SEATTLE — Nearly 200 people waving Israeli flags marched Sunday to Seattle’s Lumen Field to commemorate the anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023.
StandWithUs, a nonprofit fighting antisemitism, led Sunday’s rally marking 364 days since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel — setting off an Israeli counteroffensive that has devastated Gaza for a year.
“We’re here to remember the more than 1.200 people that were murdered,” said Jennifer Adut, associate director of StandWithUs. “Murdered going to a music festival, murdered in their homes, murdered taken out of their beds [and] shot in front of their kids.”
Attendees of the “Rally of Remembrance” gathered in Occidental Square, many donning “I stand with Israel” T-shirts, in the same neighborhood where they rallied last year. One man wore a sweatshirt with the logo of the Israeli Defense Forces. Others wore yellow ribbons pinned to their clothing, symbolizing solidarity with Israeli hostages and their families.
Shai Herzog was born in Israel and feels the conversations surrounding the war in Gaza have become hypocritical within the political left.
“Everything is upside down,” he said, standing next to his wife Kim and holding a flag. “What is going on? People have lost their minds. Words don’t mean what they’re supposed to mean anymore.”
As a reporter interviewed the Herzogs in Occidental Park, a passerby yelled at them about the evils of Zionism. Another man shouted support for Gaza. He then told the couple he was “joking” and asked for a picture. They declined.
Attendees of Sunday’s rally stood in a circle holding posters of the casualties from Oct. 7 while they listened to speakers and prayed. Alongside Jewish community leaders, StandWithMe hosted local activists from Seattle’s Hindu and Iranian communities, who spoke in solidarity with Israel.
“We are mourning these hundreds of victims from that episode,” Atul Patel, of Bellevue, told attendees. “We Hindus stand by you our Jewish friends in this delicate moment again.”
Solly Kane, president and chief operating officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, praised the attendees and community for coming together after the attack.
As for any potential cease-fire between Israel and Gaza, the Jewish Federation wants Israel to be safe, while also asserting the nation has a right to defend itself, Kane said in an interview.
“Peace is a journey, one that winds through hardship and sacrifice, but also through hope and we must never lose hope,” he said in a speech to attendees. “No matter how dark the day is, no matter how much the values of humanity and empathy have been eclipsed in our world. So as much as we wish to turn the page, we must remember that we are not yet done.”
The group marched to Lumen Field after the speeches, with signs and flags in hand.
Sunday’s rally was one of many across the U.S. and the world, as pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists gathered on the anniversary of the attack.
More than 400 pro-Palestinian protesters marched from Seattle’s Pier 62 Saturday afternoon, calling for a cease-fire. They also demanded the U.S. government stop sending aid to Israel. More than 40,000 Palestinians have died since the war started, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its figures.
Adut said “everyone” wants the war to be over. But, he said, Israel also has a right to defend itself.
“We obviously want Hamas out of Gaza so we can build a better place for Palestinians that want to live next to Israel in peace,” she said. “We want everybody living in peace together but that requires Hamas not to be the government who, in their charter, has declared for the destruction of Israel.”
