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- Members of Utah's Jewish community gathered at the Utah Capitol to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel.
- Participants included political leaders and representatives from other religious organizations, who expressed solidarity with the Jewish community.
- Separately, Palestinians in Utah and their backers gathered to call attention to the Palestinians killed in attacks in Gaza in the aftermath of last year's Hamas attack.
SALT LAKE CITY — As conflict in the Middle East intensifies, members of Utah's Jewish community and advocates gathered on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel to remember, grieve and affirm the Jewish nation's right to exist.
"I think the Jewish people have the right to their own land, to their own country, to their own state, and it's something we will fight for forever," said Rabbi Benny Zippel, of Chabad Lubavitch of Utah, a Jewish organization.
Representatives from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the American Baptist Church took part as well as two members of Utah's federal delegation, U.S. Reps. Celeste Maloy and Blake Moore, both Republicans. Many more gathered on the steps of the state Capitol in Salt Lake City for the event, holding flags of Israel and the United States.
"Israel just wants to exist," said Steven Schwartz, of Salt Lake City, one of the participants.
Monday's commemoration — paralleling similar gatherings around the world — came a year to the day after the Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attacks out of Gaza by Hamas extremists into neighboring Israel. The violence by the Hamas forces left more than 1,200 in Israel dead, spurring a fierce counterattack by Israeli forces and fighting that continues, now involving militant Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. Apart from the dead, 101 Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attacks are still unaccounted for.
Alex Shapiro, head of the United Jewish Federation of Utah, the event organizer, lamented "all innocent lives" lost in the fighting. Mostly, though, Monday evening's activities served as a show of unity among Utah's Jewish community and advocates and an expression of resolve in the face of antisemitism Jewish people have historically faced.
"We will continue to survive all the Jew haters that will rise in the future. And we will not succumb to fear, and we will not go anywhere, for our 4,000-year-old faith and history provide the antidote to the hatred in the barbarism that we saw a year ago," said Rabbi Sam Spector, of Congregation Kol Ami of Salt Lake City.
As the Israel advocates gathered on the Capitol steps, Palestinians in Utah and their backers gathered outside the Salt Lake City-County Building to call attention to the thousands killed in the continuing fighting in Gaza. Nearly 41,600 Palestinians have died in Gaza in the fighting since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures cited by Reuters.
Aziz Abuzayed, a Palestinian from Gaza now living in Utah, noted family members he has lost in the attacks on Gaza, including two cousins, a great aunt and a great uncle. He helped organized the Washington Square Park event under the banner of the Palestinian Solidarity Forum of Utah.
"A lot of despair, a lot of disappointments, a lot of sadness, a lot of loss," he said, expressing his thoughts on the year anniversary since fighting commenced.
The deaths of the 41,000-plus Palestinians amount to genocide, he says, and he pointed his finger at the Israeli government and U.S. lawmakers for the aid they're providing Israel in its war effort.
"All of this, it's giving us the same feeling that all the oppressed minorities all over the world have felt during history, especially the Jews during the genocide that's called the Holocaust," he said. "It just feels like the world does not remember to stand up for what's right until it's too late."
One of his key calls is for the United States to halt its military support of Israel. "There is no hope as long as there is unconditional support by the United States government to the Israeli government," he said.
'We will get back our hope'
At the United Jewish Federation of Utah event, Moore read a statement of support backed by Utah's four U.S. House members and two senators. A government spokesman read letters of support for the Jewish community from Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz. "Your pain is our pain. Your loss is our loss, Your fight against hatred and violence is our fight," reads Cox's statement.
In his remarks, Elder Kevin W. Pearson, general authority seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, noted the spirit of goodwill between Latter-day Saints and the Jewish community.
"We mourn as you mourn. We share your sorrows and heartache. Though we may endure seasons of distress and grief in a world too often filled with contention, divisiveness, hostility and violence, we share a common value of the importance of hope and optimism," he said.
Likewise, Ron Zamir of the United Jewish Federation of Utah emphasized the importance of resolve in aiding family members of the violence of Oct. 7. "We will get back our strength, we will get back our hope and we will get back our grace," he said.
