Empire State Building, Brandenburg Gate lit in orange to honor slain Bibas family
In Argentina, lawmakers voted to rename “Palestine Street” after the family
L-R: Budapest’s Chain Bridge; Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate; and New York City’s Empire State Building are illuminated in orange to honor the slain Bibas family, Feb. 26, 2025. (Courtesy Kidma; Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images; Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Landmarks around the world were illuminated in orange on Wednesday night to honor Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the Israeli mother and sons killed in captivity in Gaza.
The family was buried on Wednesday, several days after their bodies were returned to Israel. Their plight had been a symbol of national trauma since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 250 hostages.
Among the landmarks illuminated in orange, the color that came to symbolize the family because of Ariel and Kfir’s bright red hair, were the Empire State Building in New York City, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Chain Bridge in Budapest. All have local leaders who are supportive of Israel.
The displays were reminiscent of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, when world landmarks were illuminated in blue and white to show solidarity with Israel.
In Argentina, where Shiri Bibas’ father grew up, tributes to the family have included a mass demonstration, two days of official national mourning and a vote by lawmakers to rename Buenos Aires’ Palestine Street as Bibas Family Street. Shiri Bibas’ parents, Margit and Yossi Silberman, were murdered on Oct. 7.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
