A local vigil will be held Sunday night for victims of Saturday’s Hamas attack against Israel, which has claimed more than 600 lives, with dozens of Israelis being held hostage.
The “Vigil for Israel” is being co-sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and The Board of Rabbis of Southern California and is set for 8 p.m. at the Stephen Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive.
“Together we will pray, sing for, and honor the memory of the innocent Israelis who have tragically been murdered and pray for peace and the safe return of those who have been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists,” organizers said in a statement.
The gathering will also be live streamed at wisela.org/Online/ . For more information, visit wise.shulcloud.com/event/LACommunityVigil.
Meanwhile, police agencies in the Los Angeles area have increased security and patrols around Jewish institutions in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica following the attack.
Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist group founded in 1987 that disputes Israel’s right to territory in the West Bank.
Early Saturday, Hamas forces fired thousands of rockets into Israel as dozens of fighters infiltrated several locations, shocking the country as the weeklong Jewish festival of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of the Tabernacles, came to an end.
Israeli authorities reported a second round of rockets fired on Saturday evening, striking multiple locations inside Israel, including Tel Aviv.
In addition to the casualties, Israel announced that at least 100 of its soldiers and civilians were captured and taken to Gaza as hostages.
Israel retaliated early Sunday, resulting in an estimated 400 Palestinian deaths and thousands more injured during the retaliatory fighting.
The fighting occurred on the 50th anniversary of the so-called “Yom Kippur War,” which took place from October 6th to 25th, 1973, when Israel was attacked by a coalition of Arab states.
In a televised address on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We are at war. What happened yesterday has never been seen in Israel. We will take mighty vengeance for this black day.”
The Jewish Federation has condemned the attacks and pledged its support for Israel.
“Once again, on a holy day of the Jewish calendar, Israelis have come under attack,” stated the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles stands in solidarity with our beloved homeland. We are working with our partners in Israel and across the globe to ensure the people of Israel have our full support and all necessary resources.
“Israel will prevail, and the Jewish people will stand together — as we always do.”
The Federation has established an emergency fund to support the victims, which can be found at JewishLA.org/IsraelCrisis.
Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA provided their perspective on the decades-long land dispute in a statement to City News Service:
“Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA wish to stress the imperative need to understand that Palestinians have suffered under occupation for decades, and resistance is a response to the daily violence, dehumanization, and colonization that Palestinians face.”
The Muslim Public Affairs Council echoed these sentiments in a statement released in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
“To truly comprehend the situation, we must examine the root cause; an ongoing occupation in violation of international human rights law that has deprived the Palestinian people, particularly those in Gaza, of their basic rights and human dignity,” stated the council. “Through actively and often violently obstructing their pursuit of a self-defined identity, national autonomy, and global recognition, the Israeli occupation and the world’s continued silence have created a political void that has allowed Hamas and other groups to rise to positions of leadership and justify their violent attacks.”
The U.S. State Department advises U.S. citizens seeking to contact the U.S. Embassy in Israel to visit cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intake or call 888-407-4747.
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