In response to the Hamas massacres of October 7, hundreds of Los Angeles Jewish community members, including elected officials, community leaders and clergy, gathered at Stephen Wise Temple for a heartfelt “Vigil for Israel.”
“Tonight, we are in a house of mourning,” Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles CEO and President Rabbi Noah Farkas said, addressing a packed sanctuary at the synagogue’s Bel Air campus. “There is no question, this is personal. To be Jewish tonight is to take all this personally.”
Held the evening of Oct. 8, the music-filled event featured a candlelight ceremony in the Wise sanctuary. Cantors Marcus Feldman (Sinai Temple), Lizzie Weiss (Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills) and Emma Lutz (Stephen Wise Temple), among others, led the room in song and prayer throughout the one-hour program.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Southern California Board of Rabbis organized the gathering, which was co-sponsored by more than 80 organizations. Congregations sent out emails about the program over the weekend, citing “sh’aat dachak,” an emergency situation, for the communication over Shabbat.
The event was held immediately following the conclusion of Simchat Torah.
Along with Farkas, speakers included Stephen Wise Temple Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback.
“What happened yesterday, what’s happening now, has happened before,” Zweiback said, referring to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. “Over three millennia, we survived pogrom after pogrom, massacre after massacre. We survived the Shoah. The trauma, the pain, the agony we carry, it is unbearable, yet somehow, we bear it…tonight is about the community coming together for comfort, for strength for healing. And it’s a call to action.”
Recently appointed Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Israel Bachar also spoke.
Bachar’s statement garnered a standing ovation from the crowd: “In 1939 we could not fight back. In 2023, we can, and we will.”
“In 1939 we could not fight back,” Bachar said, referring to the Holocaust and the existential threat facing European Jewry at that time. “In 2023, we can, and we will.” Bachar’s statement garnered a standing ovation from the crowd.
Additional speakers included Board of Rabbis of Southern California Vice President Rabbi Sarah Hrosnky.
Among those in attendance were Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna; Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel; L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath; L.A. City Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Bob Blumenfield; and LAUSD School Board Member Nick Melvoin. Former L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer and former State Senator Bob Hertzberg also turned out.
While commemorating the memory of those killed by Hamas in the ongoing conflict, the event also sought to raise awareness about how people here in the U.S. can support those living in Israel. Farkas called attention to the Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation, which is matching up to $1 million raised from L.A. Federation’s Israel Crisis fund. Those interested in learning more about the fund can visit jewishla.org/israelcrisis.
“We cannot carry the rifle, we cannot carry the stretcher, cannot physically mend the wounds, but our funds can [help]” Farkas said.
The event was also accessible via livestream. More than 2,200 viewers tuned in to watch the program live. As of press time, a recording of the vigil on YouTube had garnered more than 17,000 views.
The L.A. Federation convened the program one day after a surprise and deadly attack on Israel by Hamas, the designated terrorist organization that governs the Gaza Strip. Those members of the local Jewish community who were using their electronic devices over Shemini Atzeret and Shabbat woke up on Oct. 7 to news of the attack, reading in horror as the death toll of Israelis climbed throughout the day. As the community marked Simchat Torah, from the evening of Oct. 7 to nightfall Oct. 8, everyone was still reeling from news of what was unfolding.
As of press time, more than 900 Israelis have been killed since Hamas’ attack on Israel began Oct. 7.
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