A memorial in Brighton to those murdered and taken hostage on 7 October is to be relocated after 21 months in a public square, after the local council announced plans for the area to “undergo re-landscaping and a re-planting scheme.”
The 7 October memorial in Palmeira Square was set up a month after the massacre in which 1,200 people were murdered – including 18 UK citizens. Since then, the memorial site has featured a nightly service and delivered more than 550 dedications. Visitors to the site have included Chief Rabbi Mirvis, Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg, and CO-CEOs of Progressive Judaism Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy.
The memorial has been vandalised more than 50 times, including being completely destroyed on five occasions – it has been lovingly rebuilt each time. Incidents include the memorial book being slashed as well as faeces smeared across it. Antisemitic leaflets have also been left in the vicinity, and mourners have at times been aggressively harassed. Four arrests have been made associated with crimes committed there