Updated Feb. 25
Hundreds gathered Sunday night in San Francisco, days after the bodies of three Bibas family members were returned to Israel from Gaza, marking a tragic end to the hope that 4-year-old Ariel, 9-month-old Kfir and their mother, Shiri Bibas, would somehow come home alive after they were taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.
The boys’ father, Yarden Bibas, was also abducted but was held separately from the rest of his family and released alive on Feb. 1.
Also memorialized was Oded Lifshitz, an 83-year-old Israeli peace activist taken hostage. The bodies of Lifshitz and the boys were returned Thursday. Hamas claimed it had handed over the remains of Shiri Bibas, 32, the same day, but Israel determined it was not her. Hamas returned Bibas’ body Friday.
The anguish felt in Israel was expressed across the Bay Area too, and some sought a place to share their grief together. Sunday’s memorial took place at the Menorah Center in the Richmond District, where many in the audience of 200 wept as speakers took to the lectern to address the crowd.
“When hostages are released, I want to rejoice,” John Rothmann, former KGO radio host, told those gathered. “When a hostage comes back dead, I want to cry.”
Earlier in the day, the Jewish community also gathered in Palo Alto’s Heritage Park, where the Israeli-American Council co-organized a vigil with OneTribeOneStar, a pro-Israel advocacy nonprofit that facilitates events for Jewish empowerment throughout the Bay Area.
About 150 community members and public officials attended the Palo Alto memorial, including state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) and Palo Alto City Council Members Keith Reckdahl and Greer Stone.
“Even in this darkness, we must not lose hope,” Stone said at the event. “We must hold onto the belief that light will overcome the shadows, that justice will prevail, and that peace is not beyond our reach.”
At the S.F. event, Marco Sermoneta, the Israeli consul general to the Pacific Northwest, bemoaned that violence against Jews was being normalized.
“There shall be no more open season on Jewish blood. And we shall never forgive,” he said.
“Our hearts break for the families and loved ones of Ariel, Kfir, Shiri and Oded. Our hearts break but not our spirit. These diabolical murderers will never have that,” Sermoneta added. “We will continue to fight against barbarism for the future of our civilization. We are determined to defeat those who fool themselves into thinking they could uproot us from our homeland through terrorism and bloodshed.”
Other speakers included Rabbi Shimon Margolin, who heads the Menorah Center of the Russian-speaking Jewish Community, state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and the Israeli American Council’s Bay Area regional director, Adi Hayun Perez.
Ron Barzilay, 24, attended the vigil. He told J. that it was important for him to be there to avoid losing touch with what people are experiencing in Israel, which he recently visited.
“If there’s anything that this whole war has taught me, is that it’s really difficult to grieve and process when life just goes on,” said Barzilay, who is a Moishe House resident in San Francisco. “It’s different when you’re in Israel. It’s more in the forefront… it’s in the public consciousness.”
He added, “I think that as a community, when these awful tragedies happen, we have to set aside time to acknowledge and just kind of feel and grieve together.”