Mourning and protesting
Spontaneous memorials at the Hostages’ Square
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12534739 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Meital Raz (0000-0002-7351-9669, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 185-215 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Israeli History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1353-1042 • E-ISSN: 1744-0548 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13531042.2025.2593592 |
| OpenAlex | W4416865287 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
The October 7 attacks sparked an unprecedented global wave of visual and performative expressions calling for the release of more than two hundred hostages abducted to Gaza. This article discusses this phenomenon through the lens of spontaneous memorials – a concept that redefines traditional monument-making by transforming public spaces into commemorative sites using everyday objects. A central hub for these commemoration practices formed at the Tel Aviv Museum Plaza, soon renamed “The Hostages’ Square.” The article examines these spontaneous visual expressions, tracing their evolution in Israel from the utilization of war wreckage in the late 1940s to recent carnivalized protests, and highlighting their distinct trajectory in 2023
Painting · Performative utterance · Phenomenon · Public sphere · Square (algebra · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Public Spaces through Art
Performance Studies
The Transformative Power of Performance
Liminality and the Modern
Yitzhak Rabin's Assassination and the Dilemmas of Commemoration
Grassroots Memorials
Urban fallism
Familism, postmodernity and the state
Victims and Victors
Remembering 9/11
Protestival
Between Memory and History
Spontaneous Memorials and Contemporary Modes of Mourning in America
The Counter-Monument
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |