More than 500 people gathered on Sunday evening, October 5, to commemorate the two-year mark since the Hamas attack on Israel. Marking Oct. 7 was organized to honor and memorialize the hostages, and illustrate the bravery of IDF members. The event was created to bring people together for a common purpose, according to Karen Rader, Jewish Federation of St. Louis director, Israel center & travel initiatives. The event took place at the St. Louis Music Park in Maryland Heights, Mo.
“We want them to come together feeling a sense of community and coming together,” Rader said. “We also made it interactive and provided appropriate activities for families.”
Those activities included assembling bags of food for the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, making bracelets, and hearing testimonials via virtual reality headsets. Two witnesses to the brutality on October 7 also shared their experiences in a conversation with Danny Cohn, Federation CEO.
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Another interactive opportunity for attendees of all ages was the creation of a 1,000-candle display that spelled out “Am Yisrael Chai” in Hebrew.
