Approximately 100 students attended a vigil to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The vigil was jointly hosted by Vanderbilt Chabad, Dores for Israel, Vanderbilt Hillel and Students Supporting Israel.
The event began with remarks from DFI President Luke Halpern and SSI President Maya Robin, both seniors.
“Tonight marks a truly somber anniversary — a year since unimaginable devastation and hate swept through Israel, feeding scars that will never fully heal,” Robin said. “As we remember the lives lost on Oct. 7, we must acknowledge the deep pain and trauma that has reverberated through our community since that tragic day.”
Halpern commended the community’s resilience and unity.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder, not just as organizations, but as individuals, as friends and as family,” Halpern said. “In the face of adversity, we embody the spirit of our ancestors, who endured millennia of challenges and yet refused to be extinguished.”
Hillel’s two Israel Fellows spoke about their experiences in the United States before and after Oct. 7, saying their role on campus “took on a different meaning” after Hamas’s attacks. Through a partnership between Hillel International and The Jewish Agency for Israel, fellows are placed on campuses throughout North America.
Two students spoke on the perceived strengthening of Vanderbilt’s Jewish community, noting that attendance at the annual Rosh Hashanah celebration increased from 300 last year to 550 last week. They led the crowd in a moment of silence, followed by a song and remarks from Chabad advisor Rabbi Shlomo Rothstein.
Rothstein acknowledged the challenges faced by community members over the past year while also offering words of encouragement.
“What about all the amazing things that happened this past year as well? We beat back the terrorists,” Rothstein said. “Hundreds of missiles from Hezbollah, from Iran did basically no damage. We are winning militarily, and despite what the media says, with very, very little civilian casualties.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its death toll but reports 41,788 Palestinians killed and around 96,700 injured since Oct. 7, 2023. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports approximately 1,200 Israelis killed, which include 800 civilians, 346 soldiers and 66 police officers, and roughly 8,700 injured as of Oct. 3.
Hillel President Sydney Grossman, a junior, offered closing remarks. The organizations’ student leaders and advisors embraced each other and swayed in unison as Rothstein led the crowd — which joined in the swaying and clapping — in song and prayer.
Grossman emphasized to The Hustler the importance of the Jewish community’s unity following the events of Oct. 7.
“One of the biggest things in the wake of all this tragedy is that the Jewish community at Vanderbilt has come together in a way that it never has before,” Grossman said. “It’s really hard to put a lot of the grief and sorrow and how we feel in the back of our minds every day into words, and being able to walk into Hillel, Chabad or Jewish spaces where you don’t really need to explain yourself is a really important thing for members of our community.”
Aaron Villegas contributed reporting to this piece.
