That particular Saturday morning started out like any other in her hometown of Jerusalem, recalls Yahel, a member of the post-high school shinshinim exchange program in Baltimore.
While her mom was out jogging in their neighborhood, Yahel’s dad was about to attend synagogue services. But an hour later, sirens sounded and Yahel found herself sheltering in a safe room, uncertain of what was going on. “It felt like my grandfather’s stories of the Yom Kippur War,” she said.
Later, Yahel learned of family members and friends who were abducted and taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists. “It was all too much to comprehend,” she said, tearfully. “For me, this all seems like a second war of independence.
“But we are going to win. There is no alternative.”
Yahel was among the speakers at the community-wide program last night marking the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. Amid particularly tight security, approximately 1,400 community leaders and members attended the gathering in the Berman-Rubin Sanctuary at Pikesville’s Beth El Congregation.
The two-hour ceremony was presented by the Baltimore Israel Coalition, in partnership with The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, the Baltimore Jewish Council and their community partners.
Among the elected officials in attendance were Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Ben Cardin, former Gov. Larry Hogan, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Rep. Kweisi Mfume, Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen and Baltimore County Council Chair Izzy Patoka. Also in attendance were representatives of Mayor Brandon Scott and Sen. Chris Van Holen.
“We are grateful to all those who are here tonight,” Beth El’s Rabbi Dana Saroken said in her opening remarks. “Life is too hard to do alone, especially on nights like this. One year ago today, our family in Israel … most who were seekers of peace, were raped, dismembered, burned alive, executed and taken alive. In the aftermath, we found ourselves vilified and attacked, with our friends silent. Our lives changed in the blink of an eye.”
Like previous of generations of forebearers facing overwhelming challenges and foes, today’s Jewish community “found our strength in each other, even in our vulnerability,” she said. “We fight for our homeland, our hostages, and against evil and hate. Today, we remember the violence of Oct. 7 that we don’t want to remember but cannot forget. We found our comfort and strength within ourselves and the Jewish spirit.
“We will always endure and hold each other up,” Rabbi Saroken said. “Our survival is at stake, but there is no giving up or giving in.”
That theme was echoed by speakers throughout the program, which was interspersed with inspirational readings, musical selections by the Baltimore Shinshinim group and HaZamir Baltimore teen choir, and candle-lightings and memorial prayers by rabbis and family members of victims of Oct. 7.
“As difficult as it is to relive what happened one year ago, we must remember,” said Cardin. The retiring Maryland senator thanked elected officials in the audience for standing up to rising antisemitism and fighting for the release of hostages.
“These hostages never should have been taken, and we demand their release without conditions,” Cardin said to thunderous applause. “The world must join us in demanding Hamas to release our hostages now.”
He also called on the global community to isolate Iran for support of its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen who kill innocent civilians while hiding behind their own human shields.
“Israel has an obligation to defend itself, and Iran’s proxies must be eliminated,” Cardin said. “The United States stands with Israel. Tonight, we show our solidarity and resilience. … To those murdered, we must pledge we will do everything in our power so that never again means never again.”
Eyal Naor, minister of congressional affairs for the Embassy of Israel, spoke of the strong bond between his country and the United States.
“The United States is standing with us as it always has in times of crisis and uncertainty,” he said. “Our struggle is not over yet. One-hundred-and-one of our brothers and sisters are still being held by the subhuman Hamas in the dungeons of Gaza. … We are a nation of resilience. With support of the U.S. and amazing communities like this one, there is no doubt we will prevail.”
In his talk, Gov. Moore alluded to his own military background. “I’ve witnessed the heartbreak that just one act of terrorism has caused,” he said. “Maryland supports Israel’s right to exist with the same sense of security we would want for ourselves. … Hate will find no oxygen in the state of Maryland, and those who conduct hatred will find the consequences of it.”
Calling on audience members to bow their heads and hold hands, Moore asked listeners to rise above their divisions and recommit to fighting hatred and bigotry. “In times like these, when words seem insufficient,” he said, “I pray for the Lord to watch over the Jewish community. God’s love is limitless, and that’s how we must love, too.”
Andrew Cushnir, president and CEO of The Associated, spoke of the strong bond between members of the local Jewish community and its partner Israeli city of Ashkelon.
“The distance between Israel and Baltimore is measured not in miles but heartbeats. That’s been true before Oct. 7 and every day since,” he said. “Our deep bond here with the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership shows what it means to be a family community.”
Cushnir spoke of emergency funding raised by Baltimore Jewry for victims of Oct. 7, including food, medicine and mental health treatment. He also alluded to the community and leadership solidarity missions to Israel since the attack.
“We all played a major role, and we should be proud of how we stepped up,” Cushnir said. “But our work is nowhere near over. We will continue to be there for Israel and Jews around the world. As generations have done before us, we will continue to do our part.”
Closing out the program, Chizuk Amuno Synagogue’s Rabbi Joshua Z. Gruenberg and Rabbi Andrew Busch of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation spoke about the community’s new emergency campaign to raise funds for the the Israel Trauma Coalition Resiliency Center in Ashkelon. The proceeds will support the center’s expanded work since Oct. 7, providing therapy, home visits and intervention services.
The campaign was conceived after Rabbis Gruenberg and Busch and other community leaders visited Israel a month after the Hamas attack. Conducted by The Associated and local synagogues, the campaign will be held over a three-week period through Oct. 27, with the goal of raising $1 million. One hundred percent of donations will go toward the center, and the Associated will match every gift made up to $500,000.
“The numbers of Israelis suffering mental health issues is massive,” said Rabbi Gruenberg, noting Ashkelon’s proximity to Gaza and rocket fire from Hamas. “We want to support our friends, our family.
“Friends,” he said to the audience, “we can make a huge difference.”
For information, reach out to your synagogue or go to bit.ly/ashkelontraumarelief.
The remaining 6,000 members of the community are expected to immigrate by 2030.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.
Israel is increasingly reliant on foreign workers, hundreds of whom moved into the dilapidated building during the Iran war.
A St. Louis native, Edelman served as ambassador to the central African nation from 1987 to 1989.