Islanders attend ‘October 7: One Year Later’ commemoration in Seattle

Rabbi Daniel Weiner called it a somber and soulful commemoration of Oct. 7, 2023.

Amy Lavin, CEO of the Stroum Jewish Community Center (SJCC) on Mercer Island, said that amid these tough times she has reached for “tikvah,” the Hebrew word for hope.

During an October 7: One Year Later event at the Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, Weiner and Lavin joined a host of speakers in front of a packed sanctuary exactly 365 days after Hamas militants launched air strikes on Israel on the final day of the Jewish high holidays.

Following the attacks, Israel engaged in a conflict with Hamas, and the war is still raging.

The nearly hour-long event was presented by The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, SJCC and Temple De Hirsch Sinai in partnership with several county and regional organizations, including Mercer Island’s Herzl-Ner Tamid and Washington State Jewish Historical Society along with Northwest Yeshiva High School.

Temple De Hirsch Sinai’s Weiner — who led the event, which included the Prayer for the Nation of Israel, and participated in the musical portions of the gathering — said they won’t forget those people who have perished over the last year, and they pray for the captives’ return.

“Our community comes together to affirm the strength and solidarity that has served our people through millennia of trial and challenge,” he said. “We embrace the customs and character of our tradition, using this moment to move from mourning to light, from the abyss of lament and loss to the heights of vision of possibility.”

As attendees visited in the sanctuary before the event, an Israeli flag was projected on an overhead screen along with the words Yizkor for 10/7: Memory and Hope.

“This past year has proven that the hope remains an active inspiration and calling. We pursue it endlessly with the conviction that it is our destiny to thrive as individuals and as people everywhere in the world,” said Lavin, adding that “tikvah” is present during “private and public interactions with people we see in our communities who pause to recognize the pain of these times and their hope and support for resolution. The deepest hope that more hostages will be freed. The hope that in time, smiles will return to our faces and unbridled joy can once again be on all-out display.”

The event also featured video messages from Israel President Yitzhak Herzog and Ambassador Marco Sermoneta along with a recited Prayer for Captives, a sung Prayer for Protection, a Mourner’s Kaddish and more.

Eight elected officials and staff, including 41st Legislative District State Rep. Tana Senn of Mercer Island and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith of District 9, attended the event to lend their support.

U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier of District 8 took the stage to share her thoughts from a Jewish civic leader. After noting that a congressional group chat has provided comfort and sustainability this year, she added: “I want all of you to know and be clear that the U.S. House of Representatives stands with Israel and against antisemitism in a strong and bipartisan way and we will continue to do so.” She received thunderous applause.

Solly Kane, president and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, said that rebuilding, healing and perseverance have risen in the darkest moments.

“As we gather tonight to remember October 7, we carry the memories of our past with us, but we also carry the strength, resilience and hope that have sustained our people throughout history,” he said.

A pair of Issaquah High School students who witnessed the Oct. 7 events in Israel let their young voices be heard at the commemoration. John Waldbaum, 16, and Shira Delcau, 17, were both studying in Israel at that tragic time and soon returned home to Issaquah.

Waldbaum said that sadly the attacks changed the lives of Jewish people forever. Although he didn’t want to leave Israel, he said that, “Maybe somehow I was chosen to go to Israel, chosen to make unforgettable friendships and memories and chosen to bring that experience and those connections back here to become part of my everyday life here in Seattle.”

Delcau recalled that when a rocket hit the Iron Dome, the loud explosion haunted her for months. She then described her mindset from Oct. 7 through the present day.

“Every day, I think about Israel’s struggle and how much antisemitism has grown,” she said. “If there’s any comfort I’ve found, it’s being in Jewish spaces where so many of us have come together. Every day, my heart is in the East. I pray for the speedy return of the hostages and that peace will come to this place I call home.”