We will gather in-person at the Jewish Federation at 11:00 AM for a 30-minute memorial ceremony organized by our Federation’s Partnership committee. We are calling the event: Gathering to Remember October 7th. Doors will open at 10:30 A.M so we can begin the ceremony on time.

Immediately following the ceremony, at 11:30, we will join a virtual event on zoom with other Partnership communities across America for a special program presented by Partnership2Gether for Western Galilee.

The program will begin with Yizkor, followed by a panel of Israelis who will share their experiences of October 7th and the past year.

The speakers will include Liat Atzili who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and released. Her husband’s body is still held in Gaza. Dubi Lahav and his son were severely wounded on October 7th. They are gradually recovering with the help of his family and his community. The panel will also include a representative of one of the bereaved families from Akko.

Another member of the panel will be David Vaknin. Last May, he was a guest of our community for Israel Independence Day. David is a businessman from Western Galilee who was called up for reserves. He has been deployed to the northern border since October 7th. David and his family are among the 60,000 displaced Israelis from northern border communities. They have not been home for the past year.

The program will conclude with a moving video clip by the Matte Asher Community Center choir.