Faith leaders, Gov. Holcomb gather for anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel

Members of the Indianapolis Jewish community gathered Monday night to commemorate the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants.

Last year, the attack on Israel left over 1200 people dead and 250 hostages. There are still roughly 100 hostages unaccounted for, although Israeli officials estimate a third of those may be dead.

The attack has also led Israel to launch a war on Gaza where over 40,000 Palestinians are estimated to have died, including over 16,000 children. U.N. officials have called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where civilians face reduced access to food, water, and healthcare services,  a “moral stain”, and there are concerns the war is expanding to include Lebanon and Iran.

Hundreds gathered Monday night to commemorate the event in Indianapolis. Community leaders gave speeches intermixed with songs and prayers throughout the commemoration.

“The world may turn its back, and many have during this past year, but we acknowledge the importance of this current war for what it always has been: the only logical response to the largest attack on Jewish souls since the shoah (the Holocaust),”  said Rabbi Brett Krichiver, Senior Rabbi of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation.

Offer Korin, a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis, raised concerns about an increase in antisemitism across the U.S. 

“This year has been our wake-up call to the real dangers Israel faces and that we contend with in the diaspora,” he said.

The event was attended by a number of state and local politicians including Governor Eric Holcomb, who gave the keynote address. Holcomb has traveled to Israel on several occasions including to visit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I, of course, pray for the victims, and the fallen, and for their families, and for the hostages to come home,” Holcomb told the congregation.

Gadi Boukai is a community member originally from Israel. He said his daughter had to abandon her apartment in the north of Israel after Hezbollah began attacking shortly after Oct. 7, in an effort to pull Israeli troops away from Gaza.

“I feel bad for civilians from the other side who are affected by that, and I see them. I watch TV,” he said. “I feel very bad about the fact that so many people are affected, but I think the point of the finger should be on Hamas and its leadership.”

Helen Kurlander-Goldstein is the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. Her son lives in Israel and she said she was overwhelmed by the news on the day of the attack.

“This has had a dramatic impact on the entire Jewish community in Indianapolis, because we all have friends and family there, across the city, across the state, all across the entire world,” she said. “For the Jewish people, this is the worst thing that has happened since the Holocaust.”

Kurlander-Goldstein added that she feels for citizens impacted by the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

“We believe that the people, particularly those in Lebanon and the Palestinians that aren't part of Hamas, they're citizens, and they deserve a right to be able to live in peace, just like the Israelis do,” she said. “But at this point, that's not where it's at. So, it's a sad reality.”

Contact WFYI's Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.