In solidarity

Shahar Gabay heard his father cry for the first time on October 7, 2023.

The former IDF combat soldier with the Givati Brigade attended the Nova Music Festival as a break from his biotechnology studies at university. When missiles started going off early on the morning of October 7, Gabay immediately called his dad and apologized for attending a festival so close to Gaza.

He remained in close contact with his father by phone throughout his harrowing journey to safety. When Gabay managed to escape, he heard the emotion on the other end of the phone. Although his mother had previously shared that his father cried when Gabay was born, this was the only time he ever heard such a reaction.

Gabay shared his story at JUF’s October 7 Memorial at Ateres Ayala in Skokie. Co-sponsored by 43 organizations, the event provided a space for the community to come together on the first anniversary of the massacre to mourn and show their support for Israel.

“We are a people that has said kaddish too many times,” JUF President Lonnie Nasatir told the 1,400 in-person and 1,500 virtual attendees. “Day after day, the news has unfolded like a slow-motion horror film, breaking our hearts again and again. For the families of the murdered and the fallen, their pain is our pain, and we grieve with them. We refuse to become numb to the agony of the Israeli people.”

Emceed by JUF Board Chair Wendy C. Abrams, the event brought together Jews of all denominations, rabbis from an array of synagogues who offered prayers of remembrance and peace, and elected officials, including Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10).

“I am grateful for our community,” Schneider said. “We live in a very special place, but we also live in a very dangerous time. People will seek to divide us. People will seek to defeat us. We cannot let them win. We must stay united in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel.”

Fr. Esequiel Sanchez of the Shrine of Lady Guadalupe, a longtime ally of the Jewish community, shared his sorrow and emphasized his commitment to unity.

“Today, my grief continues to grow as madness and war continues to expand,” said Fr. Esequiel Sanchez of the Shrine of Lady Guadalupe. “I am reminded of a phrase, first uttered by Dr. Martin Luther King in 1967 yet cherished by my friend, Bishop Bermingham, that stated: ‘Where there is injustice anywhere, there is a threat to justice everywhere.'”

Attendees also heard from those whose families were directly impacted by the October 7 attacks, including Leah Polin, the grandmother of slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

“No words can describe how Hersh and the hostages became a part of every Jewish family’s daily life, and then tikvah– hope–the word that describes the feeling we all had if only one hostage would survive,” Polin said “We just knew it was going to be Hersh, but it was not to be.”

“For all of us–whether in Chicago, around the world, or in Israel–we have an immense responsibility to keep up the awareness of the stories of the lives of Hersh and all the victims of October 7th and to keep alive the stories of the remaining 101 hostages still brutally held in captivity…in hell,” added Leah Polin, Goldberg-Polin’s aunt.

The impact of October 7 around the globe serves as a constant reminder of the magnitude of the moment at home in our own communities. “A strong Israel is not just essential for Israelis, but for Jewish worldwide,” said Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest.

“Israel will prevail, and the Jewish people will endure,” Nasatir said.