Friday evening. We're sitting around the table with close friends-the Franco family, who lost their son Kfir at the beginning of the war while fighting in Gaza. Kfir was like family to us; we miss him deeply. Between courses, between stories, the question that's been gnawing at me for nearly two years surfaces:
"How can we know that his values, everything he believed in, continue to resonate in the world? How can we be certain that Kfir won't be forgotten?"
In that moment, I understood something simple yet profound: true remembrance isn't just a matter of thought-it's a matter of action. It's about taking the words, values, and dreams of those we've lost and transforming them into something alive, something that continues to influence and change.
When Stickers Become a Movement
In the months after October 7th, something remarkable began happening in the streets. Memorial stickers bearing the words of the fallen started appearing on every possible surface-on cars, on walls, in schools, in cafes. It was a genuine grassroots response, born from the public's deep need to remember, to connect, to maintain the bond.
But physical stickers are only seen by those who pass by them, and many families never had the opportunity to create one. At Hilma -Israel's first social-tech public-benefit company - we've spent years developing scalable digital solutions for urgent social needs, reaching millions of Israelis. We knew that the same expertise that helped us close critical gaps in education and health during national emergencies could transform how we remember our fallen. We decided to make remembrance accessible..
Drishat Shalom: When Words Become Deeds
That's how "Drishat Shalom" was born. In partnership with Yad Labanim -the organization dedicated to commemorating Israel's fallen soldiers, perpetuating their legacy, and caring for bereaved families - we created a platform where memory meets action.
It's simple: visit the website, choose a sticker bearing a values-based message drawn from a fallen soldier's story, and commit to one good deed that continues that spirit-of love, responsibility, hope, courage. You join a living documentation of thousands of people, each acting in their own way, inspired by what they received.
"What I ask of you is: to love one another and respect one another," wrote Major (Res.) Dr. Eitan Menachem Ne'eman, a pediatrician and reservist who fell in battle in Sderot on October 9th. His words, like hundreds of others, became a call to action-simple, human, real.
On the last Memorial Day, 81,415 users accessed the initiative in a single day. Hundreds of digital "stickers" were created in collaboration with families; each one a bridge between personal memory and social action.
Now, two years since October 7th, we're calling on the public to adopt a value and strengthen the families.
When Memory Becomes an Embrace
Eitan Oster z"l wrote: "A true warrior fights not because of hatred for who stands before him, but because of love for what stands behind him."
On the Drishat Shalom website, users share with families the good deeds they've chosen to do inspired by their loved ones, writing words of strength and comfort.
Among dozens of messages received, we got a letter from Eitan's father:
"It warms the heart so much to know that Eitan is remembered, that people think of him, are influenced by him, and appreciate him and his sacrifice. Eitan, our son, sadly never got to marry or bring children into the world. But he left a legacy. Through these stickers, we're trying to share that legacy and the values by which he lived. Thank you for this project and for the messages you've sent. It gives us strength."
That's what I understood that Friday evening with the Franco family: this power-knowing that the values live on, that they continue, that they influence-that's what families need. That's what we all need.
From Israel to the Entire Jewish World
Now, marking two years since the war began, we're opening Drishat Shalom to the world. A new English version enables Jews in distant communities to feel part of it-to feel connection, solidarity, and belonging.
At a time when many feel exposed and isolated facing a rising wave of antisemitism-on campuses, on social media, in public spaces-Drishat Shalom offers a simple yet profound way to strengthen the connection with Israel through values. Through actions. Through the living memory of those who fell.
Turning Memory into Education, Values into Action
Teachers and educators - the website allows you to filter stories by IDF units, by themes such as joy, love, love of Israel, courage, and responsibility. You can use it to build lesson plans that connect memory to values, loss to hope. You can integrate the content and create activities around it for ceremonies, classrooms, and educational programs.
You are invited to connect and create a complete circle together. Fallen soldiers' families share their legacy, communities worldwide act according to these values; and together we weave a global fabric of solidarity between Israel and the Diaspora. Join us. To turn commemoration into action-through thousands of small deeds that strengthen our people.
At the end of that Friday evening, after Kfir's parents had left, I stayed with their question. "How do we know he won't be forgotten?"
The answer? When we don't just remember, but also act. When we transform pain into action and loss into hope. When we allow memory to be alive.
This is the power of Drishat Shalom.
For more information and to join the initiative: www.drishatshalom.org
Michal Ophir, CEO of Hilma, Israel's first social-tech public-benefit company