In the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, fostering connection can be challenging for anyone. But in times of fear, crisis and tragedy, connection helps to relieve some of the pain and burden that people carry. When a modern day pogrom struck Israel on October 7, and the magnitude of the massacre continued to grow, the Los Angeles Jewish community looked to each other for that connection. However, the Jewish community in L.A. is not monolithic – we are a mosaic of individual communities with distinct identities. While our diversity is beautiful, our segmentation can exacerbate the feeling of isolation.
As a long-time Silver Lake resident, a proud Jew, Zionist and mother to two Israeli-American children, my Israeli husband and I have created our own unique Jewish-Israeli community in which our friends are a group reflective of our Eastside neighborhoods – mixed-faith, mixed-race and LGBTQ+. And unlike traditional Jewish communities that you can find throughout L.A., many of us do not attend a synagogue regularly. We do not walk down the street and hear Hebrew or easily spot members of our community. Our community feels small, and distinct from the Jewish or Israeli communities you can find in Fairfax, Pico Robertson or the Valley.
So, when the terrifying and tragic news broke, it was deeply isolating for many, including my husband and myself. We checked in with our family and friends. But we continued to grapple with our grief and the horror alone – and I felt a longing to take action in community but didn’t know where to begin. On Monday morning, Chabad of Silver Lake – Jewish Silver Lake – approached me with the idea of a community vigil. I said yes immediately, because I felt it in my bones a gathering was essential for our community, but I wanted it to be inclusive – encompassing all Jews on the Eastside that wanted to mourn and feel connection in our peoplehood.
By mid-afternoon, our Chabads of Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Highland Park alongside the Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center (SIJCC) and Temple Beth Israel of Eagle Rock and Highland Park (TBI) agreed to host a community vigil together at the SIJCC the very next evening. If it sounds like this came together easily — it did not. Israel is not exactly a topic of unification, especially on the Eastside where we have districts with some of largest number of progressive voters in the city — if not the country. When I first proposed the community vigil to multiple leaders of the Jewish communities on the Eastside, it wasn’t met with immediate enthusiasm, but hesitation. Yet, I believed that we could overcome our fears and that it was possible. After a bit of diplomatic maneuvering, I created a program that all of our partner communities agreed upon.
At 5pm on October 9, we began to send out invitations and publish the event on social media. We hoped for a turnout of 50 or 100 people – but within 24 hours of announcing the event, more than 500 community members registered to attend the community vigil.
One rabbi commented that they had never seen such a diverse group of Jews all in one place before, sharing space, tears, prayers and song. Another noted the clear need our diverse communities had to be together.
By 6pm on October 10, we had approximately 400 Jewish community members from Chabad to the SIJCC, Israeli and LGBTQ+ and people across the political spectrum standing together in unity. Five rabbis led the congregation in prayers and shared words of comfort and grief – three Chabad rabbis and two women rabbis, one of whom belongs to the LGBTQ+ community. One rabbi commented that they had never seen such a diverse group of Jews all in one place before, sharing space, tears, prayers and song. Another noted the clear need our diverse communities had to be together. 
We ended the vigil, in tears, standing in the gymnasium of the SIJCC arm-in-arm, singing “Oseh Shalom,” praying for peace. Funds were raised for a local community member’s IDF reserve unit and for on-the-ground Israeli organizations that are supporting the terror victims and soliders. Ending the evening by giving tzedakah reaffirms our community’s commitment to collective action.
I wish it didn’t take a modern-day pogram — worse than any of our worst nightmares — for our communities to come together. Every person I spoke with that evening shared how they felt a little less alone in their grief. To continue this communal togetherness, we are launching a volunteer committee on the Eastside to help bring our diverse community together on a regular basis. If I can think of anything positive to come out of this unfathomable moment, is that we will have an increased sense of Jewish unity, more acceptance, more diversity and more understanding within our community. We are stronger together, as one people. Am Yisrael Chai.
Naomi Leight-Giveon is a community builder, connector and social impact strategist. She works in financial services and has a masters in public diplomacy. She is, for better or worse, married to an Israeli and has two incredible children, Oden and Selah.
