Netanya's municipality recently removed a memorial bench placed at a local beach in memory of Matan Eckstein, a surfer and surfing instructor from the city who was murdered at the Nova Music Festival on October 7.
The municipality claimed the bench was installed without permission near a cliff edge and without being properly anchored, posing a public risk, and was therefore moved to a municipal warehouse. However, Eckstein's friends documented the bench discarded elsewhere on the beach and called on the bereaved father to retrieve it.
Eckstein's mother, Miri, told Ynet, "We’re shocked and hurt. No one contacted us. The bench was thrown on the beach and my husband Erez went to collect it after people from the surfing club informed us and kept it safe until he could take it."
Eckstein, who was 23 at the time of his death, lived in Even Yehuda. His father built the bench, which bears the inscription "You will always be my sun. Matan Eckstein - a child of the sea who was murdered at Kibbutz Re'im on October 7." Friends, family members, surfers, and passersby have often arrived at the bench after it was placed.
The mother also addressed the bench’s safety issue, saying, "We have no problem placing it in the safest way possible, but no one contacted us about it. Matan grew up on this beach and taught children to surf. It's a lookout point where people come to watch the sunset over the sea. It was so beautiful to see the crowds gathering there.”
“The bench was a meeting spot, and we were moved to receive photos and see the bench being used. The surfers and public at the beach were left shocked and frustrated by the bench’s removal,” she added.
The displeased individuals took to social media to protest the decision, including surfer Elia Cohen, who wrote on his Facebook account, "We never exchanged more than a few words. We didn't know each other personally, but it broke my heart to see your bench thrown away as if it were meaningless... I expect my municipality to return the bench to its place, or to find an alternative location for it."
The post received numerous comments, including, "I felt ashamed when I saw," and "This bench gives the family strength. Why would you act without thinking? Say 'sorry, we made a mistake,' and put it back."
Netanya's municipality said in a statement: "The municipality shares in the sorrow of all the families who have lost their loved ones since October 7. The manner of commemorating the fallen in the city is done with the utmost sensitivity and with respect and cooperation with the families.”
“In this case, the bench was placed in a dangerous public area at the edge of a cliff, without being properly anchored to the ground, posing a risk to its users and in a way that didn’t make it clear it was a memorial. Should a request for memorialization be received in the municipality, it will be considered with the required sensitivity and respect, as has been done so far,” the statement added.