MERION STATION, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of Jewish people communed at a Montgomery County temple Wednesday evening to mourn the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
The event was a solemn one, with a focus on listening to recorded testimonies from people who witnessed, were close to, or were touched by the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed at a music festival and about 250 more taken hostage. It was the deadliest event in Israel’s history.
Many who came to Temple Adath Israel in Merion Station shed tears for those victims, including Anne Krauss.
“Having people around you makes you think about strength,” she said. “The Jews have been persecuted since the third century, and we’re still here. And we’re not going anywhere.”
Three years later, Rabbi Eric Mollo still feels the pain.
“We’re still struggling. I think the wound is still open. We haven’t really fully healed,” he said, “and after a significant loss, you want to be able to move on.”
That’s proven tough, though, for Barbara Berley-Mellits, who has leaned on loved ones and fellow Jews.
“Community is even more important in these moments, as it always is for any human, to have people who understand their pain and are with them in it,” she said.
“My wish is that they just come to listen,” said Dafna Ofer, one of the event’s organizers, “so they don’t forget and they take away that we are stronger than we think we are, and we can rise above.”
The attack continues to reverberate around the world. In the last three years, Israel has responded by killing more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Most of the territory’s 2 million residents have been displaced.
Meanwhile, many Philadelphians took to the streets of Center City to march in solidarity with Palestinians, met by Pro-Israel counter-protesters.
