It was such an honor when I was asked to serve on the art committee for this memorial. I happen to be stuck in Israel for a month because of the war with Iran at the time. 

 

The committee had great ideas: it should be a symbol of the Jewish people, it should be simple and easily identified, something large, possibly interactive. By the time we had come up with these parameters, I was traveling back to Houston. 

 

As soon as I heard interactive, I started to think about something you can experience, walk through, see from different sides in different ways. For me, Judaism is a journey that I experience in my daily life, in different ways at different times. 

 

Then, I thought the most simple potent symbol of Judaism is the star of David. Mentally I deconstructed it, moved it around and walked through it. I literally drew a sketch on a napkin in an airport. After we arrived, I drew up a more legible version and submitted it to the committee. 

 

Because of the compassion and vision of Shalom Baruch Cemetery this memorial stands here to remind us of the sacrifice and loss to the Jewish People on that tragic day.