Beverly Hills' October 7 Memorial: What Has Been Approved and What Still Needs to Happen

Three years after the October 7 attack, Beverly Hills is still working toward a permanent place to remember the victims.

For this year's anniversary, the city scheduled a Moment of Remembrance from 6:45 to 7 a.m. on Wednesday, October 7, at Rexford Mini Park, 362 N. Rexford Drive, with City Council members joining residents, the Daily News reported. Hamas-led terrorists killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in the 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Across the street, the city plans to build its permanent October 7 memorial outside the Beverly Hills Public Library, beside the city's 9/11 memorial. According to the Daily News, the city says the memorial is meant as a space for remembrance, education and reflection, and has committed $500,000 toward it.

"May this memorial inspire future generations to recognize the dangers of antisemitism, hatred, bigotry, and dehumanization," city officials said.

From "40 Steps" to a new design

The memorial has already been through one design. Beverly Hills Weekly reported in its April 2 to 8 issue that the City Council had discussed replacing the original selection, "40 Steps to the Sky" by Broskin Studios, because of rising costs.

The numbers, as reported by the Weekly:

The replacement concept is by Atelier Eyster Architecture. Beverly Hills Weekly gave its name as "Shared Light Between Us," while the Daily News, quoting the city, called it "Light Shared Between Us." The Daily News reported that the City Council has conceptually approved the design. The site is at the corner of Rexford Drive and Burton Way, next to the library.

On funding, the Weekly reported that the city had allocated $500,000, with about $63,000 more from donors. A $250,000 contribution from the Jewish Federation was scheduled for council consideration in April. If approved, total available funds would exceed $800,000, the Weekly said, still well short of the new design's estimated cost.

What still has to happen

Conceptual approval is not the same as a construction contract. According to Beverly Hills Weekly columnist Peter Ostroff, writing in the same issue, the City Council attached three conditions when it moved to the new design at its March 24 study session:

1. The new design must be shown to be feasible to build.

2. It should not be built in phases, so the city is not left with an unfinished memorial.

3. Construction should not begin until the city has cash in hand for the full cost, based on a firm price. Pledges would not count.

Ostroff, who has been critical of how the project has been managed, also reported that the city had already spent about $65,000 on the abandoned first design.

Several key facts are not yet in the public reports reviewed for this article:

• Whether the council approved the Jewish Federation's $250,000 contribution in April

• The current total raised, and how much of the city's $500,000 remains

• A final, firm construction price for the new design

• A schedule for construction or an expected opening date

None of the reports reviewed for this article give a date for when the memorial will open.

Sources

• 3rd anniversary of Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel is marked in Southern California, Daily News, republished by NewsBeep, October 6, 2026

• Beverly Hills Weekly, Issue 1383, April 2 to 8, 2026: news brief "City Council Recommends New Design for October 7 Memorial" and Peter Ostroff's column