Approximately 125 Cornell and Ithaca community members gathered at Ho Plaza on Wednesday night for an hour-long vigil to mark the three-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.
The event, organized by Cornellians for Israel and Cornell Hillel, included prayers and personal stories from speakers affected by the attacks. El Malei Rahamim, a Jewish memorial prayer for the departed, was recited in Hebrew and English to honor those killed during the attacks, as well as Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Organizers also shared the stories of three former hostages: Eliya Cohen, Noa Argamani and Eli Sharabi.
In addition to the vigil, there was a memorial display made by CFI and Hillel on the Arts Quad during the day to create “a space to remember, reflect, and honor those affected,” according to Hillel’s post.
On Oct. 7, 2023, militants from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State, led attacks in southern Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people, including more than 380 people at the Supernova music festival, and took 251 people hostage, according to Israeli officials.
“Tonight, we’re here to honor the victims and the heroes of that day,” Noah Farb ’28, president of CFI, told the crowd.
Three Israeli speakers shared their experiences. Nimrod Nakdimon, an exchange student from Israel, was traveling in India when the attack began. He returned home to Israel to report for reserve duty, and read a diary entry about reuniting with his family amid rocket sirens, including his 14-year-old sister’s mixed feelings about his return.
“I didn’t want you to return so you wouldn’t be in a dangerous place, but I missed you,” she told him.
Meital Covo, an artist and teacher now living in Ithaca, was in Israel during the attacks in 2023. She recounted watching the death toll rise by the hour on television while calling her students to check on them.
Tomer Meir, who attended Nova Music Festival during the attacks in 2023, traveled to campus from Israel to close out the vigil. He described the festival as “one of the most beautiful nights of [his] life” before rockets began falling that morning.
Meir urged attendees to channel any grief they feel into purpose.
“We’re a nation of builders,” Meir said, referring to Israel. “We’re mourning and building.”
Candles and a poster board covered in stickers of victims’ faces sat on a table beside the crowd, reflecting an Israeli practice of posting victims’ images in public places so that “their memory lives on,” Farb told The Sun.
“For a lot of people here, there’s still a gap in our lives from those we’ve lost,” Noah Bodner ’27, president of Cornell Hillel, told The Sun. “Tonight was an opportunity to come together as a community, and be close to one another, and support one another and mourn together.”
At last year’s vigil, the names of 48 hostages still held in Gaza were read aloud. All of the hostages have since been returned to Israel.
Sofia Eliasi ’29, the head of communications and outreach for CFI, said the focus of the memorial has shifted since previous anniversaries.
“In past years, it’s been sort of a reflection of wishing for the hostages to come back, and this year we’re looking forward,” Eliasi told The Sun.
The ceremony closed with the singing of Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem. Afterward, attendees lingered to light candles and place stickers on the memorial board.
“Just a small candle can illuminate a room full of so much darkness,” Bodner said, echoing a message that Meir shared earlier in the night.
Rowan Wallin is a member of the Class of 2027 in the Nolan School of Hotel Administration within the SC Johnson College of Business. He is a senior writer for the news department and can be reached at rwallin@cornellsun.com.
