Memorials Mark Anniversary of Oct. 7 Attacks

Bobby Harris’ heart is with the family of Omer Neutra.

Dov Wilker’s advocacy is on behalf of Bar Kupershtein.

Rabbi Adam Starr’s concern is for a nephew, a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces wounded in Gaza.

On Oct. 5, two days before the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks in the “Gaza envelope” section of Israel, several hundred people gathered at Ahavath Achim Synagogue to remember the 1,200 murdered and 250 kidnapped that day.

As of this writing, 48 hostages remain, of whom perhaps 20 are thought to be alive.

Resilience in the face of the unimaginable was a theme of the program. There were prayers for Israel, prayers for the hostages, and prayers for the IDF. Memorial candles were lighted by relatives of Israelis killed on Oct. 7.

Starr, senior rabbi at Congregation Or HaTorah, delivered the Misheberach, a prayer for healing. His 19-year-old nephew was one of three soldiers wounded in recent days when Hamas fighters attacked their unit’s position in Gaza. They were airlifted to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.

The event also included expressions of hope that the latest negotiations to end to the war in Gaza and return of the remaining hostages — the 20-point plan advanced by the United States — will succeed, where previous efforts failed.

The recently concluded High Holy Days “felt like the first time I could breathe in two years,” Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal of Ahavath Achim said.

“We might be able to breathe a little bit,” Rosenthal said, acknowledging that the shaky nature of the negotiations requires patience.

After 732 days, patience is at a premium, especially for the families of the hostages.

Eitan Weiss, Israel’s Consul General to the Southeastern United States, said, “We all are hostages to the whims and brutality of those vile terrorists who play and taunt with our emotions.”

As he spoke in the Ahavath Achim sanctuary, Harris held a picture of Omer Neutra, his cousin, who was born in New York one month after 9/11 and died on Oct. 7, 2023, a week before his 22nd birthday.

Neutra, an American-Israeli who enlisted in the IDF as a Lone Soldier (without family), was serving as a tank platoon commander when he was killed battling Hamas terrorists who had invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz.

For more than a year, his family held out hope that he was alive, but the IDF announced on Dec. 2, 2024, that based on intelligence and forensic evidence, he had been killed and his body taken into Gaza — where it remains at this writing.

“So many times world leaders indicated that a deal might be imminent and most of the time it was just a false alarm,” said Harris, director of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Harris, wondering aloud how much can a family handle, cited a sentiment often attributed to Elie Wiesel, but which the Holocaust survivor quoted from the French philosopher Albert Camus: “Where there is no hope, one must invent hope.”

In January 2024, a delegation of Atlanta rabbis and communal leaders visited Israel. Among the people they met with was the family of Bar Kupershtein, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7 while working as a security guard at the Nova music festival. When terrorists attacked early that morning, Kupershtein stayed behind to help police and provide medical treatment to the wounded.

Kupershtein, one of two hostages in a video his family was shown in March of this year (but that was not released publicly until July), is among the hostages believed to be alive.

In his remarks, Wilker, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, urged those present to “adopt a hostage.”

“If we are not sharing their stories then who will,” Wilker said. “So that they’re not just a number, they’re a person.”

Thousands Gather in Tel Aviv

Approximately 30,000 people filled Yarkon Park in an emotional memorial coordinated by Kumu (“Rise Up”), an organization founded by survivors and families of the victims and hostages of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.

The ceremony was broadcast live on several of Israel’s TV channels and included comments directed toward Israel’s government.

“October 7 is not only a day of remembrance for those we lost,” said Kumu founder Yonatan Shamriz, brother of hostage Alon Shamriz. “It is a day of remembrance for negligence, for failed leadership, and for the abandonment of responsibility. On that day, a new commitment was born … to lead the State of Israel to a better reality — a far better one.”

He continued, “Our generation — which inherited a country bleeding, isolated, fractured, and in pain — will be the one to fix it. It will be the best version of Israel, one that sanctifies the lives of its residents, that is built on truth, accountability and mutual responsibility. We will bring back life. We will bring back hope. We have risen. The people of Israel have risen.”

Featured prominently on stage was a burned car that had been destroyed by Hamas near the Gaza border. Red crown anemones, the national flower of Israel, surrounded the burnt car. Forty-eight yellow chairs, representing each of the hostages being held in Gaza, hung beside the stage.

“We are still on the journey — with 48 hostages who have not yet returned, and families who wait, breathe, and pray for that moment,” said released hostage Omer Shem Tov.