SAR Academy honors Israeli victims of Hamas attack with community commemoration | The Riverdale Press

by Alaska St Clair

To commemorate the loss of Israeli lives in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, a memorial ceremony was held at the SAR Academy last week.

The entire school, from elementary through high school, was in attendance, as were many community members. The ceremony included performances by the middle school choir, the lighting of memorial candles and speeches from U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and a former Israel Defense Forces soldier who fought for five months.

Although this event was not a fundraiser, the school has raised $1.5 million over the years to support non-profit organizations in Israel and individuals and families where appropriate.

Rabbi Binjamin Krauss described this October 7th as a “difficult moment that everyone looked forward to with fear,” but it differed from a traditional day of remembrance in that the mourning is not in the past tense, but “something in which we are still living “.

The most important thing, Krauss said, is to move the situation forward and bring hope to the community, especially to the children who fear for their relatives and loved ones in Israel.

Last year, SAR Academy students were encouraged to write letters to Israeli citizens and remember the lives lost by painting memorial stones with messages of hope or prayer in the school’s garden. Since October 7 last year, the garden has grown to 1,200 stones.

The day’s program varies by grade level, Krauss said, allowing younger students to be less exposed to some of the more serious elements of the tragedy, such as the ongoing Israeli hostage situation.

Some of the older students, Krauss said, decided on their own initiative to wear tape with a number indicating how many days have passed since Oct. 7.

Councilman Eric Dinowitz was also present at the memorial service. He said the seriousness of the Hamas attack was difficult to reconcile.

“October 7 was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust,” Dinowitz said, “especially traumatic for the people of Israel and the hostages and their families.”

Dinowitz said that since that day, there has been an explosion in anti-Semitic incidents in New York. In response, he said he noticed the community striving to come together in solidarity and healing against these acts of hate.

Two local teenagers, Dinowitz said, have taken over leadership of a local chapter of the grassroots organization Run for Their Lives, which organizes weekly runs/walks to promote the release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

Most importantly, Dinowitz said, “Oct. 7 was a day that really made it clear who is there for the Jewish community.”