Surrounded by moments of anguish frozen in time, Tovar Stein recalled when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“It was surreal,” he said.
The first-year University of Florida student was in Israel with a youth development program when it happened.
Before the attack, Stein was with his fellow program members celebrating Simchat Torah, he said. The holiday marks the end of one Torah reading cycle and the beginning of the next.
“We were dancing and celebrating the night before,” he said. “The next morning, we woke up to air raid sirens.”
Feb. 17, 2025, marked 500 days since the attack on Israel that claimed the lives of 1,195 people, according to the Associated Press. Hamas also took 251 hostages into Gaza that day.
To commemorate those affected, UF Hillel opened an art exhibit from Feb. 18 until Feb. 20, displaying works by 25 artists. Each one capturing their experiences during and after the Hamas attack.
The exhibit, titled “October Seventh,” was originally curated by ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. It consisted of three parts: artwork, photos and music.
Lining the walls of the Edmund and Maria Hall Kosher Dining Center, paintings, some drawn by survivors of the Oct. 7 attacks, depict that day.
Dr. Yaniv Feller, assistant professor of religion at UF, organized the exhibition’s opening night. Born in Israel, Feller wanted to highlight Israeli artists in the U.S.
“For me personally, it is an opportunity to highlight their stories,” he said. “It’s also very meaningful to bring it to other places such as Florida.”
Feller pointed out one particular piece by Ziva Jelin: The explosion of red paint on the canvas depicting a landscape scene from her childhood, as she recalled it. Notably, a black smudge seemed to taint the painting near its center. Feller pointed out that it wasn’t a printing error. Instead, it’s the mark of one of many bullets that flew into Jelin’s studio during the Hamas attack.
The second component of the exhibit consists of 300 photos from the days immediately following Oct. 7. Among them are images of rubble, burning cars and first responders tending to the wounded.
The third component is a playlist of songs in response to the attack as well as older songs by Israeli musicians. It plays while exhibit attendees view each painting and photo displayed around them. Exhibit curators intentionally designed it to immerse guests in the feelings conveyed by the artwork.
“Art has a very powerful message to convey,” Feller said. “It is a medium that we often don’t think about enough when it comes to politics and the news and the headlines.”
That message isn’t lost on Stein. While looking at paintings and photos displayed around him, feelings from the day of Hamas’ attack sprung to the forefront of his mind.
“I would describe it as shell shock,” he said. “Every single Israeli in the group knew someone or had a family member that was killed that day.”
Stein has family in northern Israel. He was worried for their safety as much as his own.
“I was lucky enough not to lose any family that day,” he said. “Every Israeli I’ve spoken to can’t say the same.”
For Stein, the exhibit is also a stark reminder of the reality of the war in Gaza. According to the UN, Israel has killed at least 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks. “People are dying,” he said. “People are suffering.”