About 200 people gathered for a vigil in Bruin Plaza on Wednesday to remember the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel three years later.
Students Supporting Israel, Bruins for Israel and Hillel at UCLA hosted the vigil at about 7:30 p.m. Some attendees stood on McClure Stage – which was surrounded by candles and yellow and pink roses – to sing songs, speak about their experiences as Jewish students and remember the people who were killed in the attacks.
Palestinian political party and militant group Hamas killed about 1,200 people during its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. In response to Hamas’ attack, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza, which has killed about 74,200 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
“We must confront evil and suffering in our world,” said Felicia Marie Knaul, UCLA’s associate chancellor and Chancellor Julio Frenk’s wife, in a speech. “Give back through education, give back through generosity, give back through dialogue and with dignity and with tolerance.”
Knaul, a distinguished professor of medicine, said Jewish community members must remember the attacks and work to make the world a better place.
Knaul added that she and Frenk – whom she said could not attend the vigil because of a work conflict – are committed to combating antisemitism on campus.
About 20 UCPD officers and seven APEX Security Group members stood around the perimeter of the crowd.
The demonstration was briefly interrupted after a member of the crowd yelled, “Free Palestine.” A UCPD officer stopped two attendees from following the person who yelled.
Two signs stood in front of the stage that read, “We will NEVER forget,” and “1,144 dead. 251 taken hostage.”
Ma’ayan Weisbaum-Shakhnis, the cultural director of Bruins for Israel, said student groups organized the vigil to allow community members to share personal stories and honor the people who were killed.
“We really wanted to come here to honor life lost and the way that violence affects communities and our community as a whole,” said Weisbaum-Shakhnis, who is a fourth-year English student.
Amit Cohen, a fourth-year political science student who attended the vigil, said he and other Jewish students at UCLA and other universities have faced heightened antisemitism since the 2023 attacks.
Seeing community members unite, Cohen said, inspired him to attend the vigil.
“That’s truly why I’m here,” he said. “To show these people support and to show everyone that they’re not alone.”
Matt Davidson, the executive director of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group, said he attended the vigil to support the student organizers and show solidarity with the rest of the Jewish community.
Organizers ended the vigil by singing a song together on stage at about 8:30 p.m. Participants were invited to visit Hillel at UCLA after the vigil.
“It’s an opportunity to stand together and say we are proud to be Jewish,” Davidson said.
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