Two years have passed since Hamas’ attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 left over 1,200 dead, kicked off a still unresolved hostage crisis, sparked the war in Gaza and changed the lives of Israelis and Jews worldwide.
But this year’s second anniversary falls on the first day of the joyful week-long festival of Sukkot. To avoid that awkward overlap, some Bay Area Jews held early commemoration events on Sunday night, including the Russian-speaking Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto.
Some 200 people gathered at the Russian-speaking JCC in San Francisco’s Richmond District to light candles in memory of the victims and in honor of the hostages. Attendees also heard local leaders’ reflections on how the past two years have affected the Jewish community at home.
Since the Oct. 7 attacks and the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza, Rabbi Shimon Margolin, CEO of the Russian-speaking JCC, has noticed more members of the local Russian Jewish community engaging with Jewish religious life.
Jews from the former Soviet Union tend to be less religiously observant than other American Jews. However, after Oct. 7, 2023, more of the local Russian-speaking Jews Margolin serves began showing up for services and inquiring about religious observance as a way to seek comfort and reinforce their support for the remaining hostages.
“Every Russian Jew who sits here has a cousin, an aunt, an uncle who lives in Israel,” Margolin told J. They’ve done everything they can to support Israel.
“We send the money. We send the boots [to Israeli soldiers]. You know, the Russian Jews, they would send boots. They would send everything,” he said. “But it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve done all of that. What else can we do?’ And when I tell them that you can also pray, it will help, people embrace that.”
One attendee at Sunday night’s memorial told J. she started attending services and lighting Shabbat candles on a regular basis, inspired by the stories of released hostages and their families who said daily prayer uplifted their spirits.
“It’s good to be around people who have similar feelings. That gives me comfort,” said Nelya V., originally from Kiev, Ukraine, who asked to withhold her last name out of concerns for her safety at her place of work.
Top of mind for all of the event’s speakers were the 48 Israeli hostages still in Gaza, 20 of whom are presumed to be alive.
“I’m anxious. I’m checking my phone constantly for news,” Nelya said. “I don’t know any of the hostages personally, but I do have some relatives and friends in Israel. I feel like I’m emotionally involved.”
On Sept. 29, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced they had agreed on a ceasefire proposal. At the time of writing, negotiators for Israel and Hamas were meeting in Cairo to hash out details.
Joy Sisisky, CEO of Jewish Federation Bay Area, spoke to the collective anticipation this news has brought about in the Jewish community.
“We need to stay strong and to continue what we’ve been doing since Oct. 7,” Sisisky told the crowd. “Wearing our pins, writing letters, saying prayers, and most of all, fighting for peace.”
The event was co-presented by the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, and co-sponsored by 17 other local congregations and Jewish advocacy groups.
Israeli Consul General to the Pacific Northwest Marco Sermoneta asked the crowd to spread awareness of the atrocities of Oct. 7 among “our peers at school, our friends at work, the people and groups we consider allies, opinion leaders and elected officials. We are here to remind them this harsh reality of disregard, denial, and trivialization of the atrocities of Oct. 7 started on that very day.”
Sermoneta also spoke at an earlier event Sunday evening at the OFJCC in Palo Alto. Hundreds of attendees at the outdoor gathering in the JCC’s Freidenrich Park took part in a Yizkor memorial service and sang the Israeli national anthem, some holding onto Israeli flags or wearing them draped around their shoulders.
The service featured Oct. 7 survivor Alon Perry, who shared the story of his escape from the attack on the Nova music festival site. At one point, he was locked in a building for hours as Hamas terrorists fought Israeli soldiers nearby, not knowing whether it was safe to come out once the sounds of gunfire finally stopped.
In front of the OFJCC’s Leslie Family Preschool entrance stood a long table, set with dishes and silverware, with places set for the hostages taken on Oct. 7.
Before leading attendees of the San Francisco gathering in prayer, Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi of Congregation Chevra Thilim called on the community to take time during Sukkot to meditate on their connection to Jews in Israel and around the world.
“This is something we can do over the next few days that will give us a tangible way to connect in a Jewish observance with our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land,” Zarchi said. “Every mitzvah that a Jew does anywhere in the world elevates and helps.”