SAN DIEGO (CNS) - As Israeli and Hamas leaders continue to discuss terms of peace in Egypt, Tuesday marks the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks which led to 1,200 deaths and 251 people taken hostage.
San Diego County's Jewish community will commemorate the event on Thursday with an event at The Sound venue at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, featuring a performance by Project Heroes -- an Israeli ensemble formed as a response to the attacks.
"Through powerful music and storytelling, Project Heroes highlights the extraordinary acts of courage and resilience that continue to inspire the Jewish people and communities worldwide," a statement from the event's organizers read.
The event is presented by Jewish Federation of San Diego, together with the Leichtag Foundation, the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus, the Israeli-American Council and the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego.
Few public events commemorating the attacks are being held Tuesday, although many synagogues will likely commemorate and memorialize those killed during the attacks and those still held hostage.
The Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego held a news conference on Sunday to call on local city and county officials to divest completely and cut off all relationships with Israel as the country continues its assaults on Gaza.
"We condemn Israel's targeted and indiscriminate killing of civilians, including innocent children, women, and the elderly, and we denounce the inhumane siege imposed on the nearly 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, a clear violation of international law and an implied declaration of open war on the Palestinians," a statement from the United States Council of Muslim Organizations read. "The silence surrounding these grave injustices is nothing short of complacency. It is our firm belief that justice is the cornerstone of lasting peace. No security measures can bring true peace in the absence of justice."
Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war topped 67,000 this weekend, along with nearly 170,000 wounded. The ministry doesn't say how many of those killed in the war were militants or civilians. It says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
Abdullah Tahiri, vice-chair of MLCSD, emphasized the importance of ending Israel's incursions into Gaza.
"We mourn with our community members who have lost family members in Gaza. In West Bank. So, we have been in a constant state of mourning because we have had families who have lost five to 10 people in one day. And their loved ones live here. So, we're all impacted by that."
Since the Oct. 7 attacks, a rise in antisemitic assaults, vandalism and other crimes have increased worldwide. These have been met with a corresponding increase in anti-Muslim crimes and incidents of a similar nature.
Heidi Gantwerk, the CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of San Diego, said events like Thursday's remembrance were important as San Diego's Jewish community felt unsafe more frequently.
"Sadly, we know all too well what it feels like when antisemitic violence hits home," she wrote in an opinion piece for the Times of San Diego in June. "It was only six years ago that a gunman walked into a synagogue in Poway and shot several people -- killing Lori Kaye -- simply because they were Jewish.
"As the frequency of antisemitic speech and acts has escalated, San Diego's vibrant and active Jewish community has been forced to invest millions of dollars in security so that they can feel safe to participate in any aspect of Jewish life. I went to a concert at an Episcopal church last night with friends, and I just -- walked in. That simply is not the reality anymore at Jewish synagogues, schools or agencies, where armed security, metal detectors and other increasingly robust security protocols have become standard."
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