Marin Jewish community remembers Hamas attack on Israel – Marin Independent Journal

Adina Golbus comforts her grandmother Toni during a prayer at the Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. The event, held to mark the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel, will include speeches, art, Music and a video of one of the victims. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

An enthusiastic audience fills the auditorium at the Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, California on Monday, October 7, 2024. The defection event commemorated the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

Mike Rennie leads the Brandeis Marin Chorus before a packed audience at the Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, California, on Monday, October 7, 2024. Anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

Mike Rennie plays the violin in front of a packed audience at the Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, California, on Monday, October 7, 2024. The solemn event marked the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

Rabbi Stacy Friedman leaves the stage after an impassioned speech at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. The overflow event included prayers, songs and moving stories to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

Marin County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike English and organizer Gordon Gladstone check participants at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Rafael, Calif. The defection event commemorated the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

The audience gathers at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, California, on Monday, October 7, 2024. The event, titled “An Evening of Remembrance and Hope,” commemorated the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in San Rafael, California Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

Anat Bujanover hugs his friend Omid Naim on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, Calif. The solemn event, titled “An Evening of Remembrance and Hope,” commemorated the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

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Adina Golbus comforts her grandmother Toni during a prayer at the Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. The event, held to mark the one-year anniversary of a deadly attack in Israel, will include speeches, art, Music and a video of one of the victims. (Frankie Frost/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)

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The Marin Jewish community gathered in prayer Monday evening to commemorate the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked a war that has sparked tensions and protests around the world.

Over 1,000 standing-room-only people attended the memorial evening at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael. Other participants followed the live stream of the event online.

On October 7 last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and spurring a war with Israel that has destroyed swathes of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Rabbi Stacy Friedman of Congregation Rodef Sholom, one of the organizers of Monday’s gathering, said the purpose was to reflect on and honor the memories of the lives lost that day.

“It was such a hard day, this one-year anniversary, and people really needed to be together to support each other, to cry together, to be together and to find a way to move forward,” Friedman said after the gathering. “The songs of reflection, the prayers that children sang, it really gave people courage to hold our pain and grief together for each other.”

At the event, some residents shared stories about their personal connections to the tragedy. One woman said her brother survived a shooting to save his daughters and her niece lost her brother-in-law who died trying to protect his community. Other harrowing stories about the attack were also shared.

“So many people who are part of our Jewish community have family and friends who were there and were affected,” Friedman said. “It was truly a day that touched everyone’s hearts. It was a difficult day for the Jewish community.”

Gordon Gladstone, executive director of Congregation Kol Shofar, one of the gathering’s organizers, said the Jewish people are closely connected as families and in other relationships around the world.

“A tragedy of this magnitude must be felt by everyone,” Gladstone said. “I know for myself that people I knew were killed. People who were my neighbors are still in captivity.”

“This was a moment to reflect on the magnitude of the loss we suffered a year ago and to reflect on the ongoing pain and uncertainty about the fate of those who still remain hostage,” Gladstone said.

Gladstone said the event serves as a reminder of the resilience of the Jewish people.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first tragedy to befall the Jewish people, and therefore our rituals anticipate the need to emerge from these tragedies,” Gladstone said. “It was a therapeutic evening for many.”

The prayer evening came as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups gathered around the world, including in the Bay Area.

Chris Perrando is co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Committee of the Marin Democratic Socialists of America. Perrando said part of the committee chose to attend a ceasefire rally in San Francisco instead of hosting a demonstration in Marin County, as they did in San Rafael earlier this year.

Perrando said the Palestine Solidarity Committee wants a ceasefire and a change in culture in America.

“The lives of Israelis seem to be valued more highly than the lives of Palestinians and Arabs,” Perrando said. “Palestinians were also murdered. It’s a disgrace and no one is trying to stop it.”