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Dear Friends,
At the third anniversary of October 7, I find myself experiencing the grief with much of the same intensity I felt three years ago. Perhaps it is because visiting the Nova site and Kibbutz Kfar Aza this year, hearing directly from survivors, and reading the stories of those whose lives were brutally cut short brought those painful days vividly back to life.
Three years ago, I wrote about waking up to frantic messages from my family in Israel and learning that my sister’s family was sheltering in Kibbutz Be’eri. Her niece and her boyfriend, both just 18, were missing. We would later learn that they had been murdered.
I think of them. I think of the young soldiers we met during our Birthright trip who were stationed at a base near the Gaza border. They were proud of their work helping Palestinians cross into Israel for employment and medical treatment. They, too, were murdered on October 7. And I think of all those whose lives were stolen that day.
Normally, time gives us some distance from tragedy. But Israelis have not had that luxury. The war has gone on. Many more people have died, and more families have lost loved ones. And instead of the world coming together to acknowledge the horrific crimes committed against them, too often the story has been turned around, leaving Jews feeling blamed for the suffering inflicted upon them.
And yet, we must go on.
We celebrate Shabbat and holidays. We gather with family and friends.
We laugh. We build. We live.
We honor those whose lives were cut short by living fully, embracing our traditions, creating memories, and ensuring that their lives and stories are not forgotten.
But going on does not mean moving on.
We remember. We tell their stories. We carry them with us.
Three years later, I wish I could say that the pain of October 7 has become easier to carry.
It hasn’t.
But we will continue to go on—not because we have forgotten, but because we remember.
This week, our Hillel community will come together to commemorate October 7 on our campuses and at the Hillel House, creating space for our students to remember, reflect, and support one another.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Sarita Bronstein
Executive Director
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