On the day of the October 7 massacre, a poignant and powerful memorial was installed across the Columbia University campus in New York City. In a joint initiative by the organizations DiploAct and Let's Do Something, together with Students Supporting Israel, 1,200 empty chairs were placed throughout the campus—each one representing a life brutally cut short in the terrorist massacre carried out by Hamas in Israel.
The installation, which spans 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile), transforms an abstract horror into something tangible and deeply personal. Each chair bears the photograph of a victim, a memorial candle, fresh flowers, and a short account of that individual's life—a chilling reminder that behind every number was a person with a family, dreams, and a stolen future.
Fighting misinformation
Choosing Columbia as the site for the memorial was no coincidence. The prestigious American university has, over the past two years, become one of the most prominent stages for anti-Israel demonstrations and a wave of antisemitism that has silenced many voices and distorted the truth about the massacre.
The organizers set themselves a clear mission: to pierce the fog of misinformation surrounding the October 7 attacks and to bring to light the stories of horror that have been suppressed on campus. Their goal is to remind the academic world—and the students within it—of the true human cost of terrorism, not through abstract words but through the faces and stories of those who are no longer with us.
'We will not let hatred silence the truth'
Amit Deri, chairman of the organization DiploAct, explained the choice of Columbia University: "We came to Columbia not only because it has been the site of the harshest anti-Israel protests over the past two years, but because it has become a symbol of the wave of antisemitism sweeping campuses worldwide. We came to say, loud and clear, that we will not let hatred silence the truth. We are here to remind students and the entire world what really happened on that dark day."
