Charlotte rabbi prays for peace on anniversary of Hamas terrorist attack on Israel

Jews in the Charlotte area marked the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others abducted, by organizing events to mourn those who died and support the hostages.

“We pray that peace will come,” said Judy Schindler , rabbi emerita of Temple Beth El in Charlotte. “I certainly pray that Israelis can live in peace, and Palestinians can live in peace, and we can build a better Middle East together.”

Not long after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which Schindler previously compared to the Sept. 11 attack, Israel began a counterattack in Gaza, and the Israeli military has now killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and injured tens of thousands more.

The war has spilled over into Lebanon, where hundreds have also been killed and many evacuated as Israel battles Hezbollah militants .

Antisemitic incidents have spiked in the United States since the Oct. 7 attack. The Anti-Defamation League reported over 10,000 antisemitic incidents nationally between October 2023 and September 2024. That marked a 200% increase from the 3,325 incidents in the same period a year before.

The anniversary of the attack, Oct. 7, falls in between two of the biggest Jewish holidays, the New Year celebration of Rosh Hashanah last week and Yom Kippur this week. Yom Kippur, the annual Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish year.

“We are exhausted, we are emotional, we are prayerful,” Schindler said. “We’re at this intense time of self-reflection, and so we’re nervous. We’re anxious.”

Schindler said some Jewish Americans, particularly those on college campuses, haven’t felt safe wearing Jewish Stars of David or feel they haven’t been given the space to deal with their emotions surrounding the attack and war.

“There clearly is a rise in antisemitism for students of every age,” Schindler said. “For some people, it creates a sense of anxiety about their Jewish identity.”

For others, she said, it has led to a sense of pride and stronger cultural ties to their identity.

“We need to begin to dismantle (antisemitism) on a community level,” said Judy LaPietra, director of the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center at Queens University of Charlotte. “We are out there in terms of education and delivering the education that people need, not only to understand what is happening in the Middle East, but also to grapple with what this means for us as a community, both as a Jewish community and broader community.”

Queens University Hillel organized a vigil on Monday , according to a post on social media. Members of the Jewish community in Charlotte also organized a car convoy Monday in south Charlotte to commemorate the anniversary and show support for the hostages, about 100 of whom are still being held captive.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte said it was holding a commemorative event with community partners as well Monday night. Over 600 were registered to attend.

Groups supporting Palestinians held rallies across the country. Charlotte United for Palestine, organized buses to Raleigh for an Oct. 5 rally. The group said in a social media post, “our movement is going nowhere until full liberation and return are ours.”

Protests around Charlotte

The last year in Charlotte was marked by pro-Palestinian protests at UNC Charlotte , where students organized an encampment that was torn down by the university and resulted in a student being detained .

UNC Charlotte’s Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the student organizing groups behind the encampment, also organized a class walkout at the university on Monday, a social media post said.

But while people gather for rallies or commemorative events to honor those who have died, Schindler said it’s important to highlight the bridge-building going on between groups, including Israelis and Palestinians.

“There are a lot of people working towards a better future,” Schindler said. “Those voices get so lost in the reporting of trauma and tragedy and pain, which is tremendous, too.”