A five-story-tall yellow ribbon spanning the west-facing side of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles’ building on Wilshire Boulevard — commemorating the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in Gaza — is set to be taken down Wednesday, two days after the remains of the last hostage were returned to Israel.
“From the moment we installed the ribbon, it was never meant to be permanent,” Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of JFEDLA, said Tuesday in a statement announcing the planned removal of the symbolic ribbon.
“It was a promise that we would keep watch, raise our voices, and refuse to look away until every hostage was home. Taking it down now is both a moment of profound relief and a reminder of the immense human cost that led us here.”
The removal, set for 2 p.m. Wednesday, will come two days after the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer from an elite counterterrorism unit, was recovered by the Israeli military and returned to his home country.
Gvili was one of some 250 people, most of them civilians, taken hostage when Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups staged a series of attacks in Gaza that also left about 1,200 dead. Numerous hostages were subsequently released during a pair of brief ceasefires, but dozens died while in captivity. The attacks set off a two-plus-year war that killed an estimated 70,000 Palestinians.
The yellow ribbon affixed to the JFEDLA’s building at 6505 Wilshire Blvd., near San Vicente Boulevard, was installed in 2024 to mark the one-year anniversary of the attacks.
Stretching from the eighth to 12th floors, inclusive, the decal-like ribbon has served “as a visible reminder of the lives taken, the families shattered, and the urgent call to bring every hostage home,” the JFEDLA’s statement said.
“Since its installation, the ribbon has stood high above Wilshire Blvd. as a sign of Jewish solidarity and collective mourning for the Los Angeles community and beyond,” the statement added.
The organization said the ribbon is the largest in the U.S. commemorating the victims of the Gaza attacks.
It was created at such a “monumental scale” by Farkas and JFEDLA Chief Creative Officer Rob Goldenberg “to ensure the message could not be ignored: We will never forget the hostages and we demand they all come home,” the federation said.
Goldenberg told City News Service that the ribbon’s removal will be a “pretty emotional” moment for many people with offices in the building. Because the ribbon sits on the building’s west side, at sunset it illuminated many offices in yellow … a daily reminder to pause and remember the tragedy.
JFEDLA’s announcement said that while the ribbon is coming down, “the memory of October 7th and its impact will remain deeply etched in the community’s consciousness.”
“The ribbon may come down, but we will never waver in our responsibility to care for the Jewish people,” Farkas said. “We honor those who were lost; hold the survivors and families close; and recommit ourselves to the work of healing, remembrance, and building a safer future.”