Nearly 6,000 people – 900 in person and the rest online – joined the United Synagogue on Monday for an evening of commemoration and reflection to mark a year since year since Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel.
The “One Day in October” event featured a number of special guests, including author Oriya Mevorach and October 7 hero and actor Yadin Gellman, who both spoke at the event.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended and lit a memorial candle.
The audience also heard from the Chief Rabbi as well as United Synagogue chief Executive, Jo Grose, as well as United Synagogue educator, Rabbi Michael Laitner.
Oriya Mevorach said: “I really felt despair this year, but my message is not to give into despair. Faith kept the Israeli people, not just the other way round.”
Yadin Gellman said: “We can not wait for anybody to save us, and we will not wait for anybody to save us. We will keep fighting, and we will win this war.”
Rishi Sunak lit a candle at the United Synagogue's memorial event, marking one year since the Hamas terrorist atrocities (Photo: Leivi Saltman Photography)
The Chief Rabbi said: “We must never allow the world to forget 7th October. We also have a responsibility to give our total and absolute support to Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel).
"We are passionately Zionistic and we recognise the centrality of Israel in our lives and the extent to which right now the very future of the state is on the line, and Israel deserves our unequivocal and absolute support at all times.”
In Manchester, over 4,000 people, including a large contingent of Iranians, gathered in the city for the Manchester Stands With Israel march and rally.
Organised by North West Friends of Israel (NWFOI) and supported by the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region (JRC), participants marched though the city centre to St Peter’s Square to remember the atrocities committed by Hamas in southern Israel.
In addition to honouring the 1,200 people murdered by Hamas and calling for the immediate the release of the 101 hostages still held in Gaza the event also paid tribute to the brave soldiers of the IDF, while taking a stand against the rise in antisemitism the Jewish community in the UK has experienced since last year.
Speakers included NWFOI co-chair Raphi Bloom, who called for the release of the 101 hostages, while honouring those who were murdered and paying tribute to the IDF.
He told the crowd: “We are not Jews with trembling knees anymore” and that the community would always stand up for Israel and the Jewish community in the face of rising antisemitism.
Thousands gathered at the Manchester Stands with Israel march and rally (Photo: Ruthless Images)
JRC chair Mark Adlestone OBE spoke of his desire to rebuild interfaith relationships and have the difficult conversations that have often been absent from interfaith forums since October 7.
Newly elected Jewish Labour MP for Makerfield Josh Simon spoke passionately about how he will always stand up for Israel in Parliament and how he is proud to be a Zionist.
One participant said afterwards: “I was proud to be there, and the solidarity felt was wonderful, it will remain in my heart.”
Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism marked the anniversary with a powerful display in the city centre of shoes, cuddly toys and yellow balloons to represent the hostages still being held in Gaza.
They also assembled a long table with poster of each hostage and a yellow plate at each empty place.
An empty table with photos of the hostages and empty yellow plates, set up by Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism
On Monday evening, Leeds Jewish Representative Council, together with UJIA, held a memorial service with prayer, singing and the blowing of the shofar.
In Brighton, just days after the October 7 memorial was vandalised, with plant pots smashed and the book with the names of the murdered ripped and muddied, around 500 people attended a commemoration to victims of October 7 at the same site.
Adam Ma’anit, whose cousin Tsachi Idan was kidnapped to Gaza after his daughter Ma’ayan, aged 18, was murdered, said that while the community needed to remember the dead, it also had to fight for the living.
“We cannot grieve because Tsachi is still a hostage. We cannot move on. No matter what the hateful do, we must never be deterred from humanising the victims of Hamas. The hostages must be released now. Then we can properly mourn.”
Hostage posters were raised by the crowd, who loudly chanted: “Bring Them Home Now!”
Brighton held a candlelit vigil to mark one year since October 7 (Photo: Heidi Bachram)
Several hundred people turned out for the memorial event organised for the Jewish community in the Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Wessex areas, members of the Council of Christians and Jews and other non-Jewish supporters.
Coordinated by Crisis in Israel, Bournemouth, the first event in Bournemouth Square was organised by Bournemouth Action for Israel (BAFI) and included the reading of the names of the 101 hostages and prayers led by Rabbi Lewis from Bournemouth Community Hebrew Congregation (BCHC) and Rabbi Michaels, who leads Bournemouth Reform Synagogue.
Several hundred people then walked to BCHC for an evening of video messages and live presentations from Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies, Joseph Gitler, founder and CEO of Leket Israel, which has been supporting people in need in Israel since October 7, Mandy Damari, the mother of British Israeli hostage Emily Damari, 28, and Gillian Mimran, whose grandson was killed while on patrol in the IDF.
At universities across the UK, Jewish students came together to mark the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
On Monday UJS planted 18 trees to launch a national memorial garden for the 1,200 victims of the October 7th massacre.
UJS students plant a memorial garden in memory of October 7 victims (Photo: UJS)
A UJS spokesperson said: “Eighteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew word ‘chai’, which means ‘life’, in the hopes that these trees will live and grow for those who no longer can.
In her speech opening the national memorial garden, UJS president, Sami Berkoff said: “Today, we gather in solemn remembrance as we commemorate a year since the tragic events of October 7th. This day has forever changed lives and families, and it is with heavy hearts that we honour the 1,200 souls lost, each one a cherished individual with dreams, aspirations, and loved ones left behind […] We reaffirm our commitment to life, growth, and hope by planting these trees, even amidst sorrow.”
On Monday evening, UJS also supported thousands of Jewish students nationwide in hosting a simultaneous tekes (memorial ceremony) on their campuses.
Ceremonies took place at many universities across the UK, including in Sheffield, Leeds, Edinburgh, Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge and London.
The ceremonies included prayers, readings, and stories of victims to give students space for reflection and collective memorial, said UJS. A minute’s silence was also held by JSocs.
Jewish school students also held their own ceremonies through UJS’ schools programme, with hundreds joining across London and Manchester.
Ride to Bring Them Home Now cyclists (Yoav Picherski)
In London, hundreds of cyclists did seven laps of Regent’s Park for the second Ride to Bring Them Home as a way of raising awareness of the plight of the 101 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas.
