NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The one-year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel, during which the Iran-backed, U.S.-designated terror group murdered approximately 1,200 adults and children and kidnapped to Gaza more than 250 people -- also of various ages, nationalities and religions -- is being honored across New York City this weekend, as 101 hostages have yet to return home.
Below is a rundown of events marking Oct. 7, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. The one-year mark also falls between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
FRIDAY, OCT. 4, 2024
6:30 p.m.: NY Hostages and Missing Families Forum Speaker, Congregation Beth Elohim, 271 Garfield Place, Brooklyn: This Park Slope Reform synagogue will host Dana Cwaigrach, the head of the New York Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents family members of missing individuals in Israel and the US. She will speak at Shabbat services in the chapel about the Forum's work.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5, 2024
7:30 p.m.: Havdalah for the Hostages: October 7 Commemoration, Marlene Meyerson JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Street, Manhattan: JCC CEO Rabbi Joanna Samuels and Cantor Shimon Smith will lead "a song circle and a Havdalah service to honor the victims of October 7 and to pray for the release of the hostages." Havdalah is a short ceremony marking the end of the Sabbath. Registration not required but requested.
SUNDAY, OCT. 6, 2024
10 a.m.: Wings of Hope, Staten Island: Presented by the JCC of Staten Island as part of its Oct. 7 "Hope & Resilience" programming, this is an event geared for children. The free family program will feature crafts and live children's songs by Honey Child Music. "During the event, we will create beautiful craft butterflies and release live butterflies in memory of those we lost on October 7," say organizers. Exact location of event will be shared after registration.
11 a.m.: One Year Later: A Special March to Remember the Ones We've Lost and the 101 We Still Need to Fight For, Central Park West and 90th Street, Manhattan: The Hostages and Missing Families Forum is organizing this march, at which family members of hostages will attend.
8 p.m.: Brooklyn Memorial Service, Congregation Beth Elohim, 271 Garfield Place, Brooklyn: The synagogue invites New Yorkers to "join clergy and communities from around Brownstone Brooklyn in a reflective, musical ceremony of mourning and remembrance marking the first yahrzeit [anniversary of a death in Hebrew] of those lost in the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023."
MONDAY, OCT. 7, 2024
2 p.m.: A Year of Mourning with the Hey Alma Community, (virtual): Hey Alma, "a feminist Jewish culture site and online community bringing you a diversity of voices," is hosting Rabbi Emily Cohen, spiritual leader of the Upper West Side's West End Synagogue, in leading a 20-minute ceremony "to mark a year of mourning and to share our hopes and prayers for a more peaceful future." Registration required.
5 p.m.: Times Square Memorial, Broadway Pedestrian Plaza (7th Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets), Manhattan: At this three-hour event organized by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's World Values Network, the keynote speaker is U.S. Army Captain and Medal of Honor recipient Florent Groberg. The event will honor "the memory of our brothers and sisters murdered on October 7th, the hostages who are still in imminent danger and all our soldiers who risked and continue to risk their lives everyday to free the hostages and defend Israel," according to organizers. Registration required, as is a donation (minimum $1 to prevent spammers).
6 p.m.: Candlelit Commemoration Ceremony, The Jewish Community Center – Chabad of West Queens, 10-29 48th Avenue, Queens: This Long Island City JCC will host a 45-minute ceremony outside its building, and feature prayers, songs and a vigil. Members of the community, including Rabbi Zev Wineberg of the JCC-Chabad, will also speak. Organizers said everyone who attends the event will have a chance to speak if they wish, while an installation dedicated to the hostages in Gaza that has appeared on the LIC waterfront every Saturday since the attacks last year will be placed outside the JCC-Chabad.
6:30 p.m.: One-Year Commemoration of October 7, Kings Bay Y, 3495 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn: "This event is not just a remembrance of the tragedy but also a testament to our strength and resilience," reads the Sheepshead Bay community center's website. "Together, we are stronger, and this commemoration is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of unity in the face of adversity." Atir Vinnikov, a survivor of the Nova music festival, will recall how a Bedouin Israeli man rescued him and his friends. RSVP required.
7 p.m.: One Year Later: An Evening of Remembrance and Healing, Staten Island: Project Heroes will perform at this JCC of Staten Island event, the location of which will be provided upon registration. "Sparked by the October 7th events and the amazing heroic acts, our mission is to tell the Jewish story through a narrative of heroism rather than victimhood," reads the Project Heroes website.
7:15 p.m.: NYC Premiere of the Documentary "October 7: Voice of Pain, Hope and Heroism," AMC Empire 25, 234 West 42nd Street, Manhattan: Jewish educational organization Aish will premiere this documentary, which tells the stories of five "heroic" Israelis impacted by Oct. 7. Among those featured in the documentary are "a jeweler who gifted over 100 diamond rings and counting to soldiers, enabling them to propose and start families, in the merit of his son who was murdered." Following the film, there will be a panel discussion with Zach Sage Fox, Lizzy Savetsky, Tanya Zuckerbrot, and Ari Ackerman. Ticket purchase required ($12).
8 p.m.: October 7th Memorial Event, Sephardic Community Center, 1901 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn: In partnership with the Sephardic Community Alliance and Barkai Yeshivah -- Sephardic refers to Jewish people with cultural backgrounds in Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East -- this memorial in Sheepshead Bay will be attended by Rabbi Achiya Eliyahu and Idit Eliyahu, who will honor their son Ariel Eliyahu, who died earlier this year while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Registration required.