Every year on March 8, an International Women’s Day is celebrated, providing an annual opportunity to mark the achievements and challenges concerning women all over the world. However this year, March 7, 2024 marked 5 months since the events of Black Sabbath on October 7, 2023, when the terrible massacre of Israeli civilians took place, including brutal rape, mutilation, and murder of women by Hamas terrorists.

Against that background, and remembering 19 women still held at the Hamas captivity in Gaza, alive and dead, University of Haifa decided this year to celebrate Israeli Women’s Day. In Honor of this Day, the Gender Equity Unit, in cooperation with the Hecht Museum, the Department of Art History and the Division of the Presidency and External Relations, initiated project named Faces and Words. The project is based on photographing and interviewing dozens of women who belong to the university community, members of the academic and administrative staff, retirees and students, whom the events of October 7 affected more personally. Personal experiences are double traced through women’s faces and stories, all taken in a one day pre-organized filming session. See and listen to their stories  :

Mrs. Amy Shapira  //  Mrs. Eliana Dan  //  Ms. Ganan Farhoud  //  Mrs. Michal Hadar  //  Mrs. Sawsan Kheir

Mrs. Einat Hakim  //   Dr. Inbal Rivlin   //  Mrs. Tsameret Einav  //  Mrs. Claudia Harel  //  Ms. Keren Alon

The outcome is emotionally wrenching and powerful piece of evidence, visual and verbal documentation of human suffering, bravery and resistance. It was presented during memorial event held on March 7 2024 at the entrance hall of the Hecht Auditorium, and accompanied by moving speeches of :

• Prof. Gur Alroey, Rector and President Elect of the University of Haifa
• Prof. Shulamith Almog, Professor of Law, Presidential Advisor and Commissioner on Gender Equity
• Prof. Mouna Maroun, Vice President and Dean of Research and Development
• Dr. Inbal Rivlin, Head of the Hecht Museum
• Dr. Naama Klorman Eraqi, Department of Art History
• Dr. Lidor Shaar-Moshe, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, who shared her personal experience of  being shut at the safe room (“Merkhav Mugan”) of her aunt’s house at Kibbutz Nirim for 12 hours with her two young children, hearing Hamas terrorists shooting and killing outside, until their rescue by Israeli Armed Forces.

The speakers expressed major feeling of disappointment at the reaction (or rather lack of reaction) of the world in general and women’s organizations in particular to the massacre and rape of Israeli women – describing it as silencing, disregard, suppression, lack of empathy or solidarity. As also deeply shattered sense of women’s personal security and belief that our world has changed during the past century, and is now better and safer place for women to live.   

To make this message more symbolic, and as a token to women’s shared fate – no matter to what nationality or faith they belong – on the wall of  the Hecht Auditorium hang side by side two huge posters :  one of the “Faces and Words” project, showing faces of the University of Haifa women and their words, and next to it the portrait of Mahsa Jina Amini,young Iranian woman arrested and killed by Iran’s authorities in September 2022 for allegedly mis-wearing the hijab, what eventually sparked the Hijab protest.

Team Members :

• Gender Equity Unit, University of Haifa
• Hecht Museum, University of Haifa
• Department of Art History, University of Haifa
• Division of the Presidency and External Relations, University of Haifa