Memorial wall by graffiti artist fills up completely: "We simply broke down"

Graffiti artist Hami from Ashkelon painted a memorial wall at the city's marina, featuring red anemones with the names of the October 7 massacre victims. The wall filled up within days, and the video documenting the process went viral with over 430,000 views. Hami describes the emotional encounter with a bereaved father who discovered his son's name on an anemone, and the pain that many names are still missing.

Graffiti artist Hami, a 30-year-old resident of Ashkelon, created a memorial wall at the city's marina, featuring red anemones with the names of the victims of the October 7 massacre. The wall filled up within days, and the video documenting the process went viral with over 430,000 views. In an interview with Channel 14, Hami recounts how the idea was born together with his partner Bar, and how he invested 1,500-2,000 shekels of his own money on paints and equipment out of a sense of mission. One of the most moving moments was when a bereaved father arrived and asked if his son Shahar Krief's name was on the wall, and discovered it before his eyes on a red anemone. Hami, who previously worked as an instructor at a surfing school, lost students and acquaintances in the massacre, including Tal Keren who was murdered at Zikim Beach. He describes the emotional difficulty of writing the names, and the moment when his partner broke down in tears after writing name after name. Despite the pain, Hami made sure to incorporate symbols of renewal into the painting – blue skies, green expanses, and young stems. He plans to return soon to paint another large anemone to add the approximately one hundred names still waiting on the list. The project is part of a broader memorial effort that includes paintings of bomb shelters, including one in memory of fallen soldier Marom Golan that was converted into a gaming room for children.