Two Events to Remember the Victims of October 7th

On October 7th, 2023, Israel and the Jewish world were shaken by the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas. Now is the time for us to come together as a community to remember the victims of October 7th and show our support for Israel. In October, we will have two opportunities for remembrance.

From Horror to Hope: An IDF Commando's Journey

On Sunday, October 6th at 12 PM our Federation will co-sponsor a virtual event on zoom with the Federation of Northwest Indiana featuring Noam, a soldier in an elite IDF commando unit. The title of his talk is “From Horror to Hope: An IDF Commando's Journey.” In his talk Noam will share his story of saving lives at Kibbutz Be'eri to the joy of accompanying freed hostages back to Israel. Please see the ads as you will need to register to receive the zoom link to the event.

Noam is a BA student in Law at Tel Aviv University. Previously, he served as a Captain in a Commando Unit in the IDF. On October 7th, even before receiving the official call-up order from the army, Noam drove to Kibbutz Be'eri near the Gaza border to help rescue civilians. He then went on to serve for six months with his reserve unit in combat operations in Gaza.

Our thanks and appreciation to former Shlicha Chen Nissan and Abi Miller, a friend of our community, for helping to facilitate his talk.

Gathering to Remember October 7th

Then on Sunday, October 27th, 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.