Report by Richard Olswang
The shul was packed on the evening of October 7th as more than 100 people came to commemorate the atrocities that took place in Israel one year ago, the worst bloodshed directed at the Jewish nation since the holocaust. The theme of the event was to remember and to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel following what has been a most trying year in many different ways.
We saw a short film entitled “Together we are stronger”, produced by Mill Hill Synagogue, about the excellent work of Bet Halochem, who provide a support system and care for IDF soldiers injured in the line of duty. Bet Halochem is NRUS’s chosen charity for this year’s Kol Nidre appeal. The film featured a number of speakers including Israel’s President Yitzchak Herzog, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, and relatives of the hostages and of fallen IDF heroes.
We were then taken on a virtual tour of Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where a number of art installations have been created by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. These include a dining table set for the missing hostages, a tunnel to recreate conditions in the tunnels under Gaza, chairs with picture of the eyes of each hostage, the word Tikvah (hope) spelled out in large coloured blocks, an avenue of cypress trees and a piano which any visitor can play. Friends of one of the hostages who is a keen dancer go to the square every Sunday to dance in support of her.
Sharman Berwald, via Zoom from Herzliya, recounted for us what life in Israel is like now and described a recent tour he took of the sites of the terror attacks – Sderot, Kfar Azar, Nir Oz, Be’eri and the Nova music festival site. He feels it is important to tell the stories of those who perished. He told us that in Israel there is resilience but also sadness. He answered questions from the floor including about the mood among Israelis for peace, but the session ended abruptly when he had to move to a shelter following an air raid siren sounding.
Rabbi Green then recited a memorial prayer for the victims, Brian Geminder recited Kaddish and Mary Rose and her daughter Abi Fox who, together with Abi’s son Cameron lost relatives on October 7th, lit a memorial candle. The evening concluded with the singing of Hatikvah.
Many thanks to Jane Rome and Michelle Wilder for organising this poignant and emotional event and for generously donating the plentiful refreshments.