Bay Area Jews on Sunday began a solemn and mournful period to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history. They used rituals, songs and public gatherings to share their collective grief.
In the year since Oct. 7, 2023, in which Hamas terrorists rampaged across southern Israel, murdering 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, the wounds have not healed for Jews around the world. A brutal, multi-front war is ongoing, violence continues to escalate across the region, and 101 hostages remain in Gaza — with more than one-third already declared dead.
J.’s coverage will continue with events scheduled for Monday.
Lafayette: ‘The heartbreak is real’
The “trauma is still unfolding,” said Yael Nidam Kirsht, whose family members were taken hostage.
Nidam Kirsht, a UC Berkeley grad student, spoke Sunday evening at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, where the sanctuary was so full that extra seats had to be set up in an adjoining room. Still, the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“The heartbreak in this room tonight is real,” said Isaiah Rabbi Jill Perlman. “It’s raw.”
Nidam Kirsht spoke of the horrors her family went through as they were dragged away by Hamas. Her sister-in-law, Rimon Kirsht, was released during a brief cease-fire in November. Her brother-in-law, Yagev Buchshtab, was killed in June in captivity.
“He had been shot in the head,” Nidam Kirsht said starkly.
Candles flickered in the sanctuary as speakers shared their sorrow and hope, and rabbis offered prayers.
Clergy from a half-dozen synagogues led the ceremony, which started with niggunim (wordless melodies) led by Cantor Sandy Bernstein of Congregation B’nai Shalom in Walnut Creek, Rabbi/Cantor Jennie Chabon of Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek and Cantor Leigh Korn of Temple Isaiah.
In addition to speeches, testimony and prayer, the evening was filled with song, ending with “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem. — Maya Mirsky
Albany: Grief for both peoples
Another East Bay gathering took place in Albany, with around 100 people attending an outdoor vigil at the Albany Bulb sponsored by SFBay4Peace to provide a space for mourning both Israeli and Palestinian lives.
Shimrit Braun Kamin, an Israeli and the associate director of the New Israel Fund’s San Francisco office, was first to speak.
“Peace is almost like a curse now in Israel,” she said. “No one can talk about it. But we’re not giving up on it. There is no alternative but a political solution.”
Despite the pain and the fear of expanding war, she said, “I want all of us to leave here feeling like we’re not helpless.”
The vigil lasted several hours. Participants shared moments of heartbreak from the past year, while hopes for the future were written on strips of cloth that were tied to a kite.
“After a year of witnessing so much horror and dehumanization of Israelis and Palestinians, it’s difficult to stay engaged,” said Rob Ungar, an Israeli who lives in Oakland. “Finding the energy to show up at a public event, to be in a space that grieves both Palestinians and Israelis — these are brave actions.”
There was also a tashlich-like ritual in which participants considered the emotions they wanted to free themselves from, writing them down on biodegradable paper to throw into the bay. On stones, they wrote the traits they wanted to hold onto. By the time the group made it to the water’s edge, after a sound healing, there was a fiery red sunset.
“So much pain and anger and shame and blame and trauma and confusion,” one participant wrote on paper before releasing it. On the stone, he wrote: “It’s all love.” — Alix Wall
Palo Alto: Young adults process pain
In Palo Alto, a more intimate event was held with 17 Jewish young adults in their 20s and 30s, who sat in a circle on chairs and sofas in a private living room. The gathering began with the lighting of a yahrzeit candle in the center of the room. Attendees focused their eyes on the candle and took a deep breath, following instructions to concentrate their thoughts on someone they’d lost.
Called “New Year, Changed World,” the event included lunch and a workshop around how young adults can use such rituals to process the intense emotions they might feel about the anniversary of Oct. 7, while also holding space for hope, healing and even joy.
Hosted by OneTable and co-sponsored by Jewish young adult organizations across the South Bay and Silicon Valley, the workshop was facilitated by Tova Birnbaum, an Israeli native and Jewish educator who is a contributor of Jewish programming for OneTable and is studying to become a rabbi. She previously was the director of Jewish content at the Oshman Family JCC.
Participants shared their personal experiences and the ways in which the heightened culture of antisemitism in the aftermath of Oct. 7 has impacted their relationships with peers, and with their own Jewish values and identities. They also talked about times they’ve felt guarded around expressing their Judaism.
“I think it’s so important for us … that we have a forum to keep checking in with each other and sharing,” said Sasha Eisenpress, 32, of Santa Cruz. — Emma Goss
San Francisco: A vocal rally
In San Francisco, 150 to 200 people withstood unusually hot weather to gather in Civic Center Plaza in a public and vocal show of support for Israel.
They stood together in 95 degree heat, waved U.S. and Israeli flags, listened to speakers and sang “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” or “Jerusalem of Gold,” an Israeli song about longing for the holy city. The rally was organized by One Tribe One Star alongside StandWithUs, the Israeli American Council and several other groups.
“This is a vigil and a rally to commemorate those that we’ve lost on Oct. 7,” said regional StandWithUs executive director Oleg Ivanov. “Of course, it’s also to continue to raise awareness of over 100 hostages that remain in Gaza captivity.”
Rabbi Shmulik Friedman with Chabad of SF reflected on the challenges of the past year.
“It’s been a really tough year since Oct. 7,” he said at the event, adding that his prayer for the new year is for positivity and the return of the hostages.
“As we mourn and grieve the loss, we’re also trying to stay positive and hopeful for a positive future,” he said. — Aaron Levy-Wolins