The event commemorating the catastrophes of October 7th, 2023 was held at The Anthem theater in Washington, D.C. and run by the Jewish Federation. The ceremony started with the University of Maryland Jewish a capella group Rak Shalom singing a mashup of “Ekra” and “Olatz.” Both songs were originally sung by a group called Shalsheles. The song’s soloists were Berman alumni Dani Schwartz ’20 and Shai Margulies ’21 and JDS alumnus Elyon Topolosky ’22. Following Rak Shalom, there were multiple speakers who expressed their feelings, stories, and plans following the attack on October 7th and the more recent attacks on Israel. Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to America, spoke about Israel’s past efforts to lower Hamas’ capabilities to do harm. Additionally, he talked about Israel’s hopeful plans to do the same to Hezbollah. Another speaker was Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, who spoke about his family’s story, emotions, and hopes about the war and their son. Tamar Todd and Sam Loiterstein, two speakers from George Washington University, spoke about the harassment they have both faced because of their Jewish identity. They explained how they felt alone on campus and wished they had people there for them. They shared how they found a new home and a new family when they connected deeper with the Jewish community on campus. Sarah Hurwitz, an author and former White House speechwriter, talked about the hope and positivity that is still in the Jewish people. “We carry our grief with us, but we move forward in hope, and that, I think, is why we are all still here, still uttering the same prayers we offered in our ancient temple in Jerusalem, 2,000 years after it was destroyed,” she said. Hurwitz showed that even after all we have been through, we are still here and still have hope for the outcome of our nation. The event closed off with many people getting on the stage and singing “Olam Chesed Yibaneh” and a powerful “Am Yisrael Chai” that all the attendees joined in on. The event as a whole was such an incredible, meaningful, and moving experience. It reminded us that there is still hope for us. It reminded us that there is still light in our future that we can hold on to. It was an important event to commemorate the losses we have suffered as a nation and to remind us that we still all have one another.
