PALO ALTO, Calif. — Two years after Hamas militants launched a surprise assault on Israel that killed over 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 more, Palo Alto residents gathered Sunday evening at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center to remember the victims and call for the release of an estimated 48 hostages, both alive and dead, still held in Gaza.
The memorial, attended by about 850 people, brought together local families, students, faith leaders, and a survivor of the massacre, which left hundreds of young people dead at the Nova music festival in southern Israel.
Organized with the support of the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, the Jewish Federation of the Bay, the Peninsula Jewish Community Center, the World Zionist Organization and the American Jewish Committee of Northern California, the evening featured prayer, art and testimony from impacted local families and Israelis to honor those lost on Oct. 7, 2023, and the months of war that followed.
Many described feeling a sense of shared responsibility and hope that next year’s gathering won’t be another memorial.
“It’s an open wound that won’t close until all the hostages are home,” said Michal Lapede who organized the remembrance event.
Ronit Jacobs, who oversees the JCC’s Israeli Cultural Connection, said hosting the anniversary was both a duty and a struggle.
Jacobs and Lapede weighed the pros and cons of hosting another memorial event like the year prior in the context of already established memorial days like Yom HaZikaron for Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. “But this is different,” said Lapede. “We are still living it. We are still in a war. We still have hostages [in Gaza].”
They described deliberating about how to strike the right tone amid what they called an atmosphere of negativity about Israel. Rather than simply repeating last year’s memorial, the center prioritized community-centric healing.
The outdoor memorial featured local artists like Melanit Gal, Liz Cohen and an exhibit called “Giborot Habarzel” (Iron Women), Women’s Stories from October 7, donated by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. The exhibit showcased tributes to Israeli women killed on October 7th. One piece honored Cpt. Eden Nimri, 22, a professional swimmer and commander of an all-female team in the Israeli Defense Forces Sky Riders drone unit who was killed by Hamas terrorists while defending the Nahal Oz outpost in southern Israel.
Local Jewish organizations like Tzofim or Israeli Scouts, a Zionist youth movement, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, and pro-Israel education nonprofit StandWithUs set up interactive stands as well.
At the center of the outdoor memorial was a long table set with dishes and silverware for hostages taken into Gaza on October 7th. The table was an homage to Hostage Square in Israel, a public plaza located in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which has become the site of protests and gatherings calling for the release of hostages due to its proximity to the Israeli Defense Force headquarters.
“We don’t have demonstrations here [at the JCC],” Jacobs said. “We live in a little bubble, where people come up the stairs, take a deep breath, and feel safe. With everything that’s going on – whether it’s antisemitism or anti-Zionism, you name it – people can come here and feel safe.”
Many attendees remarked of Oct. 7 as a personal turning point: a clear before and after.
“It’s like 9/11 for the Jewish world,” said Astrid Rieber, a member of the Am Yisrael Committee at Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City. “I was just a regular Jewish person, a housewife, a professional parent. Now, I feel like I have so much more responsibility to educate and to support our community.”
A convert to Judaism, Rieber said she never imagined herself on a committee fighting antisemitism, but the last two years have changed her outlook. “I’ve become stronger and prouder to be a Jew,” she added.
Several speakers noted that the pain of Oct. 7 has coexisted with a growing sense of activism. Shachar-Lee Yaakobovitz, the senior campus regional manager for StandWithUs Northwest, said the attacks shaped how Jewish students approach identity and safety today.
“I do worry for my personal safety and the safety of my community, the safety of synagogues, the safety of Jewish community centers, all of those things,” Yaakobovitz said.
At the same time, she said, Oct. 7 also inspired her to speak out. “It was really hard to see the way that people turned on Israel, turned on basic democratic values and morals, and just completely disregarded human lives that were taken tragically on October 7th. October 7th, for me, was a catalyst, in a way, for doing this work that I do and educating about Israel on college campuses.”
Despite the grief that filled the courtyard, many attendees voiced compassion for civilians on both sides.
“Of course there are innocent people in Gaza,” said Jacobs. “War is terrible for everyone.”
As of October 7th, 2025, the Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates 67,173 casualties. This figure does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas combatants who do not distinguish themselves from civilians with military emblems, insignia, or uniforms. The IDF reports 466 combatant casualties since the Gaza ground operation began on October 27, 2023.
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas met in Cairo this week to discuss the terms of a potential cease-fire and hostage-release agreement first presented by President Trump during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on September 29th.
Rieber agreed, “It’s complex. There’s pain on both sides. But I wish people would stop learning about it just through social media,” she said. “It’s not black and white.”
As night fell at the close of the ceremony, some attendees linked arms while the crowd sang “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem.
“It’s my responsibility to show support to my community,” said Tzachi Rosenberg, who attended with his wife and daughter. “We pray for the best: that our 40 hostages come home this week.”
“Maybe next year,” one organizer said, “we won’t have to do this again.”
Photos by Aaron Levy-Wolins (c) 2025 J. The Jewish News of Northern California. All Rights Reserved.
