painting.The other symbols in the left-hand panel are his pet terrier Bobby, which he received as a sixth birthday gift; and his pet iguana, his constant companion. Flying high above them all is a white dove, representing the injured bird which Kobi found the day before he died. The next morning, when opening its box to show it to his father, the dove took flight and it soared high into the heavens.
Kobi Zaharon — 13-years-old
Kobi, a warm, clever, and witty child, died a month before his Bar Mitzvah. He was an outstanding student and a few months before he died he earned a certificate of distinction from his school. Kobi’s first love was animals and he dreamed of becoming a veterinary surgeon.
Quilter — Shulamit Ron
I started by reading the commemorative book for Hadas and looked at a blanket she used as a baby. Hadas's last Purim costume was a yellow sun – one of the prominent designs on her blanket was the sun rising behind hills. Somehow it just fit – Hadas's sunny personality, the colors she liked, and her last costume. I took the design from the blanket and interpreted it into a quilt. On the back of the quilt I used a collage of a number of pictures painted in her memory by a well-known artist who is also a friend of the family; a drawing done by Hadas and several other meaningful items from her commemorative book. I used yellow extensively and bound the quilt in yellow.
Hadas Dror — 14-years-old
Born in Rehovot, Hadass was a young girl full of energy and the joy of life. She was a warm, socially aware and caring girl, who loved jazz dancing. She was always willing to help her friends and other people.
Quilter — Shulamit Ron
Her family felt that she had not yet had time to leave anything behind except the memory of her as a happy child. Dana's commemorative book had many pictures of Dana – laughing, making faces, loving. The book contained an entire page covered in drawings of hearts from her school daily planner. Her mother used the hearts motif in the book to display funny things that Dana said. Dana's last costume was pink, and her book contained a poem for Dana in pink, her wonderful optimism, and the promise of life. The pink hearts were the perfect design for Dana. On the back of the quilt I used a commemorative wall of messages written by her friends – things coming from the hearts of people who loved her, and truly belong to the hearts on her quilt. Pink was also used to bind the quilt.
Dana Gutterman — 14-years-old
Dana had an infectious laugh and loved life. She grew up on Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region, and spent three years in the United States, where her family is now living.
Hadas, Dana and Bat-Chen were three friends from the town of Tel Mond, who went to Tel Aviv together to celebrate Purim.
Bat-Chen Shahak — 15-years-old
Born in Ra’anana, Bat-Chen was very active in the Scout movement and in the local community center. In her free time she kept a diary in which she wrote everything on her mind and in her heart. She died on the Jewish date of her birthday. Vist Bat-Chen's memorial site
Quilter — Shulamit Ron
Bat-Chen was the easiest to depict, because she actually left a legacy: paintings, poems, and very expressive diaries filled with drawings. Her grandmother used to paint fabric and she agreed to paint the background fabric for Bat-Chen’s quilt. Since Bat-Chen was so artistic, I used a very simple design and it became a canvas for themes from her drawings, diaries and the Bat-Chen flower, for which she was named. For the border, I used a white fabric (to symbolize what she was wearing that day) covered in black scribble, to symbolize her handwritten notes. The Hebrew inscription reads: “Sof Ha’Mahberet — the end of the notebook” which she had written at the end of her diary. The back of the quilt contains a collage of pages from Bat-Chen's diaries, drawings and painting made by Bat-Chen, and Bat-Chen's signature.
Asaf Wachs — 21-years-old
Asaf was killed on his first free day after finishing the army. Born in Tel Aviv, he was a gifted student and athlete. In 1990 he played soccer in the Betar youth league in Holon and in a youth exchange program with twin cities, represented Israel in Germany. After finishing his studies he joined the Israel Defense Forces as a combat soldier in the Givati Brigade. He was named an outstanding soldier and was popular among his commanders and subordinates.
Quilter — Tamaris Pardo
Serving in the IDF was very important to Asaf and I have therefore used regimental badges as symbols of his dedication to the army. His family considered him a star and so I selected to place him in the center of a mariner’s star. The entire quilt is blue and white, his favorite colors.
Dani Tversky — 58-years-old
Born in Tel Aviv in 1938, he was the son of a famous educational book publisher, Nahum Tversky. Dani was a journalist and a member of the night shift team of Ha’aretz, a leading Israeli newspaper. He spoke many languages and lived for some months in Thailand where he found his “true love”. He was a man of contrasts with an adventurous spirit: years before Israeli youth found magic in the Far East he had already discovered India, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand.
Quilter — Tamaris Pardo
As he was a journalist, I used a clipping taken from a news report on the tragedy as a central motif. Dani was known as a “man of the book” and he had a large collection of books on Israel’s wars. These books are depicted on the quilt. To epitomize how is life was “bound up in books”, I used genuine marbled book fabric, of the type used on the inside of the covers of high quality books.
Leah Mizrahi — 59-years-old
From a Bukharan family, she was a humble woman with a smile that never left her face. Although she had no children of her own, she was considered a binding influence in the family. Her greatest love was to have the family over for meals.
Quilter — Ramona Bachmann
I decided that the central theme for her quilt should be Leah’s love of cooking and love for her family. Thus, I have depicted a festive dinner table, set around with 13 empty chairs — symbolizing the 13 victims of the Dizengoff tragedy. I used blue and white to symbolize her love of Israel, and red for the terrorism which ended so many lives that day. I have also shown drops of blood staining the background fabric. The back of the quilt is Purim fabric symbolizing the holiday on which this tragedy occurred.
The Mask
The mask establishes the tragic backdrop to this event - the festive holiday of Purim, on which the entire Jewish world celebrates the victory over tyranny and evil. It is a symbol of hope and faith that despite the evil perpetrated on this day in the center of Tel Aviv, we can still celebrate the lives of those who died and still hope for a peaceful, joyous future.
Artist— Sharon Bernstein
The mask: Painted in bold colors to suggest life and joy, with curves to signify continuity, has three red tears of blood, to represent the tears shed and lives shattered after the suicide bombing.
The Guest Book: Following the theme of the project, I decided to decorate the wooden cover of the guestbook to resemble a patchwork quilt. It has 13 convergent pieces. Each piece represents one of the victims.