Jewish community mark October 7 with an emotional vigil in Brisbane, as many fear growing anti-Semitism in Australia

Members of the Queensland Jewish community have gathered in an emotional commemoration to mark one year since the October 7 attacks.

Tammi Levine, from Chapel Hill, at the Jewish Community Commemoration Ceremony. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Hundreds of people from the Queensland Jewish community gathered at a vigil to commemorate the October 7 attacks, with some describing the last year as one of the scariest of their lives.

Held at the Jewish Communal Centre in Brisbane, the ceremony included prayers, poem readings, songs, stories of the Israeli lives lost and the lighting of lanterns to represent the lost souls.

Many could not contain their emotions as they described the harrowing experiences of loved ones, including that of 18-year-old Rachel Feldman who said she had experienced the scariest year of her life, not just in the fear for her family in Israel, but also the rise of anti-Semitism throughout the country.

Rachel Feldman shares emotional words during the Jewish Community Commemoration Ceremony. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“I don’t know how else to explain it other than it was one of the scariest times of my life, I may only be 18, but I’m never going to be able to forget those couple of months afterwards – there was no escaping it,” Ms Feldman said.

“So having these sorts of events is so incredibly important to the Jewish youth to realise you have other people like you, for people who have moved over and disconnected from their homeland.”

Ms Feldman, who is a part of the Zionist Jewish youth movement Betar, said she was grateful to have found a support system, that she did not have the same support at school because they could not understand or ignore the misinformation spread in the media.

Rachel Feldman, 18, at the Jewish Community Commemoration Ceremony in Burbank, Brisbane. Picture: Steve Pohlner

A teary Tammi Levine from Chapel Hill, at the Jewish Community Commemoration Ceremony. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“It’s terrifying, it’s crazy, I still can’t believe that it’s still happening and the fact that they still want to portray Israel and the people of Israel as these horrendous beasts, of these people who have no sympathy or feelings of any sort – it enrages me,” she said.

“It’s just really frustrating when I post something on my story and then someone replies and goes you’re a baby killer.”

“I just (want) people to hear each other and to listen to stories and not to write someone off because of their religion.”

For Ilana Tran, it was “very tough” and “painful” to see the world react to the ongoing conflict while their own families remained in Israel or were serving in the defence force.

Aaron Tran lights a lantern with his son Elisha Tran 5. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“I think it got to a point where us as a community no longer seem to care what the world says,” Ms Tran said.

“To see our own country, which is ... a country of peace, allowing for the hate to continue, I feel like that’s not good enough.”

Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg said while it was moving to witness various members of the community come together and pay their respects, many members of the Jewish community still felt unsafe.

“That hatred ... it’s been a year, and what we feel as a community is that is now the norm,” Mr Steinberg said.

“We feel that it’s really difficult to now wind back the clock when Jews felt safe in Queensland, because we don’t feel safe.”

Jason Steinberg, President of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. Picture: John Gass

“It’s not for our community to have to feel like we’ve got to now have strategies for our kids to be safe, that should just happen as part of the support of a modern democracy that we’re in.”

It comes as pro-Palestine protesters also marked one year since Hamas militants stormed across the Israeli border, including several protests in capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.

“I think from a Jewish community perspective we are not a community that likes to go out and stop traffic and shout and chant,” Mr Steinberg said.

“Today marks a solemn day, which is now going to be a solemn day in our in our religion for eternity now ... so our community will come together as a community with our friends and grieve.”

Originally published as Jewish community mark October 7 with an emotional vigil in Brisbane, as many fear growing anti-Semitism in Australia