SAR Hosts Vigil for Oct. 7 Victims and Hostages

Hundreds came together at Salanter Akiba Riverdale, SAR, High School on Sunday night to honor lives lost on Oct. 7, hear testimonials from survivors and pray for the safe return of those held captive. 

On Oct. 7, 2023, Islamist militant group Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, and took 250 others hostage. Residential communities, social events and Israeli military bases were targeted, according to Human Rights Watch. 

Israel launched a major military offensive in response. Two years of devastating war have taken the lives of 66,184 Palestinians, 466 Israeli soldiers, and hundreds of aid workers and journalists, according to an Oct. 2 report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA. 

On Oct. 6, Reuters reported indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began in Egypt. President Donald Trump presented a peace plan the week before, which both parties have endorsed. The plan would end fighting, free all hostages and allow an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

The message of SAR’s event was clear: bring home the hostages. 

As of Oct. 1, OCHA estimates 48 Israelis and foreign nationals remain held hostage in Gaza, including those declared dead. Twenty are believed to still be alive. 

One of the first to address the crowd was Omri Hadad, an Israeli soldier who fought in Be’eri — a communal settlement, or kibbutz, in southern Israel — on Oct. 7. 

Hadad had finished six years in the army, when he and two friends got word of an attack spreading. They decided to fight without being called and were later ordered to the Re’im Army Base, headquarters for the Gaza Division.

“It was the first time we saw so many dead bodies — dozens,” he said. “For hours, we moved from building to building, breaking walls to reach soldiers hiding inside. Shots were fired constantly.” 

Hadad described the first few days of war as filled with fear and impossible choices. Still, there was a sense of clarity felt then is no longer the same. Opinions are more divided than ever, he said. 

“Months after the war, I kept asking myself, ‘What’s next? What’s moral? What’s right?’” Hadad said. “I don’t have the answers but asking them shows how complex and personal this war is.” 

In between testimonials, children from SAR Academy sang haunting melodies that captured the sorrow felt by nearly 600 audience members.

Nadav Rudaeff, the son of Israeli hostage Lior Rudaeff, also shared his story. 

Nadav was raised in a kibbutz in southern Israel less than two miles from the Gaza border, where he lived with his parents, siblings, grandfather, aunt and uncle. 

He told the audience Lior spent decades volunteering, including as a medic and ambulance driver. He was presumed kidnapped for seven months, but in May 24, Nadav and his family learned that Lior had been killed on Oct. 7.

“Take a moment every day to appreciate what you have,” Nadav said. “ Say ‘I love you’ to your loved ones, you don’t need any special reason to do so. Our memories are the most precious thing we have in life, and no one knows when it will end.” 

Local elected officials were also in attendance, including U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres — who addressed the crowd —Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, Council Member Eric Dinowitz and State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, among others. 

Another speaker, Maya Izoutcheev, was at the Nova music festival the day of the attack. 

Izoutcheev said she saw numerous rockets in the sky, something she didn’t recognize since she is from Tel Aviv, which is about 44 miles from the Gaza Strip. Disoriented, she attempted to flee by car toward Patish, a moshav in southern Israel. 

She witnessed other people in cars who had been injured, describing gut injuries and bloody hands against the windows. The roads were blocked, and she and a friend began to run. They were on foot for four and a half hours. 

“Before Oct. 7, [it] was so easy to look at the bright side of life,” Izoutcheev said. “Now, it is my biggest fight. I assure you nobody will take our joy; nobody will take our happiness or togetherness.” 

According to the American Jewish Committee, the names of those in captivity are: Ariel Cunio, Alon Ohel, Eitan Horn, Avinatan Or, Elkana Bohbot, Evyatar David, Bipin Joshi, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman, David Cunio, Eitan Mor, Maxim Herkin, Omri Miran, Bar Abraham Kupershtein, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Nimrod Cohen, Matan Zangauker, Tamir Nimrodi, Matan Angrest, Segev Kalfon, Rom Braslavski, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Itay Chen, Eliyahu Margalit, Eitan Levi, Sahar Baruch, Joshua Luito Mollel, Tal Haimi, Arie Zalmanowicz, Ran Gvili, Dror Or, Tamir Adar, Ronen Engel, Inbar Hayman, Guy Iluz, Asaf Hamami, Lior Rudaeff, Muhammad Al-Atarash, Meny Godard, Omer Neutra, Yossi Sharabi, Daniel Oz, Daniel Perez, Uriel Baruch, Sontia Ok’Krasari, Sontisek Rintalk, Amiram Cooper and Hadar Goldin.