Quilters remember victims of terror

Memorial quilts, like those sewn by Americans in memory of AIDS victims and later of those people killed on 9/11, are now making their first appearance in Israel, crafted by people who lost loved ones in a suicide bombing that took place almost nine years ago.

The person most involved in this project is Marlyn Butchins of Hod Hasharon, a Tel Aviv suburb, whose mother and sister were murdered in the terror attack at Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv on the eve of Purim 1996. It occurred when the family was near the center, where Butchins's niece, Lauren, had gone to try on a wedding gown. Altogether 13 people were killed and several more wounded.

Every March there is a memorial ceremony at the spot where the tragedy took place. Butchins always appreciates the remarks made by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and other dignitaries, but she has long felt that something was missing: a concrete reminder of the victims. When she became a quilter, she decided that future ceremonies - beginning with the one this coming March - should take place against the backdrop of 13 memorial quilts, each representing one victim. The quilts are now being sewn by Butchins and her friends.

Butchins is among the thousands of Israeli women who have taken up quilting in recent years, making it one of Israel's fastest growing hobbies. Begun in China thousands of years ago and popular in Europe since the Middle Ages, quilting was brought here primarily by American immigrants and Israelis who spent some time in the States.

As it happens, the person running Israel's first quilt shop, Nurit Kapara, picked up the quilting bug in Australia, where she lived for several years while her husband worked as a Jewish Agency emissary. Kapara's shop, in Tel Aviv, stocks hundreds of imported fabrics and a full range of quilting tools. In addition, it hosts classes for new quilters. Such classes are also held in various other parts of the country. All the participants are women, unlike in the United States, presumably because Israeli men don't think quilting is sufficiently macho.

Kapara sees the growing interest in quilting here as part of a worldwide trend towards do-it-yourself crafts. In addition, Israeli quilters often get together on a social basis, holding quilting bees. They also take on projects that will help the community. A case in point are a group of English-speaking ladies in a Tel Aviv suburb who make quilts for distribution to children who themselves, or members of their family, have been victims of terrorism. These quilts apparently serve to comfort the youngsters.

Kapara is pleased to see the variety of themes her quilters dream up. She only hopes that the day will come when none will be linked to terror and its consequences.

Nechemia Meyers is a free-lance writer in Rehovot, Israel.

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