Las Vegas ceremony marks one year since Oct. 7 attacks on Israel

When Eitan Gonen turned 54 two Octobers ago, his daughter flew from South America to surprise him. When he turns 56 in a couple of weeks, he just has one wish: for his daughter to come home from Hamas captivity.

Twenty-four-year-old Romi Gonen is one of the nearly 100 people who Hamas still hold hostage.

“We are so tired of seeing her beautiful face on banners, T-shirts or stickers,” Gonen said. “I want to simply hug my daughter. I want to hold her tight and see her dance again.”

A year after Hamas led the deadliest attack in Israeli history — killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostage, community members gathered at Las Vegas City Hall council chambers to commemorate the lives lost and stand in solidarity with Israel.

The event was put on by the Israeli-American Council, with a range of speakers including the families of hostages, the Metropolitan Police Department and politicians. Rows of people sported yarmulkes, “I stand with Israel stickers” and Israeli flags draped from their backs.

The room went dark as a video played quotes from people who had suffered the attack at the Nova Music festival. There was also a candle lighting to honor the lives lost, the hostages and soldiers.

Antisemitism

Several speakers addressed what they referred to as rampant and growing antisemitism in the United States in the year since the attack.

The Anti-Defamation League counted a total of 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, a 140 percent increase from the prior year, and the highest number on record since the ADL began tracking such data in 1979.

Congresswoman Susie Lee and mayoral candidates Shelley Berkley and Victoria Seaman all expressed their support for Israel and their fight against antisemitism, specifically when it came to college campuses.

“Tonight we choose to do more than remember. We choose to stand in solidarity,” Seaman said.

Berkley spoke about the tenacity of the Jewish people.

“The future of Israel depends on us,” she told the crowd.

Lee recalled a year ago, when she was told by Jewish friends that maintaining support for Israel would be difficult as the conflict unfolded in the year to come.

Lee said that she could never have known then just how true that would be, adding that she hoped support for Israel would not become a partisan issue. Lee reiterated her “allyship” for Israel in its “rightful response.”

Growing conflict

In the year since the attack, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. In recent weeks, the conflict has expanded beyond Gaza, as Israel fights the terrorist group Hezbollah, carried out a series of airstrikes in Beirut on the coast of Lebanon and was the target of Iranian missiles.

“It would have been unbearable enough if we had gathered here today on this terrible anniversary to commemorate events long past,” Elan Carr, CEO of the IAC, told the crowd. “But we are not here merely to commemorate events long past, because now one year later, the State of Israel is still fighting for its right to survive.”

Still, speakers were hopeful about the future and assured the crowd that better days were ahead.

“Bring them hope. So that we have a better world for them to come home to,” said Maayan Snapir, whose grandfather, Yocheved Lifshitz, remains in captivity.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.