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On Monday, Hillel TMU hosted a memorial ceremony for those kidnapped and killed in the terror attacks in Israel one year ago.
Jewish students from a range of programs and years came to speak about their connections to the attacks, mourning those they’ve lost.
On Oct. 7 2023, Hamas killed almost 1,200 people and kidnapped around 250 people, 100 of whom who are still hostages. More than 3,000 rockets were fired at civilian and military targets. The response from Israel since that attack has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Hillel TMU’s Vice President of Outreach, Aidan Attali, said the organization wanted to provide a safe place for Jewish students to process and talk about their emotions on the anniversary of the attack.
“A space to grieve, a space to be able to feel your emotions 100 per cent without any repercussions or feeling judged,” Attali said.
At the memorial, a second-year architecture student* spoke about her cousin Dor Sade who was called into combat and killed on Oct. 9 in Kibbutz K’far Aza.
Dor was described as helpful, kind, dedicated and that she’d never met “anyone who loved their family as much”.
She said that day forever changed her, that a piece of her heart and soul has been taken away and that she will “never feel whole again.”
Another student* spoke about his sister’s friend Ben Mizrachi, an Israeli-Canadian who served as a medic in the Israeli Defense Forces. Mirzachi was killed on Oct. 7 at the Nova music festival after turning around to help others who had been injured.
About Mizrahi he said, “We will never bring Ben back…but what we can do is live our lives as he did: strongly, bravely, kindly, caring to one another and full of life”.
The organizers also put together a vigil, with a collection of images from the day of the attack, artwork and photography by some of the victims and survivors from that day.
This included pieces by Roee Idan, Yosef Dadoune, Ziva Jelin, Sofie Berzone Mackenzie, Nil and Karin Romano and Shai Azoulay.
The memorial continued with songs and poetry, including One Tiny Seed by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of Israeli-American Hersh Polin who was taken hostage and killed in captivity.
Additionally, student leaders read the Hebrew prayers of Mi Sheberach, to heal those from suffering and Mourner’s Kaddish, a prayer for the dead.
The event concluded with the singing of Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem.
*The names of certain sources have been withheld to protect their anonymity for safety reasons
A journalist at On The Record.
