Miami’s Jewish community commemorates anniversary of Oct. 7 Hamas attack

One year ago, the terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel through the Gaza border on the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced intentions to retaliate against Hamas and launched missiles into Gaza soon after.

In the year since Oct. 7, the conflict in Gaza remains ongoing and has escalated, with more than 42,000 Palestinian deaths as a result of Israel’s actions in the area.

To commemorate the anniversary of Oct. 7, Jewish organizations at Miami University held an event to remember the lives lost and to call for the release of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas.

“The goal of this event was to come together as not just the Jewish community, but as a pro-Israel community, to commemorate this painful anniversary [in a way] that didn’t leave people depressed … [but] with a sense of pride,” said Matthew Lodge, the president of Students Supporting Israel (SSI) and a senior political science major.

Lodge said one way the community can be filled with a sense of pride is by visiting the seal, where SSI placed 1,200 Israeli flags in honor of the casualties on that day.

SSI, Hillel, Chabad and Olami helped organize the event, with representatives from each group speaking to the nearly 200 people in attendance.

Whitney Fisch, the executive director of Hillel, said she hoped the event allowed Jewish students affected by the events of the past year to de-stress.

The Miami University Police Department supervised the event, which Fisch said was necessary given nearby incidents, including a threat at a Jewish gathering attended by University of Michigan students in Southfield, Michigan.

Photo by Jessica Monahan | The Miami Student

1200 Israeli flags were planted around the seal to honor the lives lost on Oct. 7

“Today is really to provide everyone here with a sense of belonging and community, and maybe an exhale,” Fisch said. “It’s hard to exhale when you have to have a police presence. How can you take a breath knowing that [you] can’t really be yourself fully on any college campus as a Jewish student without feeling like, ‘Who’s about to judge me, who’s about to be aggressive?’ My hope is to at least give them an hour of [safety].”

Lindsay Topf, president of Miami’s Chabad chapter, opened the night with an introduction and instructed the Jewish community to stay proud of their beliefs.

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“Lean into your Judaism,” Topf said. “Be proud of who you are. Don’t be scared to be proud of your identity, whether that’s wearing a star, lighting Shabbat candles or attending services.”

Gavriella Bernstein, a junior pre-med and classical studies double major who works with Hillel, spoke next and recited a letter from a Cincinnati resident and Holocaust survivor.

The letter stated that with recent events, it’s become clear that antisemitism remains a threat despite global changes since World War II. However, Jews should not be ashamed of their faith and view Judaism as a source of strength, not weakness.

Bernstein said Miami has been supportive of the Jewish community and has made efforts to minimize antisemitism on campus in the past year.

Jacob Pinder, vice president of Hillel and a junior accounting major, said he feels safe on campus, but with incidents at other schools, there is a lingering fear.

“[I feel] overall safe, but also anxious: Anything can happen,” Pinder said. “We saw what was coming out of Michigan and other schools like UPenn and Columbia. It creates a lot of anxiety.”

Hillel’s Israel fellow Amir Smerling, who served in a reserve battalion deployed after the Oct. 7 attack, spoke next. He encouraged the audience to hold on to the unity they’ve seen.

“Yet as the war unfolded and the nation faced a crisis, something remarkable happened,” Smerling said. “After the months of division and polarization, the spirit of unity was rekindled.”

Chabad’s Rabbi Yossi Greenberg then reminded the audience to focus on their strengths and use this night to heal. After his speech, he led a prayer and blessed the future of the Jewish people.

Photo by Jessica Monahan | The Miami Student

Chabad’s Rabbi Yossi Greenberg speaking about the strength of the Jewish community and blessing its future.

Maya Fridman, president of Miami’s Olami, led another prayer along with Olami’s Rabbi Akiva Yanez for the immediate release of hostages still held by Hamas.

Amanda Myers, the president of Hillel, gave closing remarks, and everyone mingled afterward. For Pinder, that was the ultimate goal of the day: to remember those lost and make this a topic of politics.

“My goal is to remember, and not remember in a political sense,” Pinder said. “I mean a deep, authentic sense. We lost hundreds of people, and [my goal] is to not make this a political discussion, but genuinely remembering and mourning the lives that we’ve lost.”

Earlier in the day, students gathered near Armstrong Student Center in support of Palestine. Lodge acknowledged these students have the right to protest as long as they are respectful.

“They’re welcome to go and protest, as long as they’re not harassing others,” Lodge said. “Here at Miami University, we don’t let people like that stop us. While I might disagree with these students, I welcome their right to protest, so long as they’re not hurting anybody or harassing anybody.”

Fisch expressed a similar sentiment. She said she hopes the conflict can be resolved peacefully without more unnecessary casualties.

“I think that we forget that we can mourn loss, and that can be apolitical,” Fisch said. “We can mourn Gazan, Palestinian life and that can be apolitical. This is just needless death. I wish that we could all take an exhale, take a deep breath and remember our humanity.”

@thekethan04

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