Memorial to LGBT Victims of Nazi Persecution — Gan Meir

In January 2014, Tel Aviv unveiled something without precedent in Israel: a memorial to victims of the Nazi regime who were not targeted as Jews — the men and women persecuted for their sexual orientation and gender identity. The memorial in Gan Meir is spare: a concrete triangle carrying the historical account, an inverted pink triangle — the badge homosexual prisoners wore in the camps — and three pink benches. The inscription, in Hebrew, English and German, reads: 'In memory of those persecuted by the Nazi regime for their sexual orientation and gender identity.' Initiated by city councilman Eran Lev and funded by the municipality, it was defaced in 2018 and promptly restored. Nearby in the same park stands the memorial garden of cacti and succulents planted in 2013 for Nir Katz and Liz Trubishi, murdered in the 2009 attack on the Bar Noar LGBTQ youth club — a crime that remains unsolved. Together with the Municipal LGBTQ Center beside them, the park holds the community's memory and its daily life in one place. Visiting: Gan Meir is free and open park hours, off King George Street in the city centre. A quiet corner of an otherwise lively park — pause at both memorials.