The Tel Aviv municipality alongside the Zionist Council in Israel opened the "Final Embrace" exhibit of photographs of mothers who lost their children during the ongoing Gaza war and the October 7 massacre. Laila Abbas, the mother of the late Major Jamal Abbas, who is part of the exhibit said "Mothers share the hardest imaginable pain."
"It pains me to hear so many stories, but when you hear a mother talking about her child and her struggles, you feel that you are not alone. There are others who have given their children up for the country, and that is somewhat comforting. We are going to spread this worldwide, so they know who our children were," she added.
Dr. Laila Abbas, mother of Major Jamal Abbas, a platoon commander in the 101st Battalion in the Paratroopers Brigade. Dr. Abbas is one of the mothers taking part in the "MomToo" initiative, which was born out of the pain of hundreds of mothers who lost their loved ones on October 7 and the consequent war, aimed at uniting mothers worldwide in the fight against terrorism.
Photographer Ifat Peer connected with several mothers and created the exhibition. "This is a project for mothers and their sons," says Dr. Abbas. "Ifat photographed me, and I told her about Jamal, and she connected me with other mothers, and that's how we started to get to know each other more and more. At first, I felt like only I had lost the most special and beloved son, and then I discovered how many stories there are. They are all good children, all the mothers share the hardest pain imaginable."
"The great pain of October 7 moved me to share the stories through the perspective of bereaved mothers," says Peer. "As a mother myself and as an artist, I took my camera and embarked on a journey across the country, where I arrived at the homes of 25 bereaved mothers. Through the lens of the camera, we documented together the pain they experience following the loss of their son or daughter."
"At the exhibition, alongside a photo of the mother, I show the personal story of the one she lost. Their character, dreams, and message for the world, and when their last embrace was. We do everything to cherish and honor them, never to forget," she added. The exhibit also includes the mothers of Noam Avramovich, Shalev Baranes, Idan Raz, Libby Cohen Meguri, Guy Bazak, Amit Cohen, Eden Moshe, Maya Bitton, Shani Louk, Raz Mizrahi and many more.
The exhibition started on Ben-Gurion Boulevard in Tel Aviv on June 6. According to Oz Haim, Director General of the Zionist Council in Israel, "The project seeks to shine a light on the immense pain and strength of the mothers' spirit who lost their most precious ones, yet chose to share with us their final embrace, so that as many people as possible will know and recognize the heroes who will never return. May we become worthy of them."