The Hallandale Beach City Commission on Wednesday proclaimed Jan. 8, 2025, in honor of Ofer (referred to in the meeting as Afar/Afar Meir) and recognized a traveling exhibit that documents the Oct. 7 attack at the NOVA music festival.

The proclamation, read by Mayor Joy Cooper, said the exhibit “honors loss of lives while providing survivors with a platform to share their stories” and called the installation “a place to educate and a place to fight hate.” The mayor presented the proclamation to representatives of the Israeli consulate and to survivors who had traveled to Hallandale Beach for the event.

The proclamation noted the exhibit recreates the festival’s atmosphere using salvaged remnants from the site, including scorched cars and other artifacts, and said it aims to “bear witness to the largest massacre in music history.” Gabriel Brandeis, identified at the meeting as a representative of the Israeli consulate, urged the audience to “wake up” to global threats and asked those present to applaud Israeli soldiers defending the country.

Ofer Meir and other survivors addressed the commission and attendees. One survivor said the exhibit was initially shown in Tel Aviv two months after Oct. 7 and that visitors ‘‘could see themselves or their families’’ in the displays; another said the installation is not about politics or religion but about what happened at a music festival. Several resident speakers and representatives from the Israel American Council described the exhibit as a tool for education, healing and fighting antisemitism.

City officials and residents urged people to visit the exhibit, which one speaker said was on display through mid-February, and several commissioners described prior city actions supporting Israel since Oct. 2023, including flag displays and past municipal delegations to Israeli communities. The mayor also said the city had offered tickets to the exhibit to municipal employees.

The presentation included a short video and a public photo opportunity with city leadership and the exhibit representatives. No formal vote on the proclamation was recorded in the meeting transcript; the item was presented during the opening portion of the meeting followed by a brief question-and-answer and public-comment period. The commission and members of the public emphasized the exhibit’s educational value and the need to keep attention on survivors and victims.

The event preceded the substantive business portion of the meeting, and city officials said they would continue to coordinate with exhibit organizers and community groups on outreach and educational visits.