Heartbreaking vigils for the victims of October 7 were held around the world from Tel Aviv to Central Park on Monday.
This solemn day commemorates the approximately 1,200 Israelis killed and 250 kidnapped in last year's shocking display of depravity that sparked the current devastating conflict in Gaza. It was filled with tears, words of comfort, and solemn gestures.
In Israel, ceremonies began at around 6:29 a.m. local time to commemorate the time when Hamas fired rockets at the Jewish state at the start of the attack.
Families and friends of the victims gathered for a ceremony on the grounds of the Nova Festival, where hundreds of innocent music-goers were murdered. The event started with the sound of the final song, which was also played at last year's festival.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said: “We will always remember who kidnapped, who murdered, who raped and who massacred.” “At the same time, we have also seen extraordinary fortitude. We have a great people, and on this day we strengthen it and call for unity.”
Other ceremonies were held throughout the day in kibbutz villages and towns near the Israeli border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The memory of our people who died in the terrorist attacks and of all the fallen heroes of the Israel Defense Forces and security forces will be cherished forever.” Message captured on video.
“On October 7, we were all thrown into a momentous battle, but we did not lose. On the contrary, we are the ones acting to defeat and deter the enemy.”
In front of the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem, around 300 people led by loved ones of the hostages held up photographs of prisoners of war and offered a moment of silence for the war dead as sirens wailed.
Yuval Barron, whose father-in-law Keith Siegel was abducted, said: “We are still stuck on October 7, 2023, a never-ending day of fear, horror, anger and despair.” .
“We would like to start this day together to remind ourselves, the Prime Minister, and the people of Israel that even though today is a day of sadness, the sacred mission to bring back the hostages still exists. “I thought so,” Baron said.
Nitsa Korngold, whose seven relatives were kidnapped during a ceremony in Tel Aviv, gave the following message to her son Tal Shoham, who remains a hostage: The New York Times reported.
“Dear Tal, if you can see or hear me, we all miss you so much,” she said. “We are doing everything in our power to get you and all the hostages home as soon as possible. We will not give up on you.”
A large ceremony hosted by New York's UJA Federation was held in Central Park on Monday night and included a speech from Nova survivor Natalie Sanandaj.
“Our communities in Israel, in New York, and around the world will never forget that hundreds of people have been murdered, hundreds of people have been kidnapped and taken hostage. Raped. Mothers and fathers, children and babies. An unspeakable act of violence against so many ordinary people,'' the victim said.
“We're all really, really hurt, heartbroken, sad, shocked and depressed. It's just a very, very difficult time,” the woman, who requested anonymity, told the Post.
The Manhattan rally also drew a number of politicians, from Gov. Kathy Hochul to Mayor Eric Adams to Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Mr. Adams drew cheers from the crowd, but did not appear to interact with his fellow Democrats on stage during the solemn ceremony.
Mr. Adams ordered all city flags to be lowered to half-staff, and on Monday night City Hall and five additional government buildings were lit yellow in honor of the hostages.
“One year ago today, people of all faiths and creeds gathered at Israel's Nova Music Festival to sing songs of peace and coexistence,” Adams said in a statement.
“Some of us all died that day in the brutal murder of more than 1,200 innocent men, women and children by despicable terrorists. Hundreds more were taken hostage in the aftermath. Many of them remain in captivity.
“And as we see the devastation inflicted on innocent people in the Middle East in the aftermath of this unprovoked attack, the idea of peace moves further and further away,” Hizzoner said.
“But that is why we must continue to work towards peace, for the safe return of all hostages, for the defeat of Hamas, and for an end to this deadly conflict.”
President Biden lit a Yahrzeit candle in Washington, D.C., after a Jewish prayer for the victims of October 7 was read at the White House by Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Congregation Adas Israel in Washington. He stood next to First Lady Jill Biden and observed a moment of silence.
Biden and Israeli President Herzog met earlier in the day, the White House said.
Candidates running to succeed Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, also marked the solemn day.
President Trump visited the Queens gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Orthodox Judaism from 1951 until his death in 1994. The video showed the Republican candidate, wearing a black yarmulke, unfolding the paper and reading.
He also observed a moment of silence and placed a small stone on the rabbi's tombstone before leaving. This is a traditional Jewish custom.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who accompanied President Trump to visit the late Lubavitcher leader's grave, told the Post, “I want people to see this side of President Trump.”
“He was kind and compassionate,” Blakeman said of the former president.
During his visit to Ohel, Mr. Blakeman said that President Trump appeared to have photographed a person believed to be Israeli-American Edan Alexander, one of the Gaza hostages captured in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel. He said he had spoken to his parents.
“Mr. Trump spent a lot of time with them,” a Nassau County Republican executive told the Post.
“It was very moving that President Trump came to Ohel on the anniversary of one of the worst tragedies for the Jewish people,” said Blakeman, who is Jewish.
The 45th president was accompanied by his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who is the chair of the Republican National Committee.
Trump will then fly to Florida and host an event with Jewish community leaders at the Doral resort, the paper said.
Democratic candidate Harris called the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack “an act of pure evil,” and cited Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of remembrance, saying, “Even in our darkest moments… “Our abiding faith in God.”
She and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff planted a pomegranate tree at the official residence in memory of the victims. The Times of Israel reported.
The ceremony took place as thousands of both pro- and anti-Israel protesters took to the streets throughout Monday.
This year comes at a time when the Middle East faces the threat of larger regional conflicts.
Additional reporting by Dorian Geiger, Carl Campanile and the Post Wires
