In NYC, Jews gather together — and apart — for prayer and protest to mark one year since Oct. 7

If Oct. 7, 2023 was a day of shock and disbelief for Jewish New Yorkers — staring at their phones in horror as details of Hamas’ attack trickled in, learning of the mounting atrocities while, discordantly, celebrating a holiday at synagogue — Oct. 7, 2024 was different: For Jews across the city, it was a day of gathering, intention and action.

But though Jews came together in large numbers, it was not necessarily a day of unity. A large, traditionally pro-Israel rally drew thousands to Central Park. But downtown, hundreds more gathered for a pair of left-wing Jewish rallies in Union Square. Earlier in the day, pro-Israel activists came together inside and outside of Columbia University’s gates.

And thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered together for a massive street protest that marched uptown, ending at Columbus Circle.

“I think today showed that there’s a really big silent majority of people who do condemn terrorism and know that the hostage issue is not a political issue,” said Yakira Galler, a student at Barnard College who helped put up a display on campus advocating for the hostages. ”It was really meaningful and powerful. I’m glad that we did it, for us to be able to mourn together.”

Galler also voiced a sentiment felt by Jews across the globe, after a year of war, antisemitism and protest, with more than 100 Israelis still held in captivity. “​​It’s been an exhausting day,” she said.

At the large pro-Israel rally in Central Park, the mood was somber. The event was focused on the bloodshed of a year ago and the hostages who remain captive, and some in the crowd cried and embraced as survivors of the Nova festival, where more than 360 people were murdered, shared their stories. Many in the crowd carried Israeli flags and wore dog tags and ribbons symbolizing the campaign to free the hostages.

The event, led by the UJA-Federation, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, took place under heavy security, with lines of police vehicles outside and officers with rifles posted on shipping containers on either side of the stage. That, too, reflected the mood of the day.

“I think Oct. 7 was an awakening in the United States of antisemitism,” said Steve Ehrlich, a resident of the Upper West Side who said he had been inspired to attend by his Jewish identity and love for Israel. He said he and many New York Jews felt plagued by antisemitism and abandoned by former allies in progressive movements.

“The biggest change is you never expected to be personally affected by antisemitism, and when I walk around New York now I’m cautious,” he said.

New York leaders including Gov Kathy Hochul, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Sens. Kristen Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer and Mayor Eric Adams carried memorial candles onstage, and David Broza and Regina Spektor performed songs, with Spektor singing a rendition of “Avinu Malkeinu,” the classic High Holiday prayer.

The domestic strife present in Israeli debates over the war was mostly absent at the Central Park event, although some in the crowd shouted “Make a deal” at the close of a speech by Israeli consul general Ofir Akunis, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party.

“A deal is the only way to get everyone back the living and the deceased,” Ronen Neutra, the father of hostage Omer Neutra, said in a speech. Political will toward a deal is lacking “from most of the sides involved in this conflict,” Neutra said, adding that he believes ongoing military pressure further risked the hostages’ lives, a sentiment that, according to a new poll, is common in Israel.

There were emotional moments in the crowd. Israeli singer Eden Golan sang “October Rain,” a song Israel had been forced to change to “Hurricane” in order to compete in the Eurovision song contest, drawing enthusiastic applause from the crowd. And the event concluded with attendees singing “Acheinu,” a prayer for Jews in distress that has become a synagogue mainstay over the past year.

The rally took place not far from the endpoint of the pro-Palestinian march, some of whose members praised the Oct. 7 massacre. The march was led by the hardline group Within Our Lifetime. One flag read “Long live Oct. 7,” and another attendee flew the flag of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Attendees chanted, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied” and “Resistance is glorious, we will be victorious.”

Alongside the pro-Palestinian march was a handful of pro-Israel protesters who were flanked by police. Pro-Palestinian protesters yelled “Baby killer” in their direction.

Union Square

At the Jewish-led rally In Union Square, the mood was mournful, though the emphasis was different from that of the Central Park event. At 5:30 p.m., hundreds gathered for “Not Another Bomb,” a non-Zionist event co-sponsored by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, If Not Now, Shoresh and the Halachic Left. Attendees at the rally wore mostly black clothing, with dozens wearing keffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity. Many carried signs that read “Free Them All”; “Not Another Bomb”; “Mourn the dead, Fight for the Living” and “Palestinian and Jewish Safety are Intertwined.”

For an hour, speakers at the Not Another Bomb rally read aloud hundreds of names, ages and stories of Israelis and Palestinians killed since Oct. 7. At the feet of the speakers, mourners placed yahrzeit memorial candles and stones in memory of the victims on both sides of the conflict. Several shed tears.

Among the speakers at the rally was City Council member Shahana Hanif, who has been criticized by pro-Israel advocates for her response to Oct. 7. She read a eulogy for Vivian Silver, an Israeli peace activist murdered by Hamas terrorists on that day.

Public advocate Jumaane Williams, who is next in line to become mayor if Adams resigns following his recent indictment on corruption charges, read names and ages of Israeli and Palestinian victims.

The gathering also communally chanted Psalm 121, read in times of distress, and recited Mourners’ Kaddish.

As the sun set, attendees were encouraged to stay for a 7 p.m. gathering held by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group, also in Union Square. The crowd thinned out and swelled again as the gathering transitioned to the Israeli-led one. Israelis for Peace has been holding weekly vigils in Union Square since November.

Attendees held lit candles in their hands, and as at many of the group’s rallies, signs were not allowed. As at the rally that preceded it, many wore black, but there were far fewer keffiyehs or kippahs.

The somber gathering of hundreds focused on the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, mourned the Israeli and Palestinian lives lost and called for an end to the war and a safe return of the hostages. The gathering also called for an end to the Israeli occupation and a path toward peace.

Attendees wore stickers that read “367,” acknowledging the number of the days since the attack, as well as T-shirts and dog tags in honor of the hostages, and lit yahrzeit candles in honor of the victims.

Speakers at the Israelis for Peace rally included Comptroller Brad Lander, a regular at the rallies who is running for mayor, and Alana Zeitchik, who had six family members taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.

“Oct. 7, 2023 took away my power, but not for long,” Zeitchik said. “What Hamas did not know is that the love I have for my family is more powerful than any weapon in their hateful arsenal. And what Bibi Netanyahu did not know is that the love I have for my family would not fill me with hate for Palestinian families.”

A bit further uptown, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah opened up its sanctuary for New Yorkers to come together to read aloud all 150 chapters of the Book of Psalms over the course of seven hours.

At 4 p.m., about 30 people were gathered in the sanctuary of the LGBTQ-focused congregation, with an equal number attending on Zoom. Volunteers took turns reading a psalm in Hebrew or English, with some also reading their own poems and translations to accompany the psalm they read.

During the pandemic, CBST’s now-rabbi emeritus, Sharon Kleinbaum, taught a class about the Psalms, which is where many members became familiar with the text.

“Saying Psalms is a very traditional prayer in times of desperation,” said member Sara Sloan, who came from Brooklyn and prayed at CBST for two hours. “I very much felt a link to tradition. It really felt like the right thing to do.”

Judy Hollander, a Washington Heights resident who has been a CBST member since 1995, said she did not necessarily connect with the recitation of Psalms: The vengeful ones feel “horrible” to read, she said, and the comforting ones feel unrealistic,

“It’s a hard day, no matter what you’re feeling,” she said. “I am fried.”

She mentioned that she needed to conserve energy. Yom Kippur was coming up, at the end of the week. Nevertheless, after three hours of Psalms, she added, “I am glad I came.”