The Manhattan community still holds out hope one year after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel

UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) – The toll of the nearly year-long war in the Middle East is clearly visible. On Saturday, demonstrators from both sides clashed in Times Square.

For one community on the Upper West Side, there is only one feeling: hope. I hope that the hostages still held by Hamas will be returned home. Hope for an end to the war – and hope for peace.

Every week for the past year, people filled the seats at the Jewish Community Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, trying to hold on to that hope every day.

The date will forever remain in infamy as the repercussions of a terrorist attack in Israel lingered for a long time.

The remaining hostages kidnapped from Israel by Hamas have been held in Gaza ever since. The one-year mark serves as a grim reminder.

“A year of tremendous pain, a year of fear, a year of feeling displaced in many ways,” said Rabbi Joanna Samuels.
A year of anger that continues on both sides – clashes broke out in Times Square on Saturday – those who support Israel and those who support Palestinians in Gaza, who have suffered the wrath of the Israeli response – a reminder of the costs of war.

A temporary ceasefire in November provided a glimmer of hope and led to the release of more than 100 hostages. Since then, aside from a few rescue operations, significant progress has largely stalled, and so songs and prayers have continued to fill the building.

Peter Rabinowitz wears jewelry given to him by his friend who survived the Oct. 7 attack, including a hamsa bag.

“It’s a sign of the amazing resilience of the people who lived on the border – a sign of hope that better days lie ahead,” Rabinowitz said.

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