Kol Ami News

A sea of Israeli and American flags were held up in the air for over an hour Monday as a memorial took place on the steps of the Utah Capitol one year after the events of Oct. 7.

The day marked the worst tragedy for Jewish people and Israel since the Holocaust, said Alex Shapiro. Standing at a podium, he said, “1,200 were murdered and approximately 250 were taken hostage, of which 101 are still held in Gaza, four of whom are American citizens.”

Some of the more than 100 attendees held up posters with pictures of the hostages. Others wore stickers saying “Day 365” and shirts saying “Never Again is Now” during the memorial which included Jewish rabbis, a leader from Salt Lake City’s First Baptist Church, a general authority from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and two members of Utah’s congressional delegation.

The memorial included the screening of video footage from the beginning moments of Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel, testimony of survivors and speakers acknowledging the horror of the attacks and the hope they have for a brighter future.

For the hostages still held far from their homes, Shapiro, the CEO of the United Jewish Federation of Utah, said “we pray for an immediate return.”

For those who were killed, “we honor their memory and stand in solidarity with their families, offering our deepest condolences and unwavering support,” he said. “We also mourn needless loss of lives in Gaza and Lebanon and the suffering of civilians caught in harm’s way.”

Rabbi Samuel L. Spector of Congregation Kol Ami said he went to Israel a few weeks after the attack. There he attended rallies to bring hostages home and held people in bomb shelters as sirens rang out.

Everywhere he turned, he said he saw two Hebrew words that mean: “united we will win.”

“These words became the mantra of every person in Israel,” said Rabbi Spector, explaining they were used by people of all political affiliations. He said Utah’s Jewish community is now stronger than ever.

“We stand with each other, our friends stand here with us and we stand with the people in Israel and we will not stop standing until every Israeli in the south, every Israeli in the north, every Israeli who is being held hostage in Gaza is home,” said Rabbi Spector.

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