Newark community gather on the North Green for Oct. 7 commemoration

Last week marked one year since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Since then, the Israel-Hamas war has been ongoing, with about 1,200 deaths in Israel and over 41,000 deaths in Gaza. 

In memory of Hamas’ attack on Israel, a commemoration was held on the North Green where students, faculty and community members came together to recap on the previous year and honor the lives lost. 

“This was an opportunity not just for the UD Jewish student community, but for the whole community,” Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt, campus director at UD Hillel, said. “It’s a chance to reflect, it’s a chance to mourn as a community and it’s a chance to hope for peace.”

The commemoration featured multiple student and community speakers, breaks for prayer and song and a candlelight vigil. 

Caryl Marcus-Stape, chair of the board of directors for the Jewish Federation of Delaware, spoke at the event and highlighted the importance of unity during trying times in the Jewish community.

“We grow stronger together as one, we are gathered to remember the lives lost and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel who are struggling with immeasurable grief,” Marcus-Stape said during her speech.

Marcus-Stape went on to highlight that the vigil was not only to grieve for their lost loved ones, but also to honor those in captivity.

“Tonight we are here to honor those who were taken from us too soon, to advocate for immediate and unconditional release of the 101 hostages still being held in captivity and to show our unwavering support for Israel, because we stand together,” Marcus-Stape said as she addressed the crowd. 

The Jewish community held a vigil last year when the attack originally happened. Since then there have been numerous campus happenings hosted by various Jewish organizations, including an Israel Defense Forces member speaking at the university, talks and presentations on the history of Israel and Palestine and multiple community events.

There have also been accounts of university-deemed hate crimes against Israel and the Jewish community, including one that took place during Holocaust Remembrance Week and one that involved throwing Israeli flags into a trash can.

When asked why this one year commemoration was held, President of Blue Hens for Israel Maya Taylor expressed the importance of the event for the community.

“It was really important for me to have this event, remember all of the lives lost and also for people to be able to share personal stories, because everybody’s affected differently,” Taylor said.

She went on to point out that while only a select group of people spoke at the event, every person in the audience had their own story and knew someone affected by the war.

Donna Schwartz, executive director of UD Hillel, emphasized this viewpoint, stating that it was essential to have this moment of unity for the greater Jewish community.

“It is a moment to reflect on what this year has to commemorate the most horrific attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Schawrtz said.

While the event was open to all, Vice President for Student Life José-Luis Riera spoke about how it was especially important for the university to allow students to come together and express their shared grief. 

“In general our goal is to make space for this type of event for our students,” Riera said. “I think the ability for people to come together and grieve and mourn, but also hope for the future is a really important process.” 

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