This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Evelyn Miller knew people living in a kibbutz, or community, in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. When a neighboring kibbutz was attacked by Hamas, some of them ran over to help. Four of them were killed, she said.
It’s part of the reason she attended a vigil on Monday, alongside hundreds of others. The event was hosted by the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, where Miller, who lives in Goffstown, used to serve on the board. People from around New England gathered to remember lives lost on the first anniversary of the attack that ignited a war that’s still in progress, and to share hope for the future.
It’s been a “very, very difficult year and, I have to say, depressing to watch,” Miller told the Monitor.
Around 1,200 people died in the attack. Israel then launched a war against Hamas, the most recent manifestation of the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine. In the past year, Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed more than 41,500 Palestinians.
Through music, prayers, poetry and speeches, Monday’s gathering on the State House lawn in Concord centered on remembering the victims of the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, unifying the community against anti-Semitism in the U.S. and looking forward with hope. Attendees held the Israel and American flags and held tealights as the sun set, eventually placing them to light up signs that listed the names of the Oct. 7 victims.
Also on Monday, at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, the college’s Palestine Solidarity Coalition congregated to honor the Palestinian lives lost in the past year. It’s one installment of what the group calls its “week of rage,” which will include other gatherings and advocacy for the university to divest from weapons manufacturers and Israeli companies, according to WMUR.
Jeremy Berger, who chairs the Israel Committee of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, greeted the crowd in Concord by recounting the attacks and the death toll from Oct. 7. Monday was one year since “our sense of safety was shattered, our world was broken,” he said.
“I don’t think we could’ve imagined that a year after the sudden, horrendous attack by Hamas, that so many of the hostages taken that day would still be in captivity, that the war between Israel and Hamas would still be going on, despite the unbearable toll on both sides,” Berger said. “Nor could we have imagined that anti-Semitism, which most of us rarely experienced during our lifetimes, could return with such a vengeance.”
Berger said that as Jewish communities have come together over the past year, they’ve exhibited an “indomitable spirit” by standing up for Jewish pride, taking collective action and securing help from elected officials, including Gov. Chris Sununu, who declared Oct. 7 a day of observance.
Though many may wish to move on, Berger told the crowd, he believes it’s important to keep working. He urged them to keep visiting Israel on missions, praying, lighting candles, leaving open seats at the holiday table and raising awareness for the cause. He referenced a prayer that expresses gratitude for both light and darkness.
“Without darkness, light would have no meaning,” Berger said. “That’s not to say we don’t stop fighting evil – on the contrary. Our task as human beings is to bring as much as light as possible into the world: the light of peace, of truth and of justice.”
Other Jewish community members, including a rabbi, a woman who was in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and descendants of Holocaust survivors, took to the stage to share words of grief, strength and hope. Some people shared prayers, poems and songs, and at times, the crowd swayed and sang along.
U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who represents New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, said many people can recall where they were when the news of the attack broke, and that many tried to contact family in Israel. For some, those calls were never returned, he said. He spoke against the “horrific, unspeakable conditions” that the hostages live in.
“We must remember so that the horrors do not become diminished in our collective memories,” Pappas said, calling on the crowd to “bear witness to history.”
He spoke strongly in support of Israel and against the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. and in New Hampshire, where he said Jewish people have been targeted with harassment and vandalism. This uptick “cannot be allowed to go unchecked,” and he urged members of the crowd to confront hate.
“I think it’s important to say unequivocally that the state of Israel has a right to exist, that the Jews of Israel have a right to exist, and that they have every right to defend themselves against those who have sworn to wipe them off the map,” Pappas said, eliciting applause from the group.
Pappas said while many people wish for peace, that won’t happen until Hamas releases its hostages and agrees to a ceasefire. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously rejected calls for a ceasefire, saying Israel will not end the war until it eliminates Hamas. Over the weekend, Hamas accused Israel of continuing to block a ceasefire agreement.
Some people came from across the state and the region to honor the anniversary. A former New Hampshire resident, Olga Tomamovich, made the drive from her home in southern Maine to attend the event. She felt called to come because on Oct. 7, 2023, Jewish people like herself were “made to feel that we’re not invincible,” she said.
Tomamovich expressed sadness for the losses on both sides of the war, though she’s not optimistic it’ll end any time soon.
“I’m a realist,” she said.
