ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley in Allentown on Sunday unveiled 'Wings of Hope,' a new installation honoring victims of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
The sculpture, of angel-like wings made from donated plastic toys, is based on a similar installation in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel.
A resident of the kibbutz, Livnat Kutz, created the original in the Summer of 2023. Kutz and her family were killed in the October 7 attacks a few months later.
In the time since, reproductions have sprung up across Israel and the United States to honor their memory and symbolize hope for a better future.
“We wanted to do something that is both hopeful and more optimistic, and yet to remember what happened.”Inbal Neeman
The Jewish Community Center’s version started taking shape late last year when members of the Muhlenberg College chapter of Hillel were looking for a way to the attacks in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 more were taken hostage.
“We thought about things that we could do,” said Inbal Neeman, a member of Muhlenberg Hillel who worked on the project. “We wanted to do something that is both hopeful and more optimistic, and yet to remember what happened.”
Members had previously come across the 'Wings of Hope' initiative, and wanted to create an installation of their own. When it became clear that making a permanent addition to Hillel’s building would be difficult, members approached the JCC.
The JCC, Muhlenberg Hillel and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley All collected hundreds of colorful plastic toys to create the sculpture, and volunteers spent about three months constructing it behind the community center’s front desk.
After about three months of work, the three groups jointly unveiled the mural Sunday to cap off the Jewish Federation’s annual Super Sunday, a donation drive that doubles as a day of education and service.
“It's just not another memorial that looks at the sad part, but it's a hopeful memorial around the world."Aaron Gorodzinsky
“We wanted to finish the day with something to commemorate October 7, and also something hopeful,” said Aaron Gorodzinsky, Director of Outreach and Community Relations for the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.
“It's just not another memorial that looks at the sad part, but it's a hopeful memorial around the world,” he said.
Earlier in the day, attendees filled tote bags with feminine hygiene products for a local women's shelter, and experts offered informational sessions dealing with prostate cancer, security best practices and visual impairments in children.
During this year’s event, the federation raised about $30,000 — “a really good number,” Gorodzinsky said.
