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Over 100 Syracuse University community members gathered on the steps of Hendricks Chapel for a remembrance vigil marking the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that initiated the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Jewish religious leaders and Israeli-American students assembled to honor the memory of the around 1,200 Israeli civilians killed on Oct. 7 and the approximately 100 people still being held hostage by Hamas. They also emphasized the importance of unity amid a national rise in antisemitic incidents.

Syracuse Hillel Rabbi Ethan Bair and Chabad SU Rabbi Mendy Rapoport led the crowd in prayer and song. Many attendees wore yellow ribbon pins, held flowers or donned Israeli flags to show support. In between the rabbis’ remarks, multiple students delivered testimonials about how the war has impacted them over the past year.

“You did not have a choice regarding all the terrible and horrible things that happened a year ago, but you have a choice for the tremendous good that can come out going forward,” Rapoport said.

The vigil participants primarily included SU students, alumni and administrators, including Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel, and Craig Stone, chief of SU’s Department of Public Safety and associate vice president of campus safety and emergency management services.

Rep. Brandon Williams, who represents New York’s 22nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, also attended.

“We will never forget and never abandon the hostages, whose suffering is ongoing, and their families, whose anguish has not yet faded away. Today we stand with the Jewish community in solemn remembrance, and we look forward to a just and peaceful future.” Williams wrote in a 9:30 p.m. X post about the vigil.

At the start of the vigil, members of Students Supporting Israel at SU distributed prayer sheets for attendees to follow along throughout. One of the prayers included “Acheinu,” a Hebrew song that calls for an end to the suffering of Israelis in captivity.

Throughout the remarks, students at the base of the steps held posters with photos of the remaining Israeli hostages. Some wore shirts reading, “Bring them home, now.”

The first student speaker, Mia Gottesmann, spoke about the resilience of Israel and the fear she’s felt on campus throughout the past year. She claimed the university has silenced pro-Israel perspectives and encouraged attendees to “keep our Jewish flame alive.”

Stella Bellman | Contributing Photographer

Israeli-American SU students Tal Yechezkell, Mia Gottesmann and Emma B. join Rabbis Bair and Rapoport in leading the Oct. 7 remembrance vigil. Each student delivered a testimonial about how the war has affected them personally.

Gottesmann then went on to address SU administrators directly. She condemned the university for remaining silent throughout the war as she and other Jewish students have felt harassed over the past year.

“I look around tonight and feel a sense of unity and strength because of this community we have here now,” Gottesmann said. “I know we are far from the front lines, but our actions have immense power in this war.”

The university’s last official public comment on the conflict was in a Dec. 11, 2023 campus-wide email, where Syverud wrote that advocating for the genocide of a group based on religion, nationality, ethnicity or race would be a violation of SU’s code of conduct.

In the spring semester, SU released its Syracuse Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry, which said the university would no longer comment on controversial issues except under “the most extraordinary circumstances.”

Throughout the evening, participants and speakers said the vigil highlighted the importance of Jewish unity on campus.

Dylan Lipof, a freshman in SU’s Bandier Program, said he came to the memorial because he has several friends and family members in Israel. He said he has found solace in SU’s Jewish community amid the tension.

“In a world of hate, it’s very comforting to know that we have a place to go where we have a community,” Lipof said. “This is really family to a lot of us, even though we may not know each other’s names, we know each other.”

Stella Bellman | Contributing Photographer

Bair and a student playing a guitar lead vigil participants in song. The crowd joined the pair, reciting the lyrics from their prayer sheets.

The second student speaker, Emma B. — who requested not to share her last name — similarly described how she felt scared and ashamed to be Jewish at the start of the war due to the subsequent increase in antisemitic tension on college campuses. She called on attendees to remain unified and raise awareness of the Israeli perspectives of the war.

The final speaker, Tal Yechezkell, a junior studying television, radio and film, recalled the moment he first learned about the Oct. 7 attacks. He described how his mother entered his room at 2:30 a.m. to tell him war had broken out.

Yechezkell shared that one of the hostages, 20-year-old Israeli-American Edan Alexander, became a close friend of his during his gap year in Israel. He also spoke about his personal connections to several friends currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

“I grew up in a community with many Israeli-Americans,” Yechezkell said. “There isn’t one family that has not been affected.”

Another attendee, Emma Beckerman, a junior studying international relations, said she attended the vigil to remember the lives lost and to pray for the hostages.

As the vigil came to a close, Rapoport passed out yellow tzedakah boxes shaped like Noah’s Ark, which he said symbolized an act of routine kindness. He encouraged attendees to have a positive takeaway from the vigil despite the somber tone of the remarks.

“There was motivation behind the horrible, unspeakable and despicable atrocities that occurred one year ago. There should be motivation and mindfulness behind the tremendous good that we can do going forward,” Rapoport said.

Rapoport closed the vigil by leading a rendition of “Oseh Shalom,” with the group clapping along and hugging as they sang.

Published on October 8, 2024 at 2:13 am

Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu