A large screen at the front of the crowd displayed on a loop, for a few seconds each, the images of each person murdered on October 7. It took just under an hour to show all the photos – of men and women, many in their 20s, others at the age when they should have been enjoying their retirement; some of the faces were of children; others were of entire families, wiped out in a matter of seconds.
The Jewish Leadership Council, one of the day’s organisers, estimates that up to 20,000 attended the rally.
On October 7 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists from Gaza broke through the border fence and attacked communities in southern Israel, murderding some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage. Many were also injured.
Photos of those murdered on October 7 were flashed across a large screen (Photo: Gary Manhine)
On stage, Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, led thousands of attendees in impassioned chanting of “Bring them home!” as he called for the release of the 101 hostages still held hostage in Gaza, and “Am Yisrael Chai!”
He drew comparisons between the attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, the 7/7 attack in London and the Manchester arena bombing, in which 22 people were killed, saying: “Terror is terror, and we must confront it together and stand together as we do today.”
The memorial event in London to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks (Photo: Gary Manhine)
“I know that this has been an incredibly tough year, but we, the Jewish people, have resilience in our DNA, and I know we are determined to come back stronger.”
Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely said Israel and her people had, over the past 12 months, demonstrated to the world their “strength and resilience”.
She said: “Israel today is stronger than ever, and the Israeli people are stronger than ever, and we are here united with the Jewish people here in London in Hyde Park to say to our enemies: ‘Every time you want to defeat us, we become stronger. Every time you want to divide us, we become more united.’ We will always prevail over our enemies, and we will see the 101 hostages coming back home because we will never forget them.”
Mandy Damari, the mother of 28-year-old British Israeli hostage Emily Damari, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and is still being held in Gaza, spoke publicly for the first time about her daughter.
Mandy Damari implores the UK government to do more to bring her British-Israeli daughter, Emily Damari, held hostage in Gaza for a year, home (Photo: Gary Manhine)
“Soon, there will be nothing left of my heart, or Emily,” she said. “Diplomatic pressure, negotiations, humanitarian efforts, whatever it takes, we cannot let another day pass. We cannot afford to lose any more lives to this nightmare. We don’t need tea and sympathy; we need actions, not words.”
Mandy castigated the British government for not doing more to bring about the safe return of her daughter, a British national, and implored leaders to do more.
Emily Damari is a British Israeli hostage held captive in Gaza. Her mother Mandy addressed the crowd (Photo: Gary Manhine)
Earlier this week, Mandy travelled to Downing Street and handed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer a note for her daughter, requesting that he do everything in his power to get it to her.
Leading proceedings was actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, who has been a long-time campaigner against antisemitism.
Speaking to the JC, she said that today was “about memorial, it's about not forgetting. We’re living in a world where people seem to have forgotten what happened on October 7, and people have seem to have forgotten the brutality of the massacre.”
Actress Tracy-Ann Oberman led proceedings (Photo: Gary Manhine)
Asked what her overriding memories of the past year were, she said: The silence by people that I thought were friends and allies – work colleagues, neighbours who never said a word – their silence was painful. But I will take the incredible support by a lot of people, we have a lot of amazing allies.
She urged the Jewish community to “not lose our humanity as a people”, adding: “We must not lose our humanity, not just for ourselves but for all.”
Candles are held at a memorial event in London's Hyde Park to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas terrorist atrocities on October 7 in southern Israel (Photo: Gary Manhine)
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Progressive Judaism co-leaders Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy each spoke and led attendees in prayer.
Barak Deri, one of the first soldiers to arrive at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, also addressed the crowds, sharing his heartbreaking decision that day between whether to fight at the kibbutz or attempt to rescue his brother, who had been injured by terrorists at the Nova Festival.
Barak Deri was one of the first soldiers to reach Kibbutz Be'eri after the attack (Photo: Gary Manhine)
Twenty-three candles were lit on stage, each representing a different community in Israel attacked by Hamas on October 7. They were lit by community and religious leaders, including S&P Sephardi community Senior Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism, UJS President Sami Berkoff, Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE, and survivors of the Nova music festival.
Released hostage Ada Sagi,with her son Noam Sagi, breaks down on stage at the London event to mark the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks (Photo: Gary Manhine)
Also lighting a candle was Ada Sagi, 75, one of the hostages, who was released after 53 days in captivity. Greeted by rapturous applause, Ada broke down in tears as she came onto the stage with her UK-based son Noam.
Attendees also heard from Keith Black, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, and Henry Grunwald OBE KC, former president of the Board of Deputies and chair of the event’s organising committee, UJIA chair Zvi Noé, as well as historian Sir Simon Schama, who read three poems written by Israeli poets.
A number of Iranians came to show solidarity with Israel and the Jewish community on the eve of October 7 (Photo: Gary Manhine)
A minute’s silence was observed, and attendees sang the national anthem and the Hatikvah.
The JC spoke with a number of participants of the London rally.
One woman, pointing to her shirt which carried the image of hostage Idan Shtivi, said she was here because Idan was her friend’s best friend. She said the hostage issue was not political: “I wanted everyone to see that these are real people, and they’re being held in tunnels.”
The day after the Sunday rally, on October 7, the IDF announced, based on new intelligence findings, that Shtivi was killed during Hamas’s attack exactly one year ago.
A man told the JC they were here to firstly “remember the most horrendous day in our lives, I’m sure I speak on behalf of most people here,” and secondly to “show the world we really want [those who are still silent] to speak much louder. We feel very lonely as the Jewish population. Our brothers and sisters in Israel are having the most horrendous time, so we are here in solidarity with them and the whole Jewish diaspora worldwide.”
He added, “We are hurting, and we need to feel the love from everyone around the world.”
A woman wearing a Bring Them Home Now hoodie said: “All we can do is think every day about the people who are being held hostage. You can only imagine the circumstances they’re being held in, we pray that they’re alive.
“We have to be grateful to all the Israeli soldiers in the IDF who defend their country on behalf of us and the rest of the world, not that anyone’s going to thank them for that. But they’re doing a job for the rest of the world. I’m here to support them, support the families of the hostages and everyone who’s been displaced in this dreadful, dreadful war.”
One attendee said they were there first and foremost to remember the hostages. “It seems the world has forgotten [about them], but we will never forget,” he said, adding “and we stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel. We don’t want them to forget that the diaspora is with them, 100 per cent.”
One man, sporting a shirt with Menachem Begin’s quote “I am not a Jew with trembling knees”, said anyone present could well be wearing the same shirt, “because we are proud of who we are, and we are proud [to be] in a fight between good and bad. It’s very simple, and that’s why we’re here.”
One lady, carrying an Iranian Pahlavi flag, said she has thought about the victims of October 7 and the hostages “every day since,”
“It’s affected my life… and I don’t even live in Israel so God knows how they must feel,” she said, “I’m just very proud to be Jewish and I’m proud to be a Zionist.”
One woman who just returned from a four-month stay in Israel said October 7 “shattered” her life. She said: “It was a turning point for me, and it made me really just kind of want to come back and connect to Jewish people. So, I’m making aliyah, but until that happens I just want to be here united with everyone together and show my solidarity.”
Sunday’s rally was organised by the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, 7/10 Human Chain, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, UJIA and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Events were also held in Manchester and Leeds.
