The Jewish community of Greater Hartford marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in a carefully calibrated memorial that was equal parts grief, defiance and solidarity with Israel, leavened with a brief and prayerful plea for Palestinians and Israelis to find peace.
“We are a people with the power to keep standing up again and again against hatred, to get back on our feet from the ashes of tragedy, to fight and to survive, to heal and to rebuild,” President Isaac Herzog of Israel said in a video message played in the crowded sanctuary of Beth El Temple in West Hartford.
About 1,200 were killed on Oct. 7 or in its immediate aftermath, including 364 attendees at the Nova all-night dance festival. At least 250 hostages were taken, and nearly 100 are still being held. Israel responded with an invasion of Gaza that has left tens of thousands dead, displaced far more and gutted its health system.
“Oct. 7 is a date that will live in infamy,” said Gov. Ned Lamont, who not only bemoaned the Hamas attack but the divisions it exposed in the U.S. “I saw episodes of antisemitism that were shocking. And I know that there were many Jewish students who felt so afraid, and also tell you that there were Muslim students that felt so afraid.”
He referenced the calls for a ceasefire, made by protesters who occasionally have dogged him, without indicating his assent or dissent. Lamont entered and left the service with Attorney General William Tong.
“We’re here to support Jewish families and the Jewish community here in Connecticut and make sure that they’re safe and protected from antisemitism and hate as well,” Tong told reporters as he arrived at the temple with a heavy police presence.
State police and at least two teams from the Hartford bomb squad, accompanied by two bomb-sniffing black labs, augmented the West Hartford police. The mention of the public safety presence by Jill Dulitsky, the chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, prompted loud and extended applause.
“The earth shakes still, our wounds still cannot fully heal, because they are ongoing, because hostages are still being tortured, executed and dying in captivity,” Herzog said.
Herzog has argued for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and is seen as more moderate than the hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whose voice was not heard Monday night in West Hartford. But Herzog has defended Israel’s war on Hamas and Gaza as just.
As was the case in West Hartford, Herzog also was the voice of Israel earlier Monday in a call with President Joe Biden.
“The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, secures Israel, alleviates the suffering of Palestinian civilians, and paves the way for a lasting peace with Hamas never again able to control Gaza or reconstitute its military capabilities,” the White House said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who was on a trip to Israel to meet with Netanyahu, sent a video message.
“I’ll be in Israel leading a bipartisan Senate delegation with an unmistakable message to make unequivocally clear that the United States will continue to have Israel’s back,” Blumenthal said. “We must support Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorists, who slaughtered our people on Oct. 7 last year, and organizations that continue to seek the destruction of Israel.”
The program underscored the presence of the Jewish diaspora in the region and the community’s commitment to Israel. The organizers played messages from three Israel Defense Force members, two from West Hartford and one from Simsbury, and they announced quickly raising $7 million for relief efforts.
Roi Graber, a refugee who abandoned his 15-year-old restaurant to bring his family to the safety of America after his village was deemed unsafe, said their year of displacement and uncertainty is about to end.
“We realized that the best thing for our family is to focus and rebuild our lives here in this welcoming community,” Graber said. He has plans for opening a restaurant on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford.
Joel N. Lohr, the president of the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, was invited as a leading Christian voice against what he has warned for years is a rising tide of antisemitism.
His academic specialty is Jewish-Christian dialogue and sacred texts. He is the grandson of a Christian grandmother who harbored Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. Her explanation, he said, was, “It’s just what you do.”
“I stand with you tonight because I have vowed, both publicly and in my heart, never again,” Lohr said. “I am troubled. I am deeply troubled in my soul that so many of my fellow Christians seem to forget our past antisemitism and forget that ultimately we are one with you as the Jewish people.”
Lohr said he has no choice but to speak out.
“This does not mean that I agree with everything the modern state of Israel does, but I can do no other than stand with you tonight and keep my promise of ‘never again.’ May the memory of those who died on Oct. 7, somehow, O God, be for a blessing,” Lohr said.
“I pray with you for an end to this war. I pray that suffering and bloodshed would cease. I pray that the hostages would be released. I pray for Palestinians and Israelis, that they may live in peace, that swords may be turned into plowshares,” he said. “Oh, God, please help us.”
The applause was instant. And scattered throughout the sanctuary, some stood as they applauded. His was the only message so rewarded.