ISLANDERS last night gathered in remembrance of the atrocities committed during “the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust” on 7 October last year.
The service, which was scheduled to take place at the Synagogue of the Jersey Jewish Congregation, comes one year after Hamas gunmen launched an attack, crossing the border into southern Israel, and killing 1,200 people.
Israeli forces have subsequently carried out strikes in Gaza where the death toll has surpassed 41,000 since the war began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The Israeli army continued its ground operation in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah this week while the Lebanese armed group has fired rockets into Israel as the regional conflict escalates further.
Martha Bernstein, president of the Jersey Jewish Congregation, said that “last year we were stunned into silence as we realised our worst nightmare had happened in Israel”.
“For many of us in the Jewish community in Jersey we have both family and friends in Israel,” she continued.
“Many of whom we were not able to reach for news as 7 October last year was not only a festival day but also a Shabbat, both days when we usually try not to use any form of electronic device.
“First, we were stunned by the speed of the attack and then we realised the scale of both the death count, about 1,200 innocent men, women and children of all ages including Holocaust survivors and pregnant women.”
She also said that nearly 100 of those kidnapped during the attack were still being held by Hamas.
“I do not intend to make this a political event, but I cannot let the moment pass without expressing the profound sadness of all Jews around the world at the loss of life both on October 7 and in the year that has followed.
“Our hearts go out to the bereaved on all sides of the conflict and it is therefore with heavy hearts that we are gathered here this evening.”
Speaking to the JEP, Ms Bernstein stressed that there was “anguish” over the loss of life “on both sides”.
As commemorations were yesterday held across the UK, Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the 7 October assault on Israel as “the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust”.
The UK has appealed for de-escalation in the region amid international concerns that a miscalculation in the exchanges of fire between Israel, Iran and its proxies could trigger a wider regional war.
