Opinion: Oct. 7 a ‘painful blur’ for Edmonton’s Jewish community

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On Monday, Oct. 7, we will mark one year since the Hamas attacks on Israel, an event that changed the course of modern Jewish history. It has been one year since 1,185 Israeli civilians were murdered. It has been one year since countless women were raped. It has been one year since 251 hostages were dragged away from their homes and their families and were abducted into Gaza. It has been one year since our community’s sense of safety was shattered and our world was broken. It has been one year of unrelenting anti-Semitic hate targeting Jews worldwide, including here in Edmonton.

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On the evening of Oct. 6, 2023, the morning of Oct. 7 in Israel, reports had started circulating of a terror attack. People were receiving constant alerts warning of rockets falling in Israel.

On Sat. Oct. 7, 2023, Canadian Jews woke to frantic text messages and unanswered phone calls from friends and family updating them about the situation in southern Israel. While we still were unaware of the full extent of the catastrophe in Israel, we understood that an urgent visit to synagogues was needed to inform community members observing the Sabbath of the attack. In the chaos that ensued, our community mobilized to support each other and our family in Israel.

For our community, the 365 days since that fateful Saturday have been a painful blur. Nobody would have imagined that the war would continue, and that the majority of the hostages would remain in Hamas captivity 365 days later. Over the last year, Hamas continually refused to accept Israeli ceasefire offers. They used the living hostages to commit psychological warfare on Jews worldwide, including sexually assaulting them and executing some of them for sport.

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In the northern part of Israel, Hezbollah terrorists began attacking civilians indiscriminately on Oct. 8, 2023. At that time, nobody imagined that over 60,000 residents would remain displaced to this day. Edmonton’s Jewish community has a close relationship with the people of northern Israel. We are in regular contact with residents and have witnessed firsthand the devastating toll on their lives. Homes and communities have been destroyed and tragically, many have lost their lives, including 12 Druze children who where murdered by a rocket attack while playing soccer in Majdal Shams.

In Edmonton and across Canada, we have witnessed a dramatic surge in anti-Semitic activity. People are displaying hateful symbols and using hateful rhetoric throughout the city and online. There has been unrest on university campuses. Jewish Edmontonians have faced online harassment. Reports of anti-Semitic incidents at schools, workplaces and on our streets have become commonplace.

Over the last year, we have come together to mourn our fallen brothers and sisters in Israel, to get help to those to those in need and to support one another. Edmonton’s Jewish community has held vigils for the hostages. We hosted survivors of the Oct. 7 slaughter who bravely provided firsthand accounts of the attacks. We have worked with law enforcement and engaged with city officials to ensure our community’s safety and counter the display of hate throughout the city. We have reached out to officials at schools and universities to work towards providing a safe environment for their Jewish students and staff.

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Our community contributed to a national campaign to help provide needed medical supplies, food and necessities for Israelis due to the ongoing war. We have been instrumental in providing resources for mental health supports and resiliency centres to assist Israelis in need.

Countless members of Edmonton’s Jewish community have shared feelings of abandonment and ostracization by those they once considered friends and allies. Few of those with whom we stood in solidarity when their communities were facing adversity reached out to us over the last year. This made the gestures from the few friends who did connect with us in the aftermath of Oct. 7 even more special — this is something we will never forget.

When a leadership delegation from Edmonton’s Jewish community visited Israel in November 2023, to bear witness to the atrocities committed against the Israeli people, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta provided us with the flag of our province to present to the Speaker of the Knesset. This show of solidarity was deeply appreciated by our community and by Israelis.

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One year on, we keep foremost in our minds the safe return of those who remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza. We will continue to stand with and support the displaced residents of northern Israel, who endure relentless and indiscriminate rocket attacks on their homes, schools and businesses.

We call on the international community to condemn the terrorists on Israel’s borders who are intent on destroying the only democracy in the Middle East and annihilating its people. We pray with the international community for the safety of the innocent civilians in Gaza, something only possible if they are free from the tyranny of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.  We urge the international community to demand that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 be enforced, pushing Hezbollah terrorists north of Lebanon’s Litani River and ensuring the safety of civilians in harm’s way in Israel and in southern Lebanon.

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Stacey Leavitt-Wright is CEO, Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

Steven Shafir, K.C. is past-president, Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

Adam Zepp is co-chair, community relations, Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

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